#PointAndPose competition sponsor profile — an interview with Gopal Thakur, Chrismar Hotels
The Chrimar Hotel giveaways are pretty awesome! You can win a two night stay at Chrismar Hotel Livingstone or Chrismar Hotel Lusaka, depending on when you enter the competition.
- From the 26th of March to the 1st of April you could win a weekend stay at Chrismar Hotel Lusaka together with a year’s supply of Lynx juices.
- From April the 2nd to April the 8th you could win a two night stay at Chrismar Hotel Livingstone together with PR from Cutting Edge PR.
This interview with Gopal Thakur of Chrismar Hotel gives you an opportunity to get to know more about the Chrismar Hotels. And you can connect with both hotels via Facebook: Chrismar Hotel Livingstone and Chrismar Hotel Lusaka.
Take part in the #PointAndPose competition to win a two night stay in Chrismar Hotel Livingstone or Lusaka!
How did you hear about the Best of Zambia competition and what were your thoughts about it?Gilbert Nsamba who we deal with at the Best of Zambia told us about it.
Why did you decide to become a sponsor for the Best of Zambia competition?It is a good marketing opportunity. We feel it can increase brand awareness at a time when general hotel occupancy is low.
Tell us what kind of experience winners will enjoy at your two hotels?We are sponsoring two prizes. Each winner will get a two night weekend stay that includes bed and breakfast. One prize is at Chrismar Hotel Lusaka and the other at Chrismar Hotel Livingstone.
What is the difference between the Chrismar Hotel in Lusaka and Chrismar Hotel in Livingstone?The Livingstone hotel is a bigger hotel — 59 rooms compared to 47 rooms in the Lusaka hotel. The Livingstone hotel has two swimming pools which are a key feature of the design of the overall hotel layout, compared to one pool in Lusaka. Speaking of design, the Livingstone hotel style is more in keeping with the easy going holiday atmosphere of Livingstone, whereas the Lusaka hotel is designed more like a city hotel, catering to the travelling business person or connecting holiday traveler. Finally, the Lusaka hotel gym is bigger and better equipped than the Livingstone gym and memberships are available at the Lusaka hotel gym.
What sets Chrismar Hotel apart from other hotel destinations in Zambia?We are proud that we are a wholly Zambian owned hotel. Together with the fact that we have two hotels to our name, this means quick access to key decision makers. And that means we can be significantly more flexible in terms of booking rates. We are willing to talk to our customers and build packages around their specific requirements and budgets. At the Livingstone hotel, activity packages can be built in to the overall Livingstone hotel stay and experience.
Have you ever had a difficult experience with a guest visiting your hotels and how did you handle it?In the hospitality industry this happens quite often! But our job is to deal with customers concerns. I can think of two specific examples. In the Livingstone hotel we have had a customer complain about too many mosquitoes. This is a natural occurance so there isn’t much we can do about it! But we did give advice on how to best deal with mosquitoes. In the Lusaka hotel a customer complained that the iSpot internet was not working. This was due to iConnect technical issues out of our control. But we were able to provide the customer with an MTN router.
Share your most memorable positive experience of a guest at your hotel?Handling large corporate events for NGOs such as UN agencies has been especially exciting and rewarding. Especially when upon check-out those customers reported how happy they were with our service, resulting in repeat bookings shortly after.
Chrismar Hotel Lusaka and Livingstone are members of The Best of Zambia website. Why did you join thebestofzambia.com and what has your experience with us been like?Our membership on thebestofzambia.com has given us a better online presence and numerous bookings have come through for both hotels.
What are your plans for the hotels in the next few years?49 new rooms are under construction in Livingstone and will be finished within the year. This will nearly double the capacity of the Livingstone hotel taking it up to 108 rooms.
Connect with each hotel on FacebookChrismar Hotel LusakaChrismar Hotel Livingstone
Take part in the #PointAndPose competition to win a two night stay in Chrismar Hotel Livingstone or Lusaka!
The #PointAndPose Competition brings you four fantastic weekly giveaways thanks to the following Best of Zambia members and sponsors: