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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
There is a curious numbering of rooms at the Omadu Hotel in Plumtree Town in Matabeleland South Province.
The rooms are numbered from number one to 12 — number 13 is skipped — the next room after 12 is numbered 14 — and the numbering continues chronologically until the last room without another odd break.
Before you laugh your head off at the thought that the people of Plumtree don’t know how to count, know that this numbering of rooms is deliberate, most lodges and hotels don’t have room 13.
It’s not just hotels and lodges — even high-rise buildings do not have room number 13 and there is no 13th floor!
Some hospitals and clinics tell new mothers to choose day 12 or 14 for birthdays when issuing birth records for babies born on the 13th. They also don’t have beds numbered 13.
Restaurants and aeroplanes also don’t have seat 13. Why? Because the number 13 is associated with bad luck.
According to eHotelier, an online platform which provides expert information on the tourism and hospitality sector, fears about the number 13 have an impact on business.
“Your guests may be hesitant to occupy a room if it is on the 13th floor or even if the room number itself is 13. So, you might want to bear this in mind while naming your rooms and floors. But it doesn’t stop there — the number 13 itself is considered unlucky which is why it is rare to spot a restaurant that has a table number 13, a hospital with a room or bed bearing the number 13, a hotel with a 13th floor or a room number 13,” reads the eHotelier.
It notes that hotel owners plan with the superstitions surrounding the number in mind.
Barry Markovsky of the University of South Carolina in America says that number 13 is associated with some infamous dinner guests including Judas Iscariot who sold Jesus Christ leading to his crucifixion.
“In Norse mythology, the god Loki was the 13th to arrive at a feast in Valhalla, where he tricked another attendee into killing the god Baldur. In Christianity, Judas — the apostle who betrayed Jesus — was the 13th guest at the Last Supper,” writes Markovsky.
Other researchers state that the number 13 fears have over the years been fuelled by the American film industry through the creation of a series of movies that celebrate a murderous bloody slayer who kills people on Friday the 13th.
But should Zimbabweans concern themselves with superstitions surrounding the myth associated with the number? Apparently, the business sector does. Several hotels and lodges in the country do not have rooms with the number.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority head of corporate affairs Godfrey Koti said it is inevitable that the country associates itself with some of the globally held superstitions.
He said Zimbabwe receives a lot of business from western countries where this urban legend is widespread.
“While as Zimbabweans we don’t pay homage to such a belief we also have an appreciation that the tourism sector also has to conform to international standards where some of our arrivals come from countries such as America where they strongly believe in the myth that 13 is associated with bad luck. For instance, America is one of our biggest markets and we receive over 100 000 arrivals annually from America,” said Koti.
Researchers estimate that as many as 10 percent of the US population has a fear of the number 13, and each year the even more specific fear of Friday the 13th, known as paraskevidekatriaphobia, results in financial losses in excess of US$800 million annually, as people avoid marrying, travelling or in the most severe cases, even working.
Koti said it was not just hotels and lodges that may not have number 13 but the aviation sector as well.
“It is true, there is no room 13 and even aeroplanes do not have seats numbered 13. It is also associated with Friday the 13th which is associated with bad luck,”
Dumazulu Safaris proprietor and managing director, Chris Dube, who runs Gwayi Valley Leisure Centre, said having worked in the hospitality sector before transitioning to run a business, he observed that most hotels had no room 13.
“I have worked in hotels and been booked in hotels. I know most of them have no room 13. This is because it is associated with bad luck. I think even buildings do not have a 13th floor as it is associated with bad luck,” said Dube.
However, Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe president Farai Chimba, who is also the manager of Victoria Falls Hotel, said the exclusion of number 13 was not universal.
“For example, my hotel has room number 13. But yes, some hotels do not have that room number as it is associated with bad luck. The number is associated with myths and superstitions just like Friday the 13th,” said Chimba.
National University of Science and Technology’s School of Development Studies lecturer and economist, Dr Nqobizitha Dube said superstitions associated with the number 13 are irrelevant to the African context.
He said the conformity with the number shows that businesses in the country and the continent are influenced by western narratives.
Dube said businesses should create counter cultures that celebrate Africa like the month of November which is considered sacred.
“We should revere months like November where all citizens should be doing things that they think are holy in line with their cultures. But things that relate to number 13 are not relevant to us. We should have hotels revering more things that happen in
November and possibly have specials respecting the month of November,” said Dube.
Born on September 13, Chronicle’s Showbiz Editor Mellisa Mpofu said, she does not believe 13 is associated with any bad luck.
However, she said her spirits are dampened when her birthday occurs on Friday the 13th. — @nqotshili
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