FROM the time she was a little girl answering the calls of drivers at the hotel, to the stage where she rose to the management positions at Sibaya Lodge – Ms. Zandile Myeni’s journey has been self-organized in the field due to her hard work.
Ms Myeni, who was recently promoted to the position of Assistant Front Office Manager of Sibaya Casino & Entertainment Kingdom, hails from Port Shepstone, on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
He revealed that his arrival at this stage of life is because he was raised by strong and law-abiding women, including his mother and grandmother, who helped him build a strong foundation to believe in the things he desires and likes.
His journey in the lodging business sector started a long time ago, encouraged by his mother who worked at the Wild Coast Sun Hotel, who would go with him to work when schools were closed for holidays, that made him quickly understand this job.
“I remember that I started by taking phone calls to play when someone was calling at the hotel, sometimes I didn’t even know it was the hotel manager calling. A few days passed, I was called to fill the vacancy of an employee who was not there, that was my first time – I felt that I really liked this job,” said Ms. Myeni.
Continuing, he said that when he started working at the hotel, he was still studying to be a teacher, which he thought would make him successful in life – but all that changed when he started working at the hotel in December 2012.
“The job I was doing made me become a company representative because it all started with me, I learned to read people’s minds, respond to their needs and help those who want it when they call the hotel or visit there,” he said.
One of the things that helped him the most was getting the opportunity to study with the help of a scholarship from this industry which helped him to study the International Diploma in Hospitality Management which he completed at the International Hotel School in 2021 and the National Diploma in the same field which he completed in 2022.
“Therefore, I am very happy with this opportunity that I got now because it is like the realization of my dream for years, and I am ready to face the challenges that will come with this job from now on,” said Ms. Myeni.