Times Of Swaziland: ... PEAK HOTEL RECRUITS ROYAL SWAZI EX-MANAGER

... PEAK HOTEL RECRUITS ROYAL SWAZI EX-MANAGER
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Mfanukhona Nkambule on 26/11/2023 15:18:00


The new Piggs Peak Hotel operator has introduced Rainold Petersen, who managed
the Royal Swazi Spa Convention Centre from 1982 to 1986 as the new General
Manager of the hotel.
Petersen, a veteran in the hospitality industry, is the owner of Chaplin’s
Grill in Sandton, South Africa. He has been the sales ambassador of Nemchem and
director of Cellar d’Or. He was the restaurant manager for Hotel Zum Schloss
Freiburg  in Germany in 1982 and also worked for the Vineyard Hotel & Spa in
1983. He was a buyer at Holiday Inn/Crown Plaza Frankfurt, Germany from 1979 to
1981. He was also a night manager at Holiday Inn Hotel Paris PdV. “He’s the
right man for the job. He has vast experience in the hotel industry,”
O’Leary said of Petersen. Petersen, in an interview, said he was very excited
to return to Eswatini, recalling how he served guests for His Majesty King
Mswati III during his coronation in 1986. After leaving the country in 1986, he
said he went to Cornell University in New York for postgraduate studies.
ensure
Back to O’Leary, the CEO, he said there was a need to set aside money to
ensure the hotel acquired the four-star status. He said they would invest in
energy system and reduce consumption by 50 per cent. He added that they had
shared the vision of Pigg’s Peak Hotel with business executives, CEOs, police,
officials and other people. He said they assured them of responsible tourism.
TFPD has a foundation. It is a not-for-profit entity. It was established to
provide an accountable, legal vehicle for acquiring and dispensing funds to the
communities, whose lodges TFPD manages and markets. The purpose of the
foundation is to source financial and volunteer support for specific projects to
uplift and empower TFPD’s community partners with a specific focus on its four
pillars of involvement in rural economic activity and community life. The four
pillars are as follows:
* Adult training and skills development in areas such as hospitality, English
language tuition, computer literacy, and various forms of guiding.
* Job creation projects and set-up of micro-businesses to grow tourism in and
around the lodges.
* Community projects with social, educational and/or health impact.
* Refurbishment of community-owned tourism properties/assets.
In March 2023, Moses Vilakati, the former Minister of Tourism and Environmental
Affairs, told a Senate meeting that TFPD is an award-winning organisation. He
said he was confident that they would do a great job. He mentioned that the new
management’s operations would begin on April 1, 2023. The former minister said
TFPD had been given 60 months to operate the hotel. In the recent past, the
hotel was marred by several issues including protests by employees who were
demanding a salary increase.
compared
According to the hotel’s quarterly report from January 2023 to March 2023, the
Public Enterprise Unit (PEU) reported that there was a 15 per cent decline in
revenue when compared to last quarter. This report was compiled before the
takeover by TFPD. It is said that operational expenses for the quarter were
E4.59 million compared to E4.45 million in the last quarter. It is stated in the
report that the hotel did not achieve the projected revenues and there was a 25
per cent variance between the projected and actual revenue. During the quarter
under review, the hotel recorded a loss of E0.005 million and it was attributed
to the decline in income. Total revenue was E4.60 million compared to E5.89
million in the last quarter. Busangani Mkhaliphi, the PEU Director, commented
that the hotel and casino recorded a loss of E0.005 million against a profit of
E0.39 million derived in the last quarter.
She attributed the loss to a 15 per cent decline in income, while operational
expenses increased by three per cent. Mkhaliphi encouraged the hotel to cut down
on its expenditure so that it could realise profits and improve its financial
position. Since the casino operational issues have been resolved, it is
anticipated that the entity will now perform better, as these issues impacted
negatively on performance. It must be said that the casino is not yet
operational. However, it was learnt that negotiations with an operator were
ongoing.