IT is no longer news that hotels in Nigeria are about the most expensive in the world. Many factors have been attributed to this. The factors are numerous. They range from the challenge on providing security to electricity. It is no longer news that the country is in total or partial darkness depending on the area one lives and depending also on the generosity of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

While a standard hotel room in some countries, like Dubai, Kenya, South Africa, costs between $200 (N30,000) and $250 (N37,500), the same room costs between $300 (N45,000) and $350 (N52,500) in Nigeria.

Hotel rooms in Nigeria costs more than hotels in some countries of the world because of the comparatively higher cost of hotel operations in Nigeria.

A major cause of this high cost of operations is the lack of steady public electricity supply. Hotels have to resort to spending a lot of money on diesel, buying and maintaining generators to generate electricity.

Speaking to The Guardian recently, General Manager, Southern Sun Hotels, Ikoyi, Mark Loxsley said there is a lot of financial pressure out there, adding that a guest that comes here knows in advance that he will be paying $380 for a room and at the same time he knows that in Dubai the same room goes for $250 in a four-star hotel.

His words, “I will not be hesitant to say Lagos is probably the most expensive hotel destination in the world. I keep reminding the staff and management that when a customer gets in here, be kind, be nice, be helpful to the guest, make sure the service is done with a quick sense of urgency, make sure there is a decent breakfast, the room must be clean, must be hygienic, the facilities must work at all times and of course must be maintained as well, because there is a lot more pressure on the hotels here.”

Loxsley disclosed that guests coming to Nigeria need to be provided with sense of security, clean, hygienic room, stressing that all the things that makes for comfort of guests must be provided.

According to him, “Internet wi-fi must work, flexible approach, food in terms of food that is served. So, there is a lot more expectation from the guest that comes into Lagos. Some times, people can’t comprehend that and we have to keep reminding the management and ourselves that it is an ongoing exercise.”

“That man just checked in, he must be taken care of. The same sense of urgency must always be there and the service must be serious and training is ongoing even to a certain extent that in a month, we take certain group of staff, 20, 25 and within a cycle of a year, we cover the entire contingent of the workforce.”

“We need business and professional etiquette. Certain Nigerian expressions are shut down here not because I don’t like Nigerian expressions. You remember the phrase that you probably use it yourself like how was your day, how was your night? I can’t have a security guard say, how was your day, how was your night?

“ It is a blank expression. It is not wrong but within the context of international clientele coming here, whether they had a good night or bad night, it is of no consequence.  It is intrusive. Somebody is not familiar so why he is asking me, how was your day, how was your night first thing in the morning? It might be something small, but somebody can take offence with that.”

He explained that the premium rate on the hotel is a commercial venture, stressing that other factors like infrastructure and logistics come in, in terms of power supply.

He stated the hotel most times rely on generator, which he said consumes a lot of fuel when electricity is not provided, a situation he said that compelled the firm to review its rates.

The security concern in the country he reiterated also provides, “us with extra responsibility. You have a CCTV camera, you are also looking at bring in bomb detection devise which we are going to be using as a scanner. So, when the cars are coming through the main gates, we have the ability to scan it before they come in. What people want is peace of mind in terms of certain security. Security is an issue everywhere in the world. If you have a secured hotel, it might bring you more new businesses.”

Posted by admin on Mar 15 2012. Filed under Lagos, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry