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The hotel, a converted boarding school hostel, was built with $1million funding from the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund to provide practical training to students at the School of Tourism and Hospitality.
Commissioning the hotel on Wednesday, Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Dr Stan Mudenge said the project was a culmination of the ministry’s efforts in raising the standards of education and training in the hospitality and tourism sector through offering a curriculum aligned to expectations of the tourism and hospitality industry.
He said a culture embedded in customer care should be the driving force of the hospitality and tourism industry rather than the natural and man-made tourist attractions.
“The students produced from this elite institution should cherish the values of ubuntu in serving our fast growing tourism sector hence displaying a Zimbabwean signature.
“This hotel will assist students from the hospitality and tourism industry to gain a combination of practical experience and formal education,” said Dr Mudenge.
He said the location of the school should prove an advantage due to its proximity to the Victoria Falls, Khami and Great Zimbabwe Monuments.
“This hotel was relocated to commercialise the school in order to reduce its dependency on the fiscus and to set up a hotel environment in the education and training of the tourism human capital,” he said.
The director of the School of Hospitality and Tourism, Mr Innocent Nezungai, said the institution was going to prepare for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly to be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia.
“Hotel St Patrick’s will volunteer to display the skills our cadres have attained during the UNWTO general assembly so as to be recognised and identified as a major tourist destination in the world .
“We stand to assist the nation through contributing immensely to the country’s revenue in 2012 and 2013,” said Mr Nezungai.
He said the students from the institution were capacitating the region in the tourism and hospitality industry, from the provision of tour guides to managers of large hotel chains.
“At present the 16-roomed hotel is equipped with two conference rooms, 90 percent of whose manpower is supplied by students. The hotel attracts tourists in transit and hosts business conferences and workshops,” he said.
Hotel St Patrick’s was a boarding facility for Coghlan Primary School but was redeveloped by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education to enable the School of Tourism and Hospitality to enhance its manpower training.
Work on the hotel started in 2004 but was hampered by financial constraints caused by the hyper inflationary environment.
The hotel was finally completed last year and started taking in guests in May last year.
Online Reporter