Joy Moore — Ramkiki Venue and conferencing

And it is what's involved once again. And special guest tonight, as you know, we love special guests. This organization and this special guest is especially important. Why? Well, first and foremost, let me say welcome to you, Joy Muir, who is the GM at Ram Kiki. Hello, Joy. - Good evening, David. How are you? - I am well, thank you. It's so great to chat to you. The reason that it's so important is at the moment, Ram Kiki Country Estate and Ram Kiki itself are very proud sponsors of what's involved. So it's great to have you guys on board. I've been wanting to chat to you a bit about what you guys do, because I know you're very, very involved in the community and in offering people great prices, you're conferencing, all of those things. So I wanted to talk all about that. But before we do that, Joy, tell me a little bit about who Joy is and how did you end up at Ram Kiki? - Well, David, I used to do this a long time ago, and I was scooping places near me where I used to live to go back into this industry, and I came across Ram Kiki. I sent my email, nobody got back to me, and I walked in here, and the boss was at the front desk, and he gave me my CV, and then the next day I got a phone call for the meeting, the interview, and that's how I landed up here, and I've loved every moment since.

- Wonderful stuff, 'cause you know, they say that once the sort of hospitality industry is in your blood, you can try and leave it, but you never will forever. - No, definitely not. - And I mean, let's be honest. I could think of worse places to work. Ram Kiki is absolutely stunning. I've been there a number of times, and every time you walk into Ram Kiki, it's like, "Ah, okay," because even though essentially we're in a built up urban area, or suburban area rather, it's got this whole country vibe, and it's so relaxed and laid back. It's absolutely wonderful. So Joy, you've been there for a while now, and I know obviously COVID and the COVID times have impacted everybody. Ram Kiki was no exception there, but part of the deal that you guys have put together, hence you being sponsors of the show as well, is you wanna give back. You wanna give back to everybody that's been loyal to Ram Kiki over so many years, and you wanna go, okay, we're getting back to some semblance of normality now. This is our new normal, and Ram Kiki would like to help out. So let's start at the very beginning with Ram Kiki. What does Ram Kiki offer? - Okay, David, we offer conferences, and we offer weddings. We have weddings here, birthdays, you name it.

Like you said, it's a breath of fresh air. It's a very big place. And from baby showers to rooms, we've got over 26 guest rooms here. And our conferences are quite a big thing because people are looking to have a place like that. - Okay, so a couple of things. Now let's talk about the stuff that sort of impressed me from the moment I walked into Ram Kiki. The first thing is, as I said, is that space. You've got a wonderful river running through the property. But one of the first things you notice is you notice that as you walk into the right-hand side, there's this building, and it's got a bar, and it's got a pool, and it's absolutely wonderful. And I've actually, we in fact, had one of our mix FM Christmas functions there. And it was spectacular. Is that something that you would rent out? For example, somebody wants to have a 50th birthday, they could then rent out that little area. - Yes, we do do that. Sometimes from the weddings at the chapel, they go to the pool bar. We just had a big function there last weekend where people come, it was a seven tears, and they have the party, we put up the fires coming winter. I don't turn anybody away from that place because we've got the fires, we've got the heaters and the lighting.

And to add to that, we built on a cigar lounge at the bottom, which will be opening soon, and when it gets a little bit cold, they can go down there and have like a little private drink and then go back up and enjoy. - When did you put a cigar lounge in there? That must have been fairly recent. - Well, no, that we finished January, around January, and we're just still trying to get the minty goodies up and running in there. So hopefully that will be in the next two weeks. - Fantastic, so you can go there and enjoy a lovely warming glass of that cognac, and you say cigars, are you gonna be offering a range of cigars as well? - Yes, and your whiskies and all of that. That's what I'm looking into right now regarding the cigars. So, and then people can come down there and sit down and have a cigar, these are nice TV, they can watch these sports while they have a cigar and a nice whiskey. - Oh, and it sounds like the kind of place I need to come and hang out at. All right, so I mean, that part of it is stunning. And just a little bit of the history of Remkiki, it was originally a farmhouse, wasn't it? - Yes, it was a farmhouse with a kitchen. From the farmhouse, the owners built the main building.

