The hotels in Kigali, which will host the participants of the CHOGM Summit are well prepared. In some of the hotels visited in recent days, they have prioritized the renovation of almost all services. There is more cleanliness, new arrangements on the terraces and others.
They are all preparing for CHOGM, an international summit that brings together the heads of state and government of member countries of the community of English-speaking countries, Commonwealth.
Hotel de Mille Collines: Renovation of all services
Frédéric Isimbi Mihana, in charge of quality at this hotel, said that preparations to welcome CHOGM participants are going well.
According to him, all 112 rooms of this hotel have been renovated to ensure quality of service.
“In our preparations, we have not increased the number of rooms, but mainly it is the quality of our services that has been improved,” said Isimbi Frederic.
Following the remarks of the President of the Republic about the poor services provided in some hotels, Isimbi said it was necessary to engage in a complete renovation, especially as this hotel intends to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary.
“Everything we are doing lately revolves around the preparations for CHOGM and ensure that our services will be excellent,” he added.
Dove Hotel also in the renovation
Jean Claude Gasana, the general manager of Dove Hotel located in Gisozi also explains that most of their work today is mainly focused on the preparations for the Commonwealth summit, CHOGM.
This hotel owned by the Church of Pentecost in Rwanda (ADEPR) that Gasana manages has the capacity of 70 rooms, 6 conference rooms and a parking lot that can accommodate more than 1000 vehicles.
In an exclusive interview, the general manager of this hotel said that Dove Hotel is doing everything to make the reception of CHOGM participants a success.
He went on to explain that internally, the staff members within this hotel are trained in all areas.
“The clients we will receive will be from different cultures, that’s why we maximize all our efforts to make our services excellent,” he added.
Explicitly, Gasana also said that Dove Hotel is preparing as if it were a big wedding where everyone has to work hard to make sure everything goes well.
“We dot the i’s and cross the t’s and want these foreigners to remember the beauty of Rwanda in all aspects. The beauty in the conference rooms, in our restaurants, in all our services in any case,” explained Gasana.
At a press conference, the Rwandan Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente, told media professionals that the Rwandan government is closely following all the preparations and that they were very good so far.
“The preparations for CHOGM are going well, starting with the infrastructure. About the hotel accommodations, don’t worry about that, everything is well planned, we have a team that follows closely these preparations,” he reassured everyone.
“We already have a plan specifying all the details since the arrival of our visitors who will come to participate in the CHOGM. We are well prepared, but we still have to do without forgetting also your role in the sensitization on the provision of services in different areas,” said the head of government, Dr. Ngirente.
In a report published on hospitalitynet.org in the hotel industry, among African countries and the region in which Rwanda is located, it is qualified among the countries of the continent progressing rapidly in the promotion of MICE (Meetings, Events, Conference & Exhibitions).
According to the report, this has been achieved through the Rwanda Convention Bureau. This is an institution set up by the Rwandan government for the proper management of international conferences.
In 2018 Rwanda was placed 3rd on the African continent by the International Convention and Conference Association (ICCA).
The Commonwealth Summit is scheduled for June 20-26, 2022 in Kigali. CHOGM participants come from 54 nations in Africa, the Caribbean, America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific.
President Paul Kagame and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth have confirmed the date of the summit.
Florent Ndutiye & Gerard Rugambwa
