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Tag: hospitality

  • Requiem for hospitality icon

    Requiem for hospitality icon

    Finally, Hill Station Hotel, Jos, once the pride of its owners, Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa states, has collapsed under the weight of woeful management, debts and neglect. YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU reports

    Everyone loved Hill Station. It offered guests and sightseers much to savour: a solid architectural piece located on a rocky hill in an enticingly wooded part of Jos, the Plateau State capital. It was a meeting point for politicians and government functionaries, and a second home to tourists, many of whom foreigners who relished the temperate weather of the scenic city.

    Not anymore. Hill Station is in the past now, its tangible assets carted off to be auctioned in the hopes that they would help to offset retirees’ salary arrears and other benefits. What about the staff who held on till the hotel last breath? Well, the best they can do is to probably hope for the best.

    Located in the mountainous part of the city, the hotel once summed up the city’s tourist potential, its beauty and the people’s hospitality. Those days are over. The once glamorous and architectural masterpiece that was the pride of all has become part of history. Blame mismanagement and neglect by its owners, Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa states, which once made up the old Benue Plateau State. Unable to show commitment towards sustaining the fortunes of the hotel, the three states allowed Hill Station to go into oblivion.

    Members of staff of the hotel were owed huge sums of money in salary arrears and other allowances. Its assets have been confiscated and probably sold off by retirees of the hotel at the instance of the National Industrial Arbitration Court where the retirees took their case to.

    Everybody in the state knew that the hotel had been experiencing serious managerial and financial challenges for over a decade, a situation lodgers and members of staff attributed to poor management and governments’ indebtedness which runs into several millions of naira. It is also alleged that the management of the hotel has been insensitive to the welfare of staff, even as they accused the management of corruption.

    General Manager of the hotel, Mrs. Mildred Best attributed the mess which the hotel is thrown into as emanating from the prolonged crises in the state which the hotel management has had to grapple with in recent years.

    She claimed that the communal crises which have affected the tourist potential of the state made it impossible for guests to lodge in the hotel. She also identified stiff competition from better-managed private hotels that sprang up almost every day has also affected the fortunes of the hotel. For 15 years or more, the hotel has experienced several problems that have made it impossible to cater for the welfare of its staff and pensioners.

    The hotel owed its staff for several years, and was once picketed several times by organised Labour; many of members of staff resigned due to the inability of the hotel to pay their emolument. Some members of staff stayed back, hoping the situation would improve as the management kept promising.

    Things got worse. Those who left because they could not bear the situation were not paid their entitlements. The existing staff union keeps picketing the hotel and those who had retired believed that they had no option than to drag the management to court.

    One of the members of staff of the hotel, Abel Madugu claimed that the hotel owes them salaries for 20 months while those who retired since 2006 have also not received their benefits. The retirees claimed the hotel owes them between N2 million and N7 million; depending on how long each retiree served the company.

    In 2011, the retirees dragged the hotel to court and obtained judgment against the management. Without waiting for the execution of the judgment, some other retirees headed for the National Industrial Court and, in December last year, the court gave another judgment against the management of the hotel.

    In the judgment, the two courts ordered the immediate payment of the benefits of the workers, failure of which its property are to be auctioned to the public to raise funds for the payment of the retirees. The total sum the company owes its retirees amounted to about N100 million.

    The company failed to honour the judgment of the two courts and did not appeal any of them. This forced the retirees to return to court to seek an order for the execution of the judgment and the Industrial Court did not hesitate in granting the order.

    Subsequent to the order of execution, the retirees came to the hotel in company of their counsel and the police to enforce the order. With the help of a truck, the court evacuated every property belonging to the hotel they could lay their hands on.

    However, when the court and the retirees came to execute the order, a mild drama ensued as the General Manager put up a weak resistance against the execution of the court order.

    First, she refused to receive the order of the court from the court Bailiff as she directed the staff to lock up the hotel and go home so as to prevent the court from having access to any part of the hotel. She fled the premises as soon as she gave that directive. Though members of staff succeeded in locking up the hotel rooms, they did not succeed in locking the bar and the conference hall.

    So, the evacuation of the property began from the reception, the bar and the conference hall. Realising that her first option did not work, the General Manager came back and ordered the security men to lock the gates to prevent any vehicle from coming in or going out.

    In reaction, the team went for police re-enforcement and when that was done, the General Manager discovered that the game was up and began to appeal for amicable resolution. But that apparently came too late as the truck conveying the properties had made several trips. By the end of the exercise, everything the hotel owned was evacuated, including beds in all the rooms.

