The newly refurbished hotel on the banks of the Sabie River in Mpumalanga offers an affordable luxury getaway. Situated only 100 metres from the Paul Kruger Gate of the Kruger National Park, the luxurious Protea Hotel Kruger Gate allows guests to experience wildlife first-hand, including rhino whose numbers are increasingly threatened by poaching.
Protea Hospitality Group marketing manager Nicholas Barenblatt says the hotel's proximity to these magnificent animals prompted the staff's desire to contribute to their conservation.
"All the money they raise will be given to the Endangered Wildlife Trust, which has various programmes that support rhino conservation. Among their projects are a five-day law enforcement training course, a rhino orphan response project, providing logistical and financial support for various provincial rhino conservation efforts, running awareness campaigns in rhino horn demand countries such as Vietnam, and the training and deployment of sniffer dogs to locate rhino horn and track poachers.
"One of the main reasons we decided to work with the EWT is because of their broad-based approach to ensuring the survival of the rhino species so that our children and their children in turn can one day see a live rhino, rather than just hear about these magnificent creatures that used to roam the African bush."
Barenblatt says besides the accommodation spend donation, the hotel will also be selling a number of novelty items to raise additional funds, such as shirts and caps. The hotel has also formulated an educational programme around rhino conservation which is communicated to guests and children through various activities within the hotel experience.
"We are privileged to have a hotel in such an incredible location and as a company the Protea Hospitality Group feels compelled to lead the battle against rhino poaching.
"The hotel is extremely popular and this money and energy that is being put into raising the funds and awareness will make a difference. Our guests are the heroes of the day as just by them staying at the hotel whether it be on leisure or for a conference is helping us support this campaign," concludes Barenblatt.
For more information, go to www.proteahotels.com or www.ewt.org.za.
