Categories: Stories

Meikles Hotel shelves more renovations

Hospitality and retail group Meikles Limited says it is struggling to make returns on its $9 million investment, spent on refurbishment of its flagship hotel as occupancy levels remain low.

In 2012 the group embarked on a project to spruce up the north wing of its iconic Meikles Hotel which was completed the following year under a $9 million facility from the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) Bank.

“Business has been difficult; being a city hotel we mainly cater for the foreign investors travelling in and out of the country but we are experiencing low occupancies from our initial projections,” Meikles Hospitality commercial director Tham Mpofu said.

“In terms of volumes we are around 30 percent, which is more or less the same with last year’s figures. A viable return would have been anything above 50 percent.”

Mpofu added that the group had put on hold plans to refurbish the hotel’s south wing, which would have required a similar investment.

The group operates two five-star hotels in Zimbabwe, The Meikles in Harare and its 50 percent-owned Victoria Falls Hotel. African Sun owns the other 50 percent.-The Source

(47 VIEWS)

This post was last modified on %s = human-readable time difference 7:07 pm

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Recent Posts

Zimbabwe among the top countries with the widest gap between the rich and poor

Zimbabwe is among the top 30 countries in the world with the widest gap between…

November 14, 2024

Can the ZiG sustain its rally against the US dollar?

Zimbabwe’s battered currency, the Zimbabwe Gold, which was under attack until the central bank devalued…

November 10, 2024

Will Mnangagwa go against the trend in the region?

Plans by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front to push President Emmerson Mnangagwa to…

October 22, 2024

The Zimbabwe government and not saboteurs sabotaging ZiG

The Zimbabwe government’s insatiable demand for money to satisfy its own needs, which has exceeded…

October 20, 2024

The Zimbabwe Gold will regain its value if the government does this…

Economist Eddie Cross says the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) will regain its value if the government…

October 16, 2024

Is Harare the least democratic province in Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, which is a metropolitan province, is the least democratic province in the…

October 11, 2024