Cresta Lodge has completed its $7 million refurbishment meant to renew the tourism product to attract more business and increase revenue streams.
BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA
Speaking during a tour of the new facilities yesterday, Cresta Hotels chief executive officer Glenn Stutchbury said Cresta hoped to target the business and corporate world to increase their revenues.
Cresta Hotels runs hotels in Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and Zambia.
“We will be positioned differently as a prime product in Harare. I think Cresta Lodge will now be definitely up there. We have no ambitions to be called a five-star hotel, we just have ambitions to be called the best business hotel,” Stutchbury said.
“It is not about star grading, it is about what you are offering, who you are looking after and are they comfortable, and are you matching their needs with your product.”
The refurbishment at Cresta Lodge in Msasa started in 2013 focusing primarily on the North and South wings consisting of six blocks with a total of 171 rooms.
During this time, 55 rooms of the 171 received a new look that includes the removal of the carpeting in favour of floors, small fridges, electric safes with passcodes, and decorations in the bathrooms.
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The former continental lounge was changed into a coffee shop named “Cool Beans” which offers free Wi-Fi with any purchase.
Free Wi-Fi is now part of the new services that Cresta Lodge is offering its guests countrywide.
“If I look in our Harare market, we are slightly above our market share by about 0, 5%. In Bulawayo we are on our market share, Victoria Falls we are 1% above our market share where we have one product whereas in Harare we have three,” Stutchbury said.
In terms of the foreign market, Cresta attracts two types: the business and leisure market.
The hotel in Victoria Falls leads in attracting foreign tourists and an estimated 90% of its guests are foreign. Cresta Lodge and Cresta Jameson attract 10% and 15% respectively in terms of foreign guests.
In Harare, Cresta has a combined total of 500 bedrooms from Cresta Jameson, Cresta Oasis, and Cresta Lodge.
“The way we promote our products is more about what is it that you desire in a product and we are not going to worry whether you are foreign or local,” Stutchbury said.
“We also promote with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority extensively vis-a-vis Victoria Falls and that is because that is our only leisure product in this country.”
Part of the refurbishments also included sprucing up their online packages as Stutchbury said Cresta were taking that platform more seriously as he saw it as the future of the business.
He said the online bookings had increased year-on-year in terms of the take-ups and they are planning to use that platform, partnering up with travel agents, to showcase the new refurbishments.
Stutchbury said the positioning of Cresta Lodge made the lodge one of the prime locales for the corporate world that will be attracted to the new look.