    Counsel to the retirees, Linus Shingshak said if all the movable properties are not enough to settle the N100 million debt owed the retirees, some buildings belonging to the hotel  may also be put up for sale to recover the entire money to pay off the retirees.

    Some of the retirees who came to witness the enforcement of the court order could not hide their feelings over the way and manner the company they served with the whole of their heart has treated them.

    Abdulahi Mukhtar said: “I served the company for 20 years before I retired voluntarily. I deserved my retirement benefits, but since 2011 when I retired, the hotel has refused to settle the N4.1 million it owes me.”

    Another retiree, Okoh Godwin Obotu said: “I retired in 2010 after putting in 21 years in the service of the hotel. I have not been paid my claims till date. I am among those who went to court.”

    Among the retiree is a 75-year-old man, John Davou, who said he served the hotel for 37 years and retired in 2010. He said he and his family have been ravaged by poverty while he has N5.7 million to claim from his former employer.

    He said: “I’m suffering. I’m no longer employable and my entitlement that should sustain me has not been paid to me in the past six years. I have been begging to feed and pay my rent.”

    The General Manager, who was visibly angry with the action of the court, expressed surprise at the development, saying: “I am surprised at this development; I know the company is indebted to the retirees. They took us to court and I pleaded for payment by installments of the amount involved. I have even paid the first installment of N500, 000 a month. But all of a sudden, the court gave this order. I never expected this.”

    On why the company failed to offset its liability to its former workers, the General Manager said: “The hotel has not been doing well because the crises in the state took their toll on the hotel. Up till now, business is yet to pick up in the hotel. I have been appealing for patience but they refused to listen to my appeal.”

    People around the hotel were in shock while watching helplessly the forcible evacuation of belongings of the hotel. It was a scene hard to imagine.

    While some of them argued that the hotel has just become a victim of mismanagement, others believed that the state governments that co-owned the hotel had brought about its misfortune.

    Joshua Bala, one of those who witnessed the evacuation exercise said: “Our governments are bad managers. This hotel was expected to be modernized in accordance to current trend in the hospitality industry. But they refused to fund this hotel and they also refused to privatise it. Now, the hotel is gone.

    “It is alleged that the Plateau State Government alone may have owed the hotel over N100 million. If it had paid its dues accordingly, the hotel would have been able to offset its bills. Now this has become a huge disaster and a slap on the governments that own the hotel. I can’t imagine that three governors will jointly own a hotel and the hotel is under-funded; this is shameful.”

    Hill Station Hotel Limited was incorporated in 1954 and began business before Nigeria’s independence in 1960. It used to be one of the leading hotels in the Northern region.

    It was initially managed by the Colonial Masters but was later handed over to the Northern Nigeria Development Company (NNDC).

    As a limited liability company, the NNDC controlled 54 per cent of its shares. The remaining 45 per cent was shared among Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue state governments as co-owners.

    However, the investors could not manage the hotel profitably. At the same time the three states could not lease it out to private individuals to maximise profit. With the prolonged conflict in Jos, the hotel lost patronage. It could also not compete with new emerging hospitality businesses in the city of Jos.

  • Hospitality: Leveraging on technology

    The hospitality business, especially in the hotel segment, is on an upward swing. This is because of the ease with which people can now book and access hotels right from th corner of their homes. Besides, with the emphasis now on generating revenue from other sources apart from oil, the sector offers good avenue for investment and also good return on investment.

    Now, with an increased awareness on information technology, and the ease with which businesses can be done online, the sector has been further opened up.

    One of the early entreprenuers that have keyed into this regime is Mark Essien, Founder, Hotels.ng. With 6000 hotels in the fold and counting, Essien has been experiencing phenomenal growth and kicking butt.  Today, he  is  a market leader in emerging hospitality industry. Essien is taking  advantage of travellers  increasing  frustration with hotel booking.

    For him, after a careful research , he discovered that there was no Nigerian hotel online. Thus, in 2012, he launhcedhis online portal for the industry players.

    Initially, when  they  started in Calabar the first few months, it was self funded. Later, they got  an  investor who  gave them $75,000. Subsequently, they  got  another $100,000.The first product actually focused on a single sector – hotels – and the platform took off from there.

    According  to him, Hotels.ng has   transformed the hospitality industry and  is  seen  as the biggest online hotel booking portal for Nigeria.

    With ongoing development of computer reservation systems, the online hotel  booking  has  taken  a natural leap,  with   every part of the booking process coming   closer to the user.

