adminNgoni Dapira Business Correspondent
MUTARE’s African Sun Limited concern, Amber Hotel, is soon to be branded back to Holiday Inn Mutare following the changes by the Group from its traditional hotel management model to a hotel investments model.
This was revealed in the group’s unaudited financial results for the year ended September 30 published recently.
According to the review by the Africa Sun Hotels board chairman Mr Herbert Nkala the move is expected to be more optimal to the needs of the group given the depressed business performance owing to the persistent economic challenges besetting the country.
Under the hotel investment model, the group exited its Ghana and Nigerian foreign operations and established five strategic business divisions.
One of the divisions, Legacy Group of the South African Sandton’s Michelangelo Towers, Legacy Hotels and Resorts, is now managing five hotels namely Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga, Elephant Hills Resort and Conference Centre in Victoria Falls, Hwange Safari Lodge, The Kingdom in Victoria Falls and Crowne Plaza Monomotapa Hotel in Harare with effect from October 1, this year.
The Crown Plaza Hotel will be re-branded effective from January 1, 2016.
The other division will comprise of the franchised hotels where Mutare’s Amber Hotel will soon be branded back to Holiday Inn Mutare. The Inter Continental Hotels Group will run the hotels in this division. The other hotels are Holiday Inn Harare and Holiday Inn Bulawayo.
The third division will comprise of owner managed hotels and these are Caribbea Bay Resort in Kariba, Great Zimbabwe Hotel in Masvingo and Beitbridge Express Hotel. Mr Nkala added that the board was in discussion with potential strategic partners to assess the hotels strategically fit with long term plans of either reassigning them as hotels under management or franchised hotels.
The fourth and fifth division consists of the Victoria Falls Hotel partnership and other complementary operations.
On the Victoria Falls Hotel operating in partnership with Meikles Limited, Mr Nkala said the hotel was the only one that had not been affected by the change in business model and would continue with the partnership with Meikles Limited.
Sun Cassino’s and Sun Vacations will make up the strategic business unit.
“Following the change of business model, discontinuation of the loss making operations in Ghana and Nigeria as well as the recent retrenchments, the Group is poised to move from a loss making to a profit position,” said Mr Nkala.
The Group achieved revenue of $50.15 million which was an eight percent decline from last year’s $54.55 million achieved in the comparable period. The total loss for the year from both continuing and discontinued operations was $3.36 million which was a 47percent drop from last year’s loss of $2.29 million.
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