Major Tourist Stakeholder in Bamenda Receives New Boss!

- Mohammed Altaf Promises to Upgrade Blue Pearl to a Four Star Hotel

By Francis Ekongang Nzante.

One of the few structures in the Tourism Sector in the North West Region of Cameroon that successfully functioned and sailed through the tumultuous years of the Anglophone Crisis; the Blue Pearl Hotel Bamenda has just installed a new General Manager to take the mantle of power. The new General Manager, Mr. Mohammed Altaf of Indian Nationality who takes over from Mr. Kum Kebeh Moses was installed in a heavily attended handing over ceremony that took place on Saturday the 1st of April 2023 at the Blue Pearl Hotel Plaza at S-Bend, Nkwen.

Outgoing GM Kum Kebeh Moses hands bouquet of flowers to new GM Mohammed Altaf

Mr. Mohammed Altaf takes  the mantle of power at a hotel that successfully sailed through difficult times imposed by the crisis thanks to the strict and stringent Managerial majors put in place by the erstwhile General Manager Mr. Kum Kebeh Moses.

In a brush with the media during the handing over ceremony Mr. Kum Kebeh Moses threw some light on the hurdles he meandered through and the achievements he made at the hotel since 2018.

Hear him: “ I became General Manager of Blue Pearl Hotel Bamenda on the 28th of May 2018. l applied a practical system of revenue management in which room prices were flexible considering the difficult times due to the crisis. At times, a room which was normally meant to be given out at 15.000 FCFA was sometimes given out at 7000 FCFA. This was just to keep the doors of the hotel open. My system of marketing and building relationships with people also came in handy. As I speak to you at the moment, the hotel is stable. I didn’t intend to leave the hotel but one day, the proprietor told me that he would be coming up with an Indian to take over as the new manager. I said there was no problem. He appreciated me for a job well done and we talked it over backstage. I am satisfied with what I have done here. I feel fulfilled. When I look at the resources that were placed at my disposal and how these resources were put to use, I feel fulfilled.

When I came to this hotel I noted the absence of a swimming pool and proposed a swimming pool project to the proprietor. That’s one of the things I feel I should have realized before leaving. I call on our clients and even those who were personally attracted to the hotel because of their relationship with my person to continue using Blue Pearl Hotel. The new General Manager is indeed a wonderful personality.”

The outgoing General Manager wished Mr. Mohammed Altaf a fruitful stay at Blue Pearl Hotel.

Mr. Mohammed Altaf

Meantime Mr. Mohammed Altaf, the incoming General Manager is an old hand in the domain. He began his career in 2006. His career began at Hilton Hotel Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. He worked there for two years and was promoted within the ranks to the post of captain. He was later transferred to Kuwait in the same chain of hotels where he began as a captain. There, he worked for four years and was promoted to the rank of Supervisor and eventually became an Assistant Manager. He has also worked in many other hotels including Five Star Hotels and in different departments.

For the new General Manager of Blue Pearl Hotel, Africa in general and Cameroon in particular are a new experience.

Despite the cultural discrepancies between India and Cameroon, Mr. Mohammed Altaf insists that in his profession, differences in culture is not an issue. He stated unequivocally that all cultures are beautiful. “For the Indian, the best culture is the Indian Culture just like Arabs from the Middle East will certainly consider their culture to be the best. Same here, Cameroonians will certainly consider their culture to be the best.  There’s beauty in every culture. I am in Cameroon and I have to be happy with the culture of Cameroon. It is beautiful in it’s own way.”

Considering his future plans for the hotel he summarized his vision in the following words:

“Blue Pearl Hotel is a three star hotel but I plan to upgrade it to a Four Star Hotel. For that to be done, I need to work very hard and many things have to be changed.”

The new General Manager identified  problems related to furniture, plumbering amongst many other things that had to be revisited.  He classified the adjustments to be done in two categories. The first category referring to Internal Adjustments while the second is focused on External Adjustments.

“Immediately I am through with the Internal Adjustments, I will move straight to the External Adjustments. The main external project is the Swimming pool. It is a very important project and the proprietor personally told me to take the swimming pool project seriously.

I will begin with internal adjustments with an intention of attracting foreign customers. At the moment the hotel attracts mostly Cameroonian Customers. If I get foreign customers we will have more business here.

Erstwhile GM and New GM with other Executives of Blue Pearl Hotel Bamenda

Discounts can be arranged for customers who plan to stay for lengthy periods like a week or more.”

Mr. Mohammed Altaf also hinted at the possibility of introducing new dishes into the menu of the restaurant to include some international dishes. This he said falls in line with his intention to attract foreign clients.

……………….

 

 Savannah Herald

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“Savannah Herald” is a News Blog that focuses on News from the Savannah regions of Cameroon. While it’s main news comes from these regions, it’s not restricted to these areas.  News from this blog is also published in a printed monthly Newspaper called “Savannah Herald”. This Newspaper was first printed in Cameroon as “Noni Herald” but is now identified as Savannah Herald.

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