Guest house | How Thembi Moyo is reaching for her guest house dreams

By the Newsletter team

It’s hard not to be inspired by Thembi Moyo’s story. The 48-year-old Zimbabwean fled her country when the situation became dire some years ago and became an asylum seeker in South Africa. She works two jobs to support her family, as a general office admin during the week and as a house cleaner on Saturdays. Despite her unfortunate circumstances, she still has the drive to dream big: Thembi wants to own and run her own guest house. And she’s making it happen.

Finding the perfect guest house course
Thembi found out about the GetSmarter UCT Guest House Management course last year. She wanted to sign up immediately, but the course fees were outside of her financial means. Proud and resourceful as Thembi is, she didn’t mention her tight money situation to the company or ask for a discount or hand-out. Undaunted by the obstacle, Thembi posted an appeal on the local website Gumtree, asking for sponsorship. When GetSmarter came across her posting by chance and saw her passion and ambition shining through, the company was touched by her story and felt compelled to help Thembi out. GetSmarter offered to let her attend the course for free. “I cannot find words to express my gratitude,” Thembi wrote in reply.


Impressions
Thembi’s impression of the course has been immensely positive. “I am amazed at the scope that the course covers.  Most of the questions I used to ask myself have been answered.” She adds that she has learned that nothing should be taken for granted in the complex world of guest house management. “I would need to make informed decisions to protect my guests, staff and my investment.”

The ideal guest house
Thembi goes into great detail when describing her ideal guest house: it should be located in a quiet suburb of Johannesburg, with brick-finished walls and grass-green cottage windows. Inside, the rooms are filled with serene blue and green furnishings (with a touch of florals) and plain, light linens. Dinners are served in the elegant dining room, or on the patio in summer when the well-maintained garden is blooming, and using the finest white crockery and stainless steel cutlery. It’s especially important that the guest house caters to people of all ages and ethnicities, and to the disabled.

The guest house goal
Thembi says of herself that she is driven by accomplishments, big or small. For her, achieving her goal of owning a guest house is one of the big ones. She feels fulfilled when she can play hostess to people of all cultures, religions and nationalities. When Thembi writes about her dream, there is no doubt that she is deeply passionate about “fulfilling the desire of my heart” and becoming a guest house owner. And she’s incredibly generous, too: a large part of her dream is to make a difference in other people’s lives by creating employment. She also wants to spread the knowledge and suggests she could make her own franchise of the UCT Guest House Management course in her home country, Zimbabwe. Hopefully, with a little help from GetSmarter, she’ll be able to fulfil her lifelong goal and retire to her charming red-rick guest house in the suburbs.


To fulfil your own dreams of joining the hospitality industry, click here to find out more about the GetSmarter UCT Guest House Management course.

Back to SmartyPants Newsletter - May 2010 Edition