At 27, Anni du Plessis is leading DropInn’s fast moving short term rental operation across Ballito Life and Ballito Village, where an 11 member team manages nearly 100 serviced apartments.
Image: Supplied
Anni du Plessis oversees DropInn’s short-term rental operation at Ballito Life and Ballito Village on KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast.
According to Du Plessis, her 11-member team manages around 550 check-ins during a busy month. The team’s responsibilities include pricing, bookings, housekeeping, maintenance, quality checks, guest communication and relationships with property owners.
She said her age and gender sometimes meant that her authority was not immediately accepted, requiring her to rely on preparation and the accuracy of her work.
From forensic accounting to hospitality
Du Plessis was serving her training articles in forensic accounting when a search for a purchase order in a construction company’s records made her question how she wanted to spend her working life.
“I was buried in a construction company’s records, looking for a purchase order and trying to work out who had signed off on an expense. Somewhere in that paper trail, it dawned on me that I was spending my days reconstructing other people’s decisions after the fact,” she recalled.
“The people were gone from the page, and all I was left with were the numbers and figures they had left behind. That was when I realised how important it was to me to be in the present tense, to be in the moment and part of what was actually happening.”
Her first real introduction to hospitality and tourism came through the launch of the Ballito Farmers Market.
A friend proposed opening a market on the North Coast, and Du Plessis became involved in setting it up.
She said it had more than 150 traders and welcomed thousands of people each weekend.
“It gave me my first experience of what it takes to create and manage an experience for thousands of people in real time, and I loved it,” she said.
Du Plessis, who was born and raised in Centurion in Gauteng, moved to Ballito in 2020 and joined DropInn in 2025.
While accounting and hospitality may appear to have little in common, she said her financial training helps her understand both the commercial and personal sides of the operation.
“People often assume that an accounting background is a strange route into hospitality, but I have found that it is exactly what the job needs. I can look at a portfolio and understand what the numbers are telling me, while at the same time putting myself in a guest’s shoes,” she said.
Managing close to 100 Ballito apartments
“In practice, it is a live operation that is constantly moving,” Du Plessis said.
Prices change with demand, and the apartments are marketed through Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and DropInn’s direct booking channels.
Behind every stay are housekeeping and quality checks carried out within tight turnover periods, maintenance, communication from the first enquiry to check-out and contact with property owners.
Slethiwe Mthembu, Sweetness Matlali, Niry Govender, Que Roopnarain and Anni du Plessis outside DropInn in Ballito, where the team helps manage nearly 100 serviced apartments across Ballito Life and Ballito Village.
Image: Supplied
Before a guest arrives, keys must be in place, hot water must be working and appliances, switches and locks must be checked. For Du Plessis, an apartment should feel ready, not simply clean.
“This behind-the-scenes work has become increasingly important as traveller expectations evolve. Guests who may once have been comfortable with a more hands-off self-catering experience now often expect quicker responses, greater consistency and service levels more closely associated with hotels,” she said.
Demand is highly seasonal because Ballito is a coastal destination, requiring the team to monitor booking patterns, prepare for peak periods and respond quickly when volumes rise.
DropInn describes its accommodation as an ApartHotel model, positioned between a conventional hotel and an ordinary short-term rental operation.
Du Plessis said guests have the space and independence of an apartment, with professional service and support across the properties.
“In simple terms, it offers the freedom of an apartment with the certainty of a hotel,” she said.
One of the toughest tests for the team came during Ballito Life’s phased launch in 2025.
Du Plessis said they had to manage handovers and oversee the onboarding, furnishing and snagging of about 30 apartments at a time while accommodating guests as construction continued around them.
“We were starting up a brand-new estate and trying to maintain a five-star promise to guests while construction was still taking place around us,” she said.
Du Plessis said DropInn achieved a five-star guest rating for Ballito Life on Airbnb in December 2025, despite phases two and three remaining under construction.
Balancing guests and permanent residents
Operating within residential estates requires the team to balance the expectations of permanent residents with those of short-stay visitors.
Du Plessis said noise and parking were the most common sources of tension.
“The art is finding the balance between protecting the peace and comfort of permanent residents without making short-stay guests feel over-policed,” she said.
The team identifies apartments where problems may be more likely and communicates expectations early. Du Plessis said most guests respond positively to a friendly reminder.
“That approach gives residents peace of mind while ensuring that guests still feel welcome rather than watched,” she said.
Finding authority as a young woman leader
That challenge became clear during a negotiation when a client questioned the costs Du Plessis had presented and insisted on speaking to a director.
Du Plessis brought the director into the conversation, only for him to provide the same answer and exact figure she had already given.
“The only thing that changed was who the answer came from,” she said.
“I could have taken that personally, but instead I allowed the facts to do the work. The numbers were mine, and the numbers were right. I have learnt that you do not earn trust by demanding it. You earn it by being consistently correct, capable and reliable.”
The experience reinforced the importance she places on preparation, understanding the figures and knowing how the operation works.
Du Plessis also wants hospitality to be regarded as a profession in which people can build lasting careers rather than as a stopgap between other jobs.
“If we want talented people to stay, grow and build meaningful careers in the industry, we have to invest in them. Hospitality can offer incredibly rewarding careers, but the industry has to be intentional about showing people what that progression can look like and equipping them with the skills to pursue it,” she said.
Du Plessis left forensic accounting because she wanted to be part of decisions as they happened. At DropInn, the figures remain central, but they now sit alongside guests, employees and the daily demands of what she calls a “live operation”.
