A reporter purportedly reporting from Gweru by the name Chris Tabvura writes about how the Midlands Hotel’s CEO, Patrick Kombai, received an award given to the hotel in Spain – The Zimbabwean 1-7 March 2007.
This award was at the 32 International awards for Tourism, Hotel and Catering Industry in Spain. The Midlands Hotel’s CEO Patrick Hamutendi Kombai was given a certificate and a global badge was awarded to the hotel for business excellence and quality management. All this took place at a glittering ceremony in Madrid, Spain.
What I find difficult to understand is that not so long ago this same hotel was said to be operating below standard. It was alleged that the hotel had been closed so that necessary renovations could be made to improve standards. What boggles the mind is that the same hotel was condemned by the Hoteliers Association of Zimbabwe Quality Insurers over its “deplorable” state and it was dropped from its, is it two or three star status. How then could the same condemned hotel receive a global badge for excellence? This raises more questions than answers. One can only wonder, is it a clash of the global versus the local in hotel standards?
Through this report, the journalist is indirectly asking the readers to question the closure of the Midlands Hotel as substandard. Could it be on political grounds or was it a genuine inspection that took place a few weeks ago? In the report Kombai, owner of the Midlands Hotel, is quoted to have said a group of government officials “known as the Kaseke- Tabengwa group” had traveled around the country purporting to inspect hotels, restaurants and lodges in the name of Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. There was no comment from the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority or Hoteliers Association of Zimbabwe. However, for some of us who live in Gweru and often make a deliberate effort to avoid walking along the hotel’s pavement on the western side to avoid the not so very enticing and aromatic smell of human waste know better whose standards to believe.
By Beauty Muromo PgDip in Media and Society Studies - MSU
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1 comment:
Good for people to know.
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