MARRIOTT KIGALI INSIDE A YEARS COUNTDOWN NOW
As recently reported here, the first batch of 14 trainees from Rwanda has already gone to Dubai for induction at the Marriott Dubai Harbour Hotel & Suites there, before being deployed into various properties along the Gulf states of Kuwait, Doha and Muscat. They will in nine months time return to Kigali as part of the start up team together with dozens of others who will join them from later this year onwards, when they too will receive their inhouse training by experienced Marriott staff.
The Kigali Marriott will be the global groups first venture in Eastern Africa but the group is said to be keenly eyeing other East African capitals now that rival Hyatt has joined the throng in Dar es Salaam with Starwoods Sheraton, InterContinental and Hilton already established in Nairobi and Kampala and Kempinski and Radisson soon opening up hotels too in the Kenyan capital.
The Kigali Marriot will cost an estimated 65 million US Dollars and will comprise at least 250 suites and rooms plus a fully fledged convention centre, which should help Rwanda to advance their MICE marketing initiatives, under which they seek to attract a great deal more convention and conference business in coming years beyond the present level of leisure and business travel.
The new hotel is located just a stone throw away from the Kigali Serena Hotel and is owned by locally incorporated New Century Development, which is owned by local Rwandan and Chinese investors.
A total of about 500 staff will be working at the new hotel, with the majority coming out of an intense selection process for young Rwandans with staff from the wider region and from Marriotts international operations joining them on opening to provide the level of service Marriott clients are accustomed to. Watch this space for regular updates on this and other Rwandan hospitality developments.
4 Responses
Exciting times for tourism East Africa. Very bullish about the region’s tourism prospects. With all these international hotels clamouring for entry into the region surely it is a rubber stamp by the international business community that out region is ripe for serious investment from the real big players.
However, Burundi lags behind. No news ever comes from there. Yet the country is a gem waiting to be discovered and cherished, with over 120 km of the most scenic, crystalline sand beaches on Lake Tanganyika you’ll ever find anywhere, as one of the packages the country could offer.
Thanks again for yet another brilliantly written piece.
Thank you for your contribution and for pointing out that indeed there is an information gap from Burundi. I seem to get more feedback from Eastern Congo, Ethiopia or distant Mauritius than from our neighbour Burundi. Any one out there who can provide regular updates, I should be most gratefu. And of course, many thanks for reading my blog.
W.
Think problem is that Kirundi and French and not English are Burundi’s official languages. Most don’t consume your informative articles.
Try @BurundiSafari on twitter.
Does the Marriot group expect any staff from Kenyan in their Entertainment Fraternity? I mean to ask casino staff