Minister fumes over filthy hotels

SITHENI NLEYA

A delegation of United States guests opted out of a five-star hotel in Harare after encountering lice and forced to endure dirty mattresses with stains in what Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi said is an embarrassment to the country.

Rwodzi mentioned three big hotels in the country and dressed down their management publicly over poor services during the final consultations with industry players on the Tourism Bill Amendments in Harare.

She said most hotels masquerading as five-star hotels were performing below expectations as if they were brothels, an embarrassment to the country.

“I was embarrassed by these people (hotel name withheld). There was a group of 18 American guests who came in December 2023 but they could not even spend a night there after encountering lice. Their mattresses were dirty and the guests left despite having booked for days,” she said.

She said Zimbabwe needs to start operating according to international standards adding some hotels have lost the essence of the stars grading system.

Rwodzi also said  hotels need to improve on their cleanliness and maintenance citing that another principal from a named country incurred injuries while bathing in another hotel.

The Minister said the government is losing a lot of revenue from online bookings from other countries.

“We have learnt from South Africa on how they won the fight against these online booking sites and soon we will embark on making sure no more revenue is lost,” she said.

The minister also highlighted that preparations for hosting the SADC conference were at an advanced stage  with  renovations at some hotels now at 90% and should be ready by the 15th of July.

Consultations for the Tourism Bill Amendments have ended with Harare being the last province.