Thiofhi Zwelethu Mugwedi Ravele

Experience

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  HOLIDAY INN - PRETORIA

  Jan 2004 - Jul 2004

  Trainee Experiential Learning (Internship)
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  House of Pharaohs

  Jan 2005 - Jun 2005

  Third year Management Trainee Experiential Learning (Internship)

  Reservations for accommodations and conferences, invoicing, stock taking & ordering. Guest relations, switchboard, duty manager, conference or banquet coordinator.Cashing-up and drawing-up staff duty rosters.

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  COPACOPA LUXURY LODGE & CONFERENCE CENTRE

  Jan 2007 - May 2008

  General Manager

  Planning and designing the lodge. Managing the building process. Interior furnishing and decoration of the lodge. Training of stuff members and Implementation of thecompany’s rules and regulations. Ensure that the whole establishment is running smoothly, including the accounting, bookkeeping, purchasing, and housekeeping departments. Handled complaints from guests and also conflicts between the employees. Planning menus, setting prices, and ordering stock from various suppliers. Coordinating all lodge activities related to meetings with staff members and directors. Meeting with clients and planning a schedule for their functions. Observing and monitoring workers' performance to make sure that company rules and procedures were being followed. Collect payments and record money earned and spent. Receive and process advance payments. Interviewing and hiring staff. Assigning duties to workers and scheduling their shifts. Show less

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  Open Africa

  Jun 2008 - Sept 2013

  Managing and ensuring good governance to projects in which the organization is engaged.Recruiting, controlling, motivating and managing the staff employed in the operational division, presenting to the CEO for approval.Maintaining and constantly refining the systematized methods within the organization’s operational procedures.Compiling project briefs for fundraising purposes and checking proposals prior to submission to ensure that no unrealistic undertakings are made functionally, operationally or financially.Maintaining and reporting weekly on tracking systems regarding the status of individual projects.Recruiting and managing relationships with strategic allies and implementation partners. Checking and controlling the data and narrative inputs relating to the organizational website data collected during projects. Managing the organizations relationship with Tourism Forums / associations and participants on travel routes the companies network.Ensuring monitoring and evaluation on projects is maintained.Monitor individual route forums for lapses in progression and take the necessary steps to get them back on track (aftercare).Writing reports as to the operational information required in them.Play a leading role together with Marketing (which is responsible for the front end) and Business Development in ensuring that the company’s website maintains and preferably surpasses world class standards. Show less Developing feasibility studies, researching and writing situation analyses on the effective marketing of the different rural and marginalized areas where we develop routes. Establishing a route forum, tourism association collaborating with the associationConducting aftercare to all the routes that have been developed on the network of tourism routes. Includes connecting and communicating with local CTA, municipalities LED, provincial development framework, and the local tourism plan. Working closely with government officials in the municipality levels and provincially. Building good working relationships with all tourism structures in government, private sector and with different communities. Remaining in constant contact with large numbers of members of current and previous routes, dealing with queries, assisting with problem solving and continuing to encourage development.Drafting of local tourism plans for the different routes with the participating communities. Marketing the tourism routes, provincially, nationally and internationally. Website optimization, brand awareness, media coverage, and expos. Attending trade shows to market the routes.Collect and document success stories on the routes.Develop fundraising ideas and secure funding from corporate companies & government. Facilitate and monitor meetings and workshops. Facilitating capacity building and skills development workshops on the different tourism routes. Report writing to funding companies and to government departments. Facilitating journalist visits. Travelling to all the routes within the network and monitoring their progress. Working with marginalized communities in order to make their lives better through marketing their areas and businesses. Field work – collecting data and doing write-ups about individuals in the different communities, taking pictures of the area in order to market it properly and effectively Show less

  • Operations Manager

    Jul 2012 - Sept 2013

  • Tourism Route Developer and Networker

    Jun 2008 - Jul 2012
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  Fair Trade Tourism

  Sept 2013 - now

  Business Development Support Manager (BDS)
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  The Tourism Grading Council of South Africa

  Nov 2018 - now

  Accredited Grading Assessor -
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  The Anza Lifestyle Lodge

  Oct 2023 - now

  General Manager