Govt frets over ZITF hotel rates

The government says it is dismayed by the attitude of hotels and lodges in Bulawayo which have sharply hiked their rates for this year's Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), which begins in a fortnight.

This comes as most hotels have already secured full bookings for the industrial and commercial showcase, which has this year attracted significant interest among both local and regional exhibitors.

"I had a meeting yesterday (Tuesday) with executives of most of these hotels, together with the minister of Tourism … to indicate our concern with the manner in which they are treating ZITF clients.

"I highlighted to them that if only they took part in aggressive marketing of ZITF, maybe then can we tolerate that kind of behaviour, than to wait for ZITF … then overcharge clients.

"So, there are a number of issues that are critical … one being the actual rates themselves which I am told are in the region of

RTGS$1 500 for some, and the second being the issue of booking - to say you can only book for seven days and not book for a day or two," an exasperated Industry minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said.

"They (hotels) might take ZITF as a low-hanging fruit, but certainly it doesn't augur well for the survival and growth of the hospitality industry. The minister of Tourism was not amused as well.

"They (hotels) indicated that they will be meeting as a sector and come back to government, and we are hopeful of the positive outcome of that," Ndlovu added.

The ZITF, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, will run from April 23 to 27 under the theme "Propagating industrial growth through Trade and Investment". During the fair, many depressed businesses in and around Bulawayo - including hotels and lodges - cash in on the gathering, which is the biggest event in the country's second city.

Most hotels in the city, anticipating roaring business, have hiked their accommodation rates from RTGS$325 to a whopping RTGS$1 400 a day for a standard room during the week-long business extravaganza.

An executive room is priced at RTGS$2 000, from RTGS$450 which was the going rate recently. All this also means that a standard room at the official exchange rate is pegged at a staggering US$480.

On their part, hoteliers told the Daily News yesterday that they were not likely to review the rates downwards, despite their discussions with the government - "because we have already made full bookings".

"Some of our hotels are already fully booked and the transfers have been made ... should we refund the difference?

"At the end of the day, this (better rates) would only apply to those who are still making bookings," an executive at a major hotel said.

At the same time, the government has become increasingly agitated with businesses that are linking their prices to foreign currency exchange rates.

This comes after Finance minister Mthuli Ncube warned business on Wednesday against profiteering. "It is actually bad economics to link price increases to the exchange rate. That's not how you do it. It is profiteering," Ncube told journalists in Harare.

Meanwhile, the ZITF says it has sold 90 percent of the exhibiting space to 435 exhibitors.

"These statistics compare favourably to the booking situation at the same time last year. Of these, 12 percent are first time exhibitors displaying a wide range of products and services," Ndlovu said.

About 59 percent of confirmed local exhibitors were from Harare, 23 percent from Bulawayo, 13 percent from other towns and five percent from other countries.

The confirmed international exhibitors are from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Japan. Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United States of America and Zambia.