By Felix Matasva: In wake of the deadly coronavirus, many Chinese-owned businesses in Zimbabwe are bearing the brunt of stigmatization, with some potential clients shunning those businesses in fear of the contagious diseases which has killed over a thousand people in China.
One such business is Golden Peacock Villa Hotel which this week moved to allay fears of coronavirus being present at the place.
Speaking during a press conference which was held at the hotel on Tuesday February 11, Golden Peacock Hotel general manager Celia Woo said the false claims by its competitors were a marketing gimmick which was neither fair nor ethical.
“Because of the coronavirus, most of the Chinese business enterprises in Zimbabwe have been greatly affected. Our business operations have been on the low since many people no longer want to be associated with anything China-related.
“We understand the concerns of our clients but we reassure our clients that this is and has always been a perfect destination where their safety and needs are satisfied with utmost care and love.
“What we do not understand is why some of our competitors are taking advantage of this situation to slander us… it’s very unfortunate and unethical. I want to make it clear that this hotel is very safe and our clients have nothing to worry about,” said Woo.
She said she herself had never been to China for the past six months and their clients had nothing to fear when they see her and other Chinese staff.
“At the moment there are only two members of staff who are Chinese, myself included. We both have not been to China since the outbreak of the virus.
“We have not been receiving anything from China since the outbreak of the virus so we assure our clients that this is a safe environment as it has always been. Our competition should adhere to professional codes of ethics and not cause alarm and despondency among clients,” said Woo.
Golden Peacock Villa Hotel sales manager Mathew Takura said they were asking for travelling documents as a control measure to revoke bookings from the coronavirus affected countries.
Golden Peacock Villa Hotel has grown to be the largest hotel in Manicaland with regards to room and conference capacity since it opened its doors in June 2012.
The hotel can accommodate 1 000 people per day in their conference rooms and in terms of room occupancy it can accommodate around 230 people per night.
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