RTG Undertakes Rainbow Hotel, HICC Makeover For SADC Meetings
Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) is refurbishing the Rainbow Towers Hotel and the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) ahead of SADC meetings.
As reported by Business Times, the 4 500-seater HICC at the Rainbow Towers Hotel will host the SADC Industrialisation week from July 28 to August 2, 2024.
The investment conference, which will precede the Council of Ministers meetings and the SADC summit, is expected to attract at least 300 guests and 150 companies.
The Council of Ministers meetings and the SADC summit will take place from August 9 to 18, 2024 at the new Parliament Building in Mt Hampden.
The Government of Zimbabwe, which owns the majority stake in RTG through the National Social Security Authority and the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, has selected the hotel to host the SADC meetings.
Tendai Madziwanyika, the group CEO of RTG said they were re-fashioning 183 guest rooms and had installed two brand-new, state-of-the-art elevators at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare.
He said the Presidential suite at the hotel was completed in the fourth quarter of last year, adding that renovation work is underway to convert the remaining 72 rooms into a combination of six diplomatic suites and 48 standard guest rooms.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting held in Harare this week, Madziwanyika said the makeover of all rooms at the Rainbow Towers Hotel and the HICC will be complete by mid-July. He said:
We will do it in time for the SADC Industrialisation Conference. We are doing something incredible.
We took out all the chairs on the ground floor. We took out the carpet from the ground floor. Why?
Because for the first time since it was built 40 years ago, we are now going to put brand new carpets and chairs in the HICC.
You see, this is what we’ll do for now. We will do the ground floor because we have a very good event coming up, I think it’s on the 9th and 10th of July for about three or four days.
After that, we will close again. Why? Because we want to do the rest of the HICC. The whole of the HICC will have brand new carpets and brand new chairs, come end of July this year.
Madziwanyika stated in a trading update for the first five months of 2024 that RTG has sustained positive performance.
Revenue for the group grew by 75% in the period under review while occupancy rates across the hotel portfolio averaged 60%, while the Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) grew by 128% to US$58. He said:
We are pleased to report that RTG has sustained its positive trajectory, delivering solid results in the midst of a turbulent economic landscape.
Our ability to adapt quickly, optimize efficiency, and focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences has been key to our success.
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