The government has called on hotel operators to improve their services as Rwanda prepares to host the 27th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government from July 10th-18th in Kigali.

The AU Summit which will convene about 3000 high-ranking officials who include: close to 54 Heads of state and their spouses, over 50 senior government officials, heads of diplomatic missions, the private sector will see its service industry put to test as Rwanda aims to become a regional Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Events (MICE) destination.

The Sunday Times understands that as much as the government was "proud of the job-well done” by hotels during the recent World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF), some of the delegates complained of ‘would-be-avoidable’ shortcomings, such as hygiene related issues in some of the hotels.

Belise Kariza, chief tourism officer at Rwanda Development Board said in an interview that although Rwanda has proved to be a consistent top performer in various objective measures, including cleanliness, the world expects much from us.

"We therefore ask hotels to improve even much more, and offer neat services than they did during WEF, for the success of the AU summit, come July,” Kariza said.

But fresh from hosting the World Economic Africa last month, "Rwandans and Africans can surely believe that Rwanda will again come out on top”, Charles Muia, the Serena Hotels Country Manager said.

Muia also said that that Rwanda managed to "successfully” host Wef on Africa summit, with minimal errors and fewer hotels than it will have by July, therefore the addition of new hotels on the available chain of hotels in Kigali, "adds a huge contribution in hosting AU summit successfully.”

"It’s true, there were reports of some unavoidable issues of hygiene in some hotels, but those can be solved. Plus, the addition of new hotels offers an even appropriate encouragement,” Muia said.

The two additional luxurious five star hotels are; Marriot hotel with 254 rooms (including 24 Suites) and The Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre which also adds 292 rooms.

Valued at more than $300 million (about Rwf223 billion), Kigali Convention Centre—under the name "Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre, Kigali”—will comprise a conference hall that can host 2,500 people, several other meeting rooms, as well as an office park. The Centre is owned by Ultimate Concepts Limited (UCL), a joint venture co-owned by the Government of Rwanda through the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) and Prime Holdings Ltd as well as private investors, including Crystal Ventures Ltd and Rwanda Investment Group (RIG).

One of the world’s leading brands in hotel management, Radisson Blu, has an agreement to manage the hotel and has already advertised that it will open mid this year.

Marriot Hotel will officially be unveiled on July 1st, while Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre, Kigali will open on July 5.

Hoteliers, government officials and Rwanda Standards Board have been enclosed in a series of meetings, Muia says, adding that, "the aim is to check ourselves where we fell short during WEF meeting and improve on our services, in terms of hygiene, repairs and maintenance, customer care among other services we offer.

The meetings between hoteliers, organisers of the AU summit and regulatory body, are expected to continue through the course of coming weeks—as the involved parties iron out the missing links for the success of the AU summit, according to Kariza. 

Serena’s Muia, noted that, "since most of us did the WEF on Africa—the good thing is that the two events are close to each other—there is no problem, we will use some of the existing machinery that we had already acquired to service the AU summit.

He added, "Serena is ready; Marriot hotel and Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre, have come on board. Initially, the challenge would have been accommodation but right now that is not a challenge anymore. I think we will service AU summit in a much better way.” 

Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre, Kigali is expected to host the major sessions of the 27th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly, with other sessions expected to be held at the Kigali Exhibition and Conference village, Serena Hotel, Marriot Hotel, among other places. 

editorial@newtimes.co.rw