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Serena Hotels certified for international hygiene standards

Written by Sam Ruburika

Saturday, 23 May 2009

Serena Kigali scored 88%, whereas Serena Kivu received 89%. This makes Serena the first Rwandan hotel to acquire international hygiene standards which according to Mugo Maringa, the country manager of Serena hotels, will boost tourism in Rwanda.

Serena country manager Mugo Maringa receives the hygiene standards certificate. (courtesy photo)

“We hope that with this certificate, our competitors will follow suit as it is one way of gaining the confidence of tourists,” Maringa said.
Serena Hotels, as a partner of SGS, began undergoing the rigorous hygiene standards when it commenced its operations in Rwanda in 2007.
According to Ronald Watsiera, who carried out inspection at both hotels, every detail has to be checked before the hygiene certificate is issued. He pointed out that inspection begins from where the hotel receives and stores food to see whether this conforms to international standards.
One of the most important areas is the kitchen, where one of the inspectors’ main tasks is to examine the food on the presence of bacteria. This is done through laboratory testing of food samples and utensils, and also looking at aspects such as cooking temperatures.
Watsiera indicated that SGS also looks at other hospitality aspects such as housekeeping as well as customer service. “Basically we inspect every aspect that might be of concern to the customers, right from whether the waiters get the orders right to whether rooms are properly cleaned before guests move in,” Watsiera explained.
Yet the certificate, which is valid until 2012, is not the end of the line. The hotels will now be subjected to a quarterly inspection and if hygiene standards drop below 75%, the certificate will be suspended. Furthermore, the presence of bacteria in food samples will automatically lead to suspension, regardless of the marks obtained.
“Getting at the top is easy, but remaining there will be a challenge,” Watsiera warned.
Asked what caused Serena to lose some points, Ronald Watsiera indicated that there is always room for improvement in the hospitality sector.
“There are areas where the hotel performs well all the time, while in others the results are good during one inspection and less well during the next; so constant improvement is needed,” the inspector said.
To achieve the positive results, Serena—as a partner of SGS—has acquired some drills on how to maintain hygiene standards from the company. The hotel also has its own training program for the staff especially in containing bacteria and other general hygiene processes.
Frank Murangwa, a tourism inspector in charge of infrastructure at the department of tourism and conservation at the Rwanda Development Board highlighted the importance of having international hygiene standards. He pointed out that once the classification of hotels begins hygiene standards will be one of the main aspects considered.

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