While popular luxury hotels such as the Hyatt Regency, the Michaelangelo and the Sandton Intercontinental have been closed for more than a year, others — such as the newly built Hyatt House establishments — are thriving.

It’s an old story: dark towers loom dormant, no signs of the touring coaches, shuttle buses and taxis delivering scores of international guests. The term “mothballed” has been coined to describe their indefinite closure.

And yet, as pandemic times ease, other establishments have managed to adapt, strategise, survive and even thrive...