Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) has launched an online auction website that allows users to bid for accommodation, conferencing and banqueting packages.
BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA
Speaking at the launch of Online Auctions yesterday, RTG chief executive officer Tendai Madziwanyika said the website was a way to provide innovative services to encourage travel within the country.
“We think that this will give Zimbabweans that excitement, to say that we can actually take part in the local domestic tourism industry and can actually afford to visit our own destinations around the country,” Madziwanyika said.
Users are required to sign up for the service and once they have signed up they will be able to bid by offering a particular price based on a set incremental amount that is higher than the existing bid or offer price.
The platform allows multiple users to place their bids over a period ranging from an average of one to 48 hours for shorter horizon bookings and one week to a few weeks for longer horizon bookings for the particular auction listing.
Alternatively, the website allows users to choose a “Buy Now” option which allows them to make an immediate purchase with set price being offered.
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Payment methods to purchase the different packages online will be through Visa, Mastercard, ZimSwitch, EcoCash and Telecash. Once payment has been confirmed on the website, the user is expected to make the payment within an hour.
“This is just the launch of our seven or eight properties, but the next phase which is actually very soon would be incorporation of our RTG virtual partners onto the platform,” Madziwanyika said.
“At a click of a button, our local people would be able to access our RTG options and be able to see rates from over 40 hotels and lodges from all over the country.”
On what led to the creation of this online bidding website, Madziwanyika said RTG was motivated by global platforms and the need to be innovative.
“We believe because of the hardness of our economy at the moment companies have a choice either to accept the environment as it is or to say we want to create a future that we desire,” he said.
“We do not want to lie down and die, but to create a future and the only way we believe we can do that is through innovating.”
