In 2018, Rejoice Siaga-Mamphitha withdrew her life savings and investments to follow her passion by opening a luxury hotel in Thohoyandou, but reaching her goal was more difficult than she expected. She founded Rensia Palace and Spa after realising there was a gap in the market for leisure accommodation in Limpopo.
After working for 21 years in human resources, she finally decided to venture into hospitality.
"I had travelled a lot for work and I realised there wasn’t a place that offered people everything they needed, that could accommodate people travelling for leisure and even business. I had a passion to open a luxury ‘palace’ to offer people the best."
She said her entrepreneurial skills developed when she was a child, as her mother would work at a farm and occasionally send her off to sell spinach to the neighbours.
"At the time I didn’t understand but that experience built something in me, it taught me a skill I would later apply in life, which is business."
Rensia Palace and Spa is a 20-room establishment, equipped with conferencing facilities and a wellness spa. It also has an exclusive cigar lounge and a rooftop bar.
Siaga-Mamphitha says it is conveniently located on the main road to Kruger National Park, about 50km from the Punda Maria Gate.
"We have executive rooms, duplexes and renview [Rensia view] vintage rooms mimicking my childhood home. The floor is not tiled, and we use a similar model of steel bed frames that remind me of the bed we had when I was a child. These have become our most popular rooms," she said.
Siaga-Mamphitha bought more than 5,000m² of land where she had decided to locate the hotel. After successfully completing the building, things came to a halt due to the Covid pandemic.
By this time she had left her job in the corporate sector and started working as a consultant, but lockdown restrictions made even this work impossible. "I had no income, and I would sometimes regret investing all my savings into this project. Keeping that in mind, I had to ensure that I didn’t give up and my plan worked out," she said.
After months of no income and an empty hotel, Siaga-Mamphitha said she decided to open an outdoor restaurant on the property towards the end of 2020, taking advantage of the eased lockdown regulations.
"We started selling cannabis-infused cocktails, and they sold like hot cakes. We had a lot of customers come to the restaurant to experience the place and enjoy the cocktails."
She said while the restaurant was making money, there was only enough to pay employees and invest back into the business. She could not afford to furnish the hotel as she had run out of funds.
After encountering multiple problems, she applied for funding at the National Empowerment Fund (NEF). While waiting two years to get the funds, she continued to operate the restaurant. In February 2024, she received more than R6m from the NEF.
The Limpopo-born entrepreneur finally saw her dream come to fruition in September, after six years of challenges.
"I put everything else on hold, I wanted to make sure that things went smoothly, and we officially opened the place in September," she said.
Today, the hotel employs 20 people permanently, with Siaga-Mamphitha looking to hire 15 more for the upcoming travel season.
It caters to guests travelling mainly for leisure and has offered its services for business events hosted by institutions such as the University of Venda.
It employs locals and sources its fruit and vegetables from local producers.
"Limpopo is known for its fresh fruit and vegetables, so we ensure that we display that for our guests and keep the roots of where we come from alive."
Looking at the future of the business, Siaga-Mamphitha said the goal was to expand Rensia Palace and Spa’s offering to attract more local guests. Her long-term goal is to franchise the establishment.
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