When South Africans travel locally for the end of year holidays, we end up staying with our families. A big draw card is that it’s free! Or as we say in isiZulu, “mahala”. And in these tight-fisted economic times, we’re all a little more open to the mahala option. Finances aside, there are some undeniable emotional and physical costs to staying with the people you love.

We used this insight to create a radio campaign in English and isiZulu that gets knee deep into the cultural nuances associated with going home for the holidays, proving that when you weigh up the real cost of staying with family, booking a room at a Town Lodge hotel is better than free, actually.