The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
ONE of Bulawayo’s rated hotels, Zaks Place risks closure as the facility is being sold for US$1.5 million, a development that might compromise the City’s hospitality industry.
The 2.5-star hotel facility is being sold by Ian and Company Real Estates on behalf of Fazak Home and Hyper which owns the facility. The real estate agency has already advertised the facility on its social media pages and websites.
“For Sale: US$1.5 million Zaks Place Hotel located in Bulawayo Central Business District, a stone’s throw away from the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair,” reads the post. A visit to the facility last week established that it was business as usual with the facility booking in guests. Staff at the facility referred all questions with regards to the sale of the hotel to Fazak Home and Hyper.
Efforts to get a comment from Fazak Home and Hyper were fruitless. However, sources close to the company confirmed that the facility is being sold though reasons for the selling are not known. Earlier this year, one of the country’s renowned hotels, Kingdom Hotel in Victoria Falls shut down ending a 56-year tourism history for one of the leading hotel operators. This came after the country’s largest hotel group, African Sun Limited (ASL) had in July last year announced the closure of the facility effective 5 January 2023. The group cited the lease tenure with property owner — First Capital Bank (FCB), saying it had hoped to secure at least a 10-year lease but the landlord was offering two years.
The hotel had been under the African Sun stable since 1966. Similarly, Zaks Place has been one of the key rated upmarket accommodation facility which accommodated visitors from all over the world over the past years of existence. It is one of the key facilities of interest for people coming for various events at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair due to its proximity to the exhibition centre.
The hotel offers 28 single rooms and six family rooms including modern fixtures and fittings, Restaurant accommodating 36 to 50 people. The sale of the facility comes at a time when the country is pushing for more properties through partnerships with the private sector as it targets a US$5 billion tourism industry by 2025.