    Launching  hotels.ng, Essien  put  travellers in control of their travel plans, contributing  to making  online booking one of biggest revenue streams for the hotel and travel industry.

    His background  as a software  developer  has  assisted  him  to build  a portal that  creates a smooth booking process that satisfies users and supports business objectives. There are many different ways that a user will arrive at a hotel site. hotels.ng is just one of many travel aggregators that have become almost ubiquitous with the booking process. The booking portal attention to detail has already created a much more organised and trustworthy portfolio of the great hotels on offer.

    Eeach local hotel is thoroughly vetted by staff to ensure that all details are accurate and to ensure the quality of the hotel’s services.

    He  noted  that  there is a growing hotel industry in Nigeria  and the company is   to be part of the growth and their success.

    Essien has   always wanted to become a mechanical engineer. Along the way, he  diverted into software, and not wanting to let his  education waste, also added mechanical to it by studying robotics. Before founding Hotels.ng,he  was   a software developer. At a certain point, he   used to be the #2 rated coder on rentacoder.com . he   made money through contract jobs.

    To  Mark,the  journey has been long, hard and exciting. To build it to the point it is today, he has had to be willing to think outside the box, work around every constraint, and work with a team that supported itself through up and down.

    Currently, the company  has  about 30 people, and based off the offers they  have received, the  portal is  worth between $5m and $10m.

    He  sourced  the seed fund of N5million to startup hotels.ng from my sister and my mother. They have always been his  key investors for any idea he  did not have enough cash to do.

    Along  the line,he   started chatting with Jason Njoku (Founder ofSpark) on Facebook, and he told me about his SPARK fund. They invested a total of $225,000. which is the money that has taken the  company  this far.

    Following a solid consolidation phase, the  company  is  commencing  an International expansion phase that  would result  in booking possibilities for Ghana.

    The hotel market requires that prices and availability be continually adjusted to reflect daily variances. The majority of bookings through the system come from guests requiring hotel rooms, 1-2 days ahead of the booking date. Direct contact can be made directly with the hotel and confirmation may be received within minutes of the request being made.

    Hotels.ng  breadth of hotel supply have contributed to its phenomenal growth and success. There is no doubt that Mark  Essien, the  founder  of  hotels.ng  has been a success story for mobile hotel bookings. He  has   seen phenomenal growth in recent years with  watchers describing  the journey of the company as “remarkable. Right  now, the  portal  has  contributed to over 60 per cent  of total hotel booking transactions with  mobile becoming the key booking platform . The portal allow clients to book hotel rooms online, provide comprehensive help and support to our clients and make the hotel booking process smooth and easy.

    He has an active role as the Managing Director of the organization, overseeing operations. The company employs 30 full-time staff, 5 contract staff and more than 70 ad-hoc staff, with an estimated 6000 hotels on the site.

    According  to him, when  he  launched the company,he  ran it for about a year before raising capital.

    He   knew it was a great business because of how excited the customers were in finding out that a site like theirs  existed. The first 100 customers came because they  were the first people to list the number of hotels they  listed in Nigeria. So people looking for hotels would stumble across Hotels.ng and make a booking from there. He  is  happy  they  have  explored  opportunity   within  a sector that  was  ignored.However, building the traction so quickly in such a busy space has been a huge challenge and an amazing achievement for the whole team.

    The  hotel portal  is not Essien’s first business.He   started his  first business when he was 19 years old. He had just left Nigeria to go study in Germany, and saw a computer there for the first time. He  instantly decided  he  would build a piece of software, and started working on a competitor to Napster. It was called Gnumm. One year later, he  sold it to Bertelsmann.  He did not raise any capital for this – just worked out of his  room.

    They  intends to remain within the industry. The success of the  product is all about being about  to  expand the  listing  of  hotels from  400 to 6000. They were able  to achieve  this some really smart technology that looks at, hotel location and personalised data to make the right decision every time. Getting that right, and making it fast, has had the biggest impact on the customer experience.

    The strategy is that they have  learned then not be afraid to make bold changes when things aren’t going to plan. They  have  made  mistakes but learn from them rather than dwell on them.

  • Ebola:Hospitality workers warned

    THE Institute of Hospitality, United Kingdom(Nigeria branch), has advised workers in the hospitality industry to ensure  a strict and high level of hygiene to prevent the spread of Ebola or put their guests at risk.

