RTG completes 46 rooms refurbishment in Vic Falls

Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls

RAINBOW Tourism Group (RTG) has completed refurbishing half of the rooms at Rainbow Hotel in Victoria Falls, as the hotelier responds to rising demand for more and quality accommodation facilities in the prime resort town.

After commissioning of the Victoria Falls International Airport and coming in of more wide bodied aeroplanes, projections are arrivals will increase by 80 000 per year.

There are also concerns about rooms’ deficit hence the need for upgrading and development of new hotels facilities.

Rainbow Victoria Falls has 88 rooms, 46 of which have had a complete overhaul at a cost of $500 000.

The group set aside about $1 million to upgrade the facility and the remaining 42 rooms will be refurbished in the last quarter of the year after peak season.

Speaking during a media tour of Rainbow Hotel Victoria Falls and A’Zambezi River Lodge over the weekend, the group corporate communications and innovations manager, Mrs Pride Khumbula, said about 90 percent of the group’s clients were foreign hence the need to meet international standards in terms of service.

She said the developments were necessitated by increasing demand for quality accommodation in the prime resort town and the need by the hotelier to complement standards.

“The upgrading is meant to entice more arrivals and we want to applaud the Government for recent refurbishment of the airport, which is now bringing more numbers. Forty-six rooms are complete and $500 000 was spent,” she said.

The media tour was aimed at giving journalists an appreciation of developments that the group, which also runs A’Zambezi River Lodge is doing.

A’Zambezi River Lodge was also upgraded a few years ago. The new look 46 rooms at Rainbow Hotel now bears new beds, newly painted walls, air conditioning, furniture and floor tiles while there is also a new development in the form of a beauty spa.

The hotel’s general manager, Mr Chris Svovah, said the refurbishment started in November last year.
“We started in November and stopped in May because we are now in peak season. We will resume in November again to finish the remaining 42 rooms, which also cost almost half a million dollars,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Svovah, who is also Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) chair for the Victoria Falls chapter said the industry was excited by the new lease of life, with hotels and lodges currently 60 percent full.

“As an industry we are excited and numbers speak for themselves. We want to applaud the Government for its open skies policy which has increased connectivity and arrivals. To us this translates to increased occupancies and we are targeting 70 percent by year end.

“So far many are fully booked and overally we are at 60-65 percent capacity and we see nothing stopping us reaching 70 percent.

“What we are doing is engage players to improve their products and also increase capacity so we match demand,” he said.

Source: RTG completes 46 rooms refurbishment in Vic Falls (11/07/17)