Thursday, February 13, 2025

Jwaneng Cresta Hotel closed

Hospitality group – Cresta Marakanelo has confirmed the temporary closure of its Jwaneng Hotel due to a Covid 19 cases.

“Cresta Marakanelo Limited advises its stakeholders of confirmed COVID-19 cases amongst some staff members at Cresta Jwaneng Hotel”, reads part of the statement circulated within the capital markets on Friday.

Accordingly, Cresta says it is taking all precautionary measures to protect its staff and guests. The BSE quoted group said that the concerned staff members have been quarantined under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW) as per the health regulations.

“MoHW is conducting contact tracing and is expected to complete the exercise in the coming days. Subsequent to the safe relocation of the affected parties, MOHW has advised that Cresta Jwaneng Hotel can continue with its normal operations”.

Cresta says in an abundance of caution, it has taken the decision to close Cresta Jwaneng Hotel with immediate effect, while the rest of the staff members will be under self-isolation until they are medically cleared. The group has since engaged a disinfection agency recommended by the District Health Management Team to deep clean and fumigate the entire property.

The closure of the Jwaneng Hotel comes at tome when the Covid-19 outbreak earlier this year has drubbed the leisure focused operator, registering a loss for the six months ended June 2020.

The group which operates in a chain of hotels in Botswana and Zimbabwe reported a 50 percent decline in revenue, falling from June 2019’s P187 million to P93 million in June 2020.

Gross profit fell by 80 percent to P12.6 million, with the reduction largely due payment of salaries and other expenses while operations were closed or curtailed during national lockdown that ran from April to late May. Expenses reduced slightly to P43.8 million, thanks to a P3.2 million in wage subsidy provided by the government, helping Cresta to reduce its operating expenses.

Meanwhile It is anticipated that the Jwaneng Hotel will re-open on Monday 26th October 2020.

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