6 minute read
Q & A CORNER : Kruger Gate Hotel
1. Describe the unique features or attractions that make your hotel stand out from competitors in the region.
The first aspect of the hotel that makes us stand out from others in the park is our ideal location on the banks of the Sabie River and right at the Paul Kruger Gate, which provides our guests with effortless access to the property. At Kruger Gate Hotel we provide guests with exceptional Kruger safari experiences in our open-air safari vehicles. Our safari guides are incredibly knowledgeable and are passionate about the park’s wildlife. We have guides whose careers have spanned nearly 20 years in the bush, so our guests truly are in excellent hands.
Kruger Gate Hotel has a range of guest room options to suit differing needs and preferences. Our family rooms with two king beds, as well as interleading rooms, make for the perfect family or group stay. The hotel also features the Kruger Luxury Rooms, Kruger Suite, Kruger Deluxe King and Twin, as well as our Kruger Self-Catering Chalets. We’re also able to offer a luxury experience to families and executives in our spacious Nkanyi Suite, which has a private pool and a kitchen, with the option of private dining served by a designated butler.
Our Pool Bar and Viewing Deck is definitely a favoured attraction in the hotel. This is an area where our guests are able to unwind, relax with a drink, cool off from the heat and just marvel at the uninterrupted views of the park. Those who are lucky might even see some of the park’s wildlife - our guests have spotted elephants, hippos and leopards right from the pool.
Surrounded by wilderness and the soothing sounds of nature, our African-inspired spa offers guests an array of treatment options. Our guests can go from the thrill and excitement of a safari straight into spa treatments that will leave them feeling renewed and rejuvenated.
Lastly, Kruger Gate Hotel features four event rooms with a capacity to host 255 people. Whether our guests are planning corporate getaways, or a business meeting in the bush we are able to comfortably accommodate these events.
2. Are there any recent initiatives or projects that your hotel has undertaken to support local communities or businesses?
Kruger Gate Hotel worked closely and exclusively with local developers, builders and service providers from the Lowveld region to complete the recent refurbishment of our Kudyela Restaurant.
We are exceptionally pleased to have had great local partners in developing its new look and feel.
Furthermore, we partner with Relate which is a 100% not-for-profit social enterprise founded with the vision to help the less fortunate create better lives for themselves. Relate bracelets create work and provide income to hundreds of elderly and vulnerable women in the townships who participate in the Ikamva Labantu senior club programmes. This helps them to support their families and children in their communities. The bracelets sold on our property help to raise funds for our local community in Skukuza.
3. How does your hotel enhance sustainability practices in its operations to minimize its environmental impact?
We have various sustainability practices that we have implemented at the hotel.
All water used at Kruger Gate Hotel is pumped from the river and purified. We use a chemical to enhance flocculation and then filter the water before we add Sodium Hypochlorite. The hotel has eliminated plastic bottles by purifying drinking water through a Vivreau reverse osmosis system. All grey water from the hotel is treated and put back into the river. All wet waste from our kitchens, such as the peels and offcuts from the preparation of food, gets recycled through a local community pig farm. In an effort to save electricity we changed all air-conditioners to inverters, changed all lights to LED’s and individual geysers to central systems using heat pumps. Lastly, two thirds of the property is zoned for conservation.
4. What steps does your hotel take to ensure exceptional guest service and satisfaction?
We treat every guest as a VIP. We acknowledge that a bush getaway is a luxury for most and we are privileged that they choose to stay with us when they visit the Kruger National Park. Our staff and management wear the same uniform, allowing them all to be at hand to our guests to assist them.
We monitor our independent guest feedback platform religiously and look for trends and outliers in an effort to ensure we are delivering our best service, and we celebrate great reviews across the board.
5. Please share any upcoming plans or developments for your hotel in terms of growth and expansion in the tourism industry.
Whilst tourism numbers are growing, the cost to operate hotels of this size is increasing at an alarming rate. The property requires continuous upkeep to meet and exceed guest expectations. Our hotel is a mini town with its own water plant, full backup generator and its own road infrastructure.
Hotels exposed to the outdoors need constant maintenance and as such we have a detailed maintenance plan throughout the year.
In time, we would love to be able to offer the local market a unique offering in terms of self-catering houses with access to our full hotel.
6. What notable achievements or recognition has your hotel received recently?
The most important achievement of our success is when we get to welcome back guests returning to Kruger Gate Hotel - there is no greater yardstick by which we can measure our service and facilities.
We are proud of our high guest satisfaction scores - a 4.5 (out of 5) rating on Google reviews, a 4.5-star rating (out of 5 stars) on TripAdvisor and an 8.9 (out of 10) rating on Booking.comand thousands of positive online reviews detailing our guests’ experiences reflect this.
7. In your opinion, what are some untapped opportunities or potential areas of growth for the local tourism industry as a whole?
Naturally our preferred option is to book directly with us to benefit from the best rates. We are also fortunate enough to enjoy great relationships with the third-party channels like OTA’s and tour operators who have great offerings.
“We treat every guest as a VIP. We acknowledge that a bush getaway is a luxury for most and we are privileged that they choose to stay with us when they visit the Kruger National Park.”
