Women in Kanye have stepped up to the plate to lead the suddenly burgeoning tourism and hospitality business, and they seem to have steeled themselves for the harsh competition that the industry is known for.
Of the five hospitality establishments currently operating in the village, three are owned and run by women. The three include the industry’s old horse and pacesetter, Matshediso Hansen and the novice Pelotshweu Makole and Mme Tshoganetso.
Hansen runs the village’s oldest hospitality enterprise, Motse Lodge, which opened for business as far back as 2001. Makole and Mme Tshoganetso runs Savannah Lodge and Fairy Tale Guest house respectively. Savannah Lodge opened for business in 2010, followed by Fairy Tale guest house the following year. Both Savannah and Fairy Tale are situated in the centre of the village where social, business and government services are concentrated.
Savannah Lodge entered the market with six rooms and five employees. But the proprietor never doubted the enterprise’s prospects for growth. In fact she is already rubbing her hands gleefully and watching as her enterprise registers good growth. Her response has been to add another facility in the business ÔÇô a conference centre.
The move was motivated by the glaring opportunity; of the five hospitality enterprises operating in the village, only one of them offered a conference facility with a capacity of 50 people. It is expected that the Savannah lodge conference facility would have opened for business by the end of the year.
“Besides strengthening our competitive position, we have no doubt that our role of creating more jobs for members of our society will equally be enhanced, given that the operation of the conference facility will demand that more employees be brought in,” noted the proprietor. Once operational, it is expected that both local and central governments will consider hosting some of their conferences, seminars and workshops in Kanye and subsequently inject tremendous business value to the village economy.
While Makole is hard at work expanding her enterprise, there is no such hurry at the seven-roomed Fairy-Tale establishment. It is by design. To some people, this may strike as startling. Not to Mme Tshoganetso. “Look at me, I am a pensioner and, so is my husband. Neither of us has the energy to grapple with a highly demanding business such as this one,” she said in explaining her decision. In part, she attributes her decision to having explored her entrepreneurial calling very late.
For all the time, she was held hostage by fear of the future once she quit her job. Everytime she thought of leaving her then regular income guaranteeing job at the now defunct RIIC in the village, Mme Tshoganetso would fight hard to forget about her entrepreneurial desire.
“I must as well tell you that my husband has made it very clear that although he will not stop giving me support, I should not expect him to be hands on in the enterprise, saying he wants to enjoy his retirement life,” said Mme Tshoganetso as a matter of further elucidating her “conscious” decision not to plan for any expansion.
“It is owing to this that I am going to run Fairy-Tale as the small operation that it is today. I don’t want to over-burden myself to a point where provision of quality service could be a daunting task for me and eventually be compromised,” she said. For her, the focus is on improving their standard. “My interest lies only in constantly adding one star after another until we become a five star establishment,” she said.
“I want Fairy Tale to consistently keep giving our clients enhanced unrivalled above standard service,” she added. Any physical expansion that the business may undergo can only be expected after she has passed its ownership to new entrepreneurs by way of selling, according to her. The next owners could either be her children or any interested investor.
At Motse Lodge, the story is quite different. As an hand in the industry, Hansen has welcomed the arrival of new players with open arms, hailing them as vital to the development of the village economy. She described the level of competition they are bringing into the market as desired and a blessing in disguise for her enterprise.
It is now becoming clear to all that Hansen’s decision to set up Motse Lodge in the outskirts of Kanye was not a rash one but rather a matter of following her carefully conceptualized commercial concept premised on a well spelled out vision.
That vision included the selection of the spot to set up the enterprise. It had to be a place not only in the vicinity of areas with notable historical tales but also equally rich in tourism sites, including the famous Mmakgodumo dam, which was built many years back by a regiment selected and instructed by the then BaNgwaketse Chief, Bathoeng II. The dam is within a distance that Jamaican Olympics hero, Usain Bolt may cover in less than a minute.
The lodge is also close to the historical Pharing Gorge, where, sadly, legend has it that people who were accused of practicing witchcraft in years gone by were thrown into it and left to be devoured by wild animals and snakes. There is too, in the vicinity of the lodge, Kanye bird sanctuary. It is in fact just an onion smell away.
When Motse Lodge opened for business in 2001, there was no competition. What used to be Marapalalo hotel had already become a historical monumental structure. Today, the market has changed. Competition has become apparent. In the past four years, Kanye has welcomed four more lodges and guest houses. But all these developments have not caused Hansen any panic.
“Once you set up a business that is premised on clearly spelled out concept and with attainable vision, you will know when to reinvigorate for purposes of remaining competitive and relevant to the market,” explained Hansen in her usual trademark calm yet authoritative voice. In reaction to the new level of competition, Hansen and her executive management team have diversified their product range, even setting up a camp site in a plot adjacent to the lodge. Named Wena Tented Camp, it offers accommodation in six well set self-contained tents.
The camp has its own reception office, a bar and parking space. The tents are complete with ablution amenities and a magnificently constructed out-door entertainment stage that comes in a horse-shoe shape. It is where varied activities of merriment are held. For clients who prefer to bring own tents to pitch up and spend a good night in, a bring-your- own site has been set aside, with own out-door ablution.
“With these facilities,” explained Hansen while pointing to their six well secured tents, “we have kick-started our mission of diversifying products and services to keep our old beloved clients and attract new ones.” Hansen submits that they do not want Motse Lodge to lose its status of being seen as an industry reference point of how to run a hospitality business.
Wena Tented camp tents, which stand out as a mark of excellence in product diversification, are strategically positioned to face a small hill that is home to a lot of sights and sounds of nature. In fact one would be forgiven if, after being exposed to the tented area, suddenly goes into the world of imagination, picturing themselves waking up from one of the tents, rays of a morning sun beaming on them while enjoying some nonchalant singing of birds as well as fresh air.
It need be said that hospitality business in Kanye is so good that all the five establishments are currently undergoing expansion. The other two enterprises, namely Warm Hands Guest House and Sampi lodge, are owned by men. The immaculately built ten roomed Warm Hands is owned by an elderly astute businessman and father, Prince Mosanana.
The good business that it is steadily enjoying has caused Mr Mosanana to expand the enterprise. He is currently building the second establishment on the other end of Kanye, which will be called Warm Hands2. “Building Warm Hands 2 was a matter of reacting to the market demands,” said Mosanana in an interview. The picture he gives of Warm Hands 2 suggests that it will, just like Warm Hands 1, exude an irresistible appeal, even right from the outside looks.
Warm Hands 1 is characterized by a paved ground, a wall that encloses the building, perhaps for the purpose of shielding residents from the outside world and securing them their deserved privacy. The inside of each of the Warm Hands1’s 10 rooms is so enchanting that one could feel some touch of warm hands in the air. In fact, the feeling is so strong that you may want to hug it!