With the main building, they built the chapel and the pool bar. Now we've just added on 14 new rooms and then the cigar lounge. So with the farmhouse, a beautiful clothes, if you want a romantic dinner or you want to be in a closure, the farmhouse is the place to be. - Now talking about food, because you guys do exceptionally well in terms of your quality of your food and your presentation. I've eaten there a couple of times, never been disappointed. But one thing that Remkiki was famous for, and I'm assuming you're still famous for that, but we do need to find out what with the COVID and regulations and everything, is your Sunday buffet. That used to be like a highlight for people. What's happening there? - Okay, that stopped, but we opened it again. We started it last week, Sunday, very COVID friendly. And it hit off like you won't believe. We used to do, because of the COVID and we stopped the buffet, we did a plated Sunday lunch. We now gone back to the buffet and it's at 189 rand per person, 110 rand pensioners.

It is, we're doing a whole big selection every Sunday. David, it changes the menu. And let me tell you people, the compliments that we got last Sunday, just put us on the five star rating. - Wonderful stuff.

Just due to, 'cause I remember the old days of it. So you've got all of the basics there. You can have your starters, you can have salads, various main courses. The most important being the roasts. Are the roasts still around? - Yes, our roast lamb, our chicken, our beef. We've got all your selections of your salads, all the selections of the meat, your desserts. The desserts are like your Malva pudding with pouring cream. The veggies is your roast potatoes, your cream spinach. So the selection is quite big. And for the price, I think it is a very good selection. - Absolutely, and I mean, that was an institution. And I always do this. I always talk about food when I am nowhere near food and not able to get any in a hurry. So let's move along. When we come back, we'll continue to chat to Joy about Ram Kiki and what they have to offer. This is what's involved. Great to have you along with us. And we're back with my special guest, Joy Muir. She's the GM at Ram Kiki. Joy, just for clarity, because we always just call it Ram Kiki. I mean, that's what it's known for, but is it Ram Kiki country estate? Is that the full name for it? - It would be Ram Kiki restaurant. I'm sorry, Ram Kiki country restaurant and conference center.

- Ah, you see, I knew I would get it right eventually. Now, so we've talked food and I mean, you guys are open. So if I'd like to sort of book a sort of, I don't know, maybe a romantic night or a romantic weekend getaway, I can do that. Restaurant is open all the time. So I could book in there and we could get pampered for the weekend. - Oh yes, of course. I'll give you a luxury room that includes a breakfast, a full English breakfast. If it's a romantic night, we do a nice table. Whoever's booking and they say we want it from our spouse or my girlfriend or my boyfriend, husband, we do the table very romantic. We also on top of that, if it's a special occasion, I do give a free bubbly on the house as part of Ram Kiki towards the guests. And then we open seven days a week, Monday to Sunday, depending on what you would like or which room you would like. If you want it very romantic, we do do flowers in the rooms, put your like petals on the bed and make sure you have a night that you will not forget. - Wonderful, and it's that that I think is important is the attention to detail at Ram Kiki and just that personalized service. One thing I can recommend just by the way, if you're popping by there at any stage and you want to go in for lunch, the fish and chips is literally to leave home for.

It's one of those pub grub things that I really, really enjoy. And the last time we visited was absolutely fantastic. So now we've covered the romantic getaways. You can just make bookings and go to the restaurant as well. Joy, a while ago- - Don't forget our pizzas, our homemade pizzas. - Ooh, yes, yes, the pizzas, the pizzas. I know some people that only go there for your pizzas. So that's also very good. But a while ago, you guys were doing sort of concerts, et cetera, et cetera, entertainment. Obviously that's all being curtailed. Are you still looking at that though? You know, going forward, would you be able to, are you planning on something like that depending on restrictions, et cetera? - Yes, we have got quite a few people coming to see me regarding that. And we are going to go ahead with that, doing the concerts and that. But one thing I do have every Sunday, we do have a band, it alternates every Sunday till the end of the year. So I do have a band come to play for a Sunday lunch, these five different bands, which is also nice for entertainment. - Hmm, and the nice thing there is, I mean, you've got, it's such a big place. So, you know, Sunday lunch is not something where you just go there, sit down, eat lunch and leave.

I mean, you can really make an afternoon of it. I think if I arrived there on a Sunday, you'd actually have to get me out to the crowbar at the end of the day. But anyway, so you do that, we've got the restaurants, we've got the romantic. - Play area. - Play area, yes, kid friendly, talk to me about that. - Oh, okay, we've got a nice jumping castle. It is a very nice big play area where you've got the loper. Parents can come and sit there while the kids play. We've also got the loper where you can sit inside and still watch your kids. Little motorbikes, and then sometimes what I do do, I bring in a magician, and the kids absolutely love that. And that play area, usually on a weekend with families, is very, very popular. While the parents are enjoying, the kids are enjoying as well. - Here's something that I haven't shared on radio before, and I'm gonna share it now because you brought it up. When I used to live in Nelsprite, and we had an event business in Nelsprite, I actually was a magician. Well, I suppose I could still say I am, but I used to do kiddies parties, and there was a place called the Farm Yard in White River. And I used to often get booked to go there and do kiddie shows, and it was fantastic.

I loved it, the adults loved me for doing it and keeping the kids occupied. So I'm glad to see that's still happening. That's wonderful news. - Oh, yes, you know what? To make, you know, to have that family outing where everybody is happy, including the kids. That was the best thing I got here, 'cause they love that, and it's a little bit more of an entertainment for the children. And with the rabbits, we've got a little rabbit house where they can go and feed the rabbits. So to me, also family-wise means a lot that all can enjoy. - Wonderful stuff, wonderful stuff. Now, let's move on to something else that you guys offer. And this is a big thing, and this is one of the reasons that you guys are currently sponsoring the show, because what's involved is all about business, it's all about adding value. And your conferencing is quite spectacular. Again, COVID restrictions, but talk to me about, so let's say I've got a smallish company, and I decide I want to just do a day conference. Do you do that? - Yes, we do, we do do a day conference. And that day conference, your rate per person is 450, which I think is very, very good. And you come and you arrive. What we do is we've got so many places like Zebra Hall, your Volca, your Horn Bowl.

And a lot of people like the Zebra, because it's up at the top. And I'll put a screen. That will include arriving with bottles of water on your table, your food. So say you want a plateau or things like that. We do all of that. - Wonderful stuff. I would arrive there myself and my company. Sound is already set up in the venue. There's a projector, I'm assuming, and a screen. - Yes, kind of, yes, we've got all of that. - That's included, fantastic. What about teas, lunches, those kinds of things? Can I say, because I know often I do a lot of the sales training for various companies. And often when they go and have their trainings or their conferences or whatever, people have different requirements. Do you cater to that as well? - Yes, we do. For instance, like your half day and you've got a conference and I've said it's 450. That will include your tea, coffee with biscuits, the venue higher, and mid-morning tea, of course, again, coffee and snacks, your bottles of water, I put mints and sweets so you can snack on that while you guys are talking. Then a full buffet lunch with free Wi-Fi. And if you want something more than not the buffet, we can also put that in. - All right, we are chatting to Joy Meusch.

She's my special guest. She's the GM at the Ram Kiki. And we're talking about all of the wonderful things that they do there. When we come back, we'll talk a little bit more about the conferencing and then we'll wrap it up with Joy. This is what's involved. So good to have you along with us. And we're back with my special guest. Joy is the GM of Ram Kiki. And we've just discovered, or we just discovered, listen to me now, we just talked about your day rate and your day conferences, but you also do overnight kind of conferences, don't you Joy? - Yes, we do. Overnight conferences, packages with breakfasts and all. - Fantastic stuff. Now tell me a little bit about that. I mean, we know that there's only a certain amount of people. So for overnights, how many people can you accommodate? - We can do 50 packs or maybe a little bit more, depending on what venue they want, either the Vilge or the Zebra or the Hornbill. So we can go up to a hundred. - And is this for overnight as well though, because I know you've got- - Yes. - Okay, so you can do that many up to a hundred overnight. - Okay, wow. That's really very interesting. So how would an overnight conference package work then, Joy? What time would we arrive and what would happen?

- It's depending on what time they want to arrive. They can either arrive in the morning at a clock and we set up the venue for them, or they can arrive in the afternoon, just depending on how they want to, whoever's having the conference wants to set it up. When they arrive and they want to accommodate, of course the accommodation is included, we take them to their rooms, they set up there, they come back, everything's set up for them. So there's no time factor. It's depending on how they want to go ahead. - And once again, this is what makes Room Kiki so special. It's all about that attention to detail and the personal service. Now let's say Joy that I've got my mid-sized company and I decide it's time for us to have a conference, plot our way forward and maybe I want to do a bit of team building. You guys have got a big property there. Is team building something we could do there as well? - Oh yes, of course. We have had plenty of team building and it has worked out perfect. Like you said, outside with the grounds, depending where they want it, with our grounds facility. It's all to do with what the customer wants. - Fantastic. So if I arrive there, I can arrive there in the morning, we go into our conference for say half a day.

The price per person that you quote, what does that include? It's the venue hire. Is it teas, coffees on arrival? - Yes, on our tea coffees. Then also have mid-morning biscuits or similar to the teas and coffees. Your bottle of water, your company's sweets and mints. You get a wifi, you get a full buffet lunch. And then again, mid-afternoon tea, coffee, and snacks. And also the accommodation in standard rooms. - Okay, and then with, sorry, Joy, with that whole package, if you're staying over, does that include your evening meal and your accommodation as well? - Yes, it does. - Wow, okay, that's not bad. And then the next morning when you leave, do you throw in a breakfast or do we have to just go before we have breakfast? - No, no, not at all. We put in a full English breakfast and we can also do a table for them. They can sit on the deck or wherever they decide. And that includes a full English breakfast. - Wonderful stuff. Now, Joy, the big, the $20 million question. It's just, okay, so refresh our memories very quickly. If I'm coming in there just for a day conference, a single day conference, what is my all in per person rate there? - Your full in rate there is 500 per person. - 500 per person, okay, that's not bad.

Now, the big question, if I'm bringing my team in and we're gonna be doing all of those wonderful things that we've just discussed and overnight, so that includes lunch, dinner, accommodation, and breakfast, do I need to sit down when I ask you the price? - No, not at all. The price I think is very good. It's 1,500 per person. And then if you're sharing a room or sharing a package, it's 1,000 Rand per person. - Okay, so if you want your own room, if you want your own room, it's 1,500, but if you're sharing, it's 1,000 Rand per person. And that's all of the stuff that we've just discussed included. I think that's fantastic. Okay, now, the big part is, obviously we're gonna need to book for these things. We can't just arrive there. So tell me a little bit about bookings, 'cause I know you guys have also made a plan there, and this special that you're running, which we've been talking about on the station as well, it's a fantastic conferencing special. There are some T's and C's. When does it run until? Let's start off with that, and then we'll get into the T's and C's. - Okay, this is gonna run 'til next year, January. It's essential to pay it to book. And essential to pay the 50% deposit.

Reason being because it secures that booking for you. If we don't have that 50% deposit, then I can give the venue to somebody else. So it's very essential to book in advance

and secure your booking by paying the 50%. - Okay, so 50% off. But I mean, if I'm sitting now in the planning stages and I'm only gonna be having my conference in September, October, November, whatever, I still get the price if I book and pay my deposit now. - Oh yes, of course. - Wonderful stuff. Now Joy, if we want to get hold of you to make those bookings, what is the single best point of contact? An email address I think would work quite nicely. - Yes, that works perfect reason being because I open up all the emails and I'll allocate them and do the bookings. They can either email it to [email protected]

or they can email us self at [email protected]. - Let me get it right because I always, always mess up this Ram Kiki thing. It's, so for example, it would be [email protected] and that's spelled R-A-M-K-I-E-T-J-I-E dot C-O dot Z-A.

- Yes, you've got it to the T. - Wonderful stuff, all righty. Joy, as always, a pleasure talking to you. We wish you all the best and thanks for those specials. I think with this whole COVID thing, we all need a little bit of sort of relief when it comes to the financial side of things. So we do appreciate that and thank you to you and the entire team at Ram Kiki. - Oh, thank you so much, David. I look forward to hearing from you soon. - Wonderful stuff. There we go. That was my special guest. We're from Ram Kiki, talking all about what they've got to offer there. It's a great place. Get out there and put your teeth back in, David. And specifically, if you are looking for a conferencing venue, they are the people to go to. It wraps it up for this evening. To each and every one of you, look after yourselves, keep well, and thank you for listening.