    In a release, titled ‘Interim Guidance about Ebola Virus Infection for Hotel’ and signed by the  honourary chairman of the institute, Mrs. Kehinde Daniel, the institute advised workers in the hospitality industry to, among other precautionary measures, wear impermeable disposable gloves, while cleaning the guest rooms and lavatories; wipe down lavatory surfaces and frequently touched surfaces in the guest room, such as armrests, seat backs, tray tables, light and air controls, and adjacent walls and windows with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered cleaner/disinfectant that has been tested and approved for use; and  do not use compressed air which might spread infectious material through the air.

    If a seat cover or carpet is obviously soiled with blood or body fluids, it should be removed and discarded by the methods used for biohazardous material;  throw used gloves away according to the company’s recommended infection control precautions when cleaning is done or if they become soiled or damaged during cleaning; Clean hands with soap and water (or waterless alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap is not available) immediately after gloves are removed.

  • Why hotels and hospitality business thrives in Ekiti

    Why hotels and hospitality business thrives in Ekiti

    Hotels and hospitality business in Ekiti has continued to grow, despite known challenges writes SULEIMAN SALAWUDEEN

    The number of hotels and relaxation centres in Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State, has continued to grow, despite and amidst the challenge of poor electricity supply and low patronage.

    From Ado to Ikere, Ilawe, Efon-Alaaye, Aramoko, Okemesi, Omuo and other towns, hotels have kept attracting increasing number of proprietors who have tried to outdo one another in the trade, not only in the quality of their services but even in the sheer architectural surprises they spring in the edifices.

    In Ado, the number, according to Mr. Ogunsola James, Acting General Manager, Ekiti State Tourism Board, has increased from a modest  40 in 2011 to nearly 100 this year, a situation which he, like many others, has been attributed to observable improvements in social and infrastructural facilities in the capital.

    Street by street, road by road, the hotels, most of which are close enough to the main roads and fences of which are low enough to permit both a generous view and cursory ocular standards assessments, announce their presence often in attractive colours, especially at night when their patrons come in droves for services ranging from relaxation to recreation and accommodation.

    At such periods, music comes copiously as much to the lot of the patrons as to passers bye, while long lines of vehicles along the road evidence that mortals in the recesses have gathered to unwind and shorten the night.

    One of such new arrivals in the hospitality terrain in the state is Prosperous Royal Hotels and Resorts, a classy 45-room edifice of exquisite services located at the extreme end of Adebayo road on Iworoko road area of the capital.

    Commissioned in March 2014, Prosperous, occupying nearly 12,000 square metres, according to the General Manager, Tope Akinlaja, boasts unusual, if clinical, detachment from the familiar hurly burley of communal Ekiti, a parking lot vast enough to contain a minimum of two hundred modest size vehicles at a time, aside routine expectations/demands of customers.

    Why such a quality in a relatively new setting?

    The GM noted: “Hotel business is basically a service business. Excelling will not therefore fall like manna from heaven. This explains our dogged focus on a uniqueness of taste, class and proven quality”, adding that “Ado has been developing and will continue to develop”.

    “Unarguably”, he spoke further, “facilities put us on a special scale and that is why it is both a hotel and a resort. Inside here is a shopping mall, outside relaxation garden and an enclosure relaxation setting for those who prefer secrecy, a gym, an underground club house, three large event centres, two large halls, spacious enough to contain 500 seated guests each, and an open space for events”.

    Other facilities, according to him, included a cyber cafe, pastry shop, boutique and salon; the pool bar, garden bar; barbeque with fish; Asun (sliced and smoked meat); Nkwobi and Isiewu, saying “others may have some of our services but not anything close in quality to what we have”

    A visitor could also notice two ATM machines which kept dispensing cash. On this, Akinlaja clarified the intention was to insulate the customers against urgencies which would render them scouting distances for banks with the facility. “Such a situation does not assure customers’ safety.

    Noting that currently, the hotel has about a hundred and thirty permanent staff, Akinlaja clarified that immediate plans included the construction of an additional hundred and fifty rooms and while an artificial lake within the hotel complex would be constructed at a later date.

    He said all these at completion would redound to a standard which would be difficult to match anywhere in the Southwest, adding “One can only imagine the implications of this on the business/economic life of the state.

    “The vision of the chairman, Chief Biodun Isinkaye, is to elevate the community of his birth through giving back to the people in terms of employment. When the 150 rooms are completed in few months time, services will improve while more people will be employed. Even while the expansion is just being envisaged, some of the services we render here are the best in the entire southwest”.

    Does Prosperous have exclusive preserve on quality?

    Although standards do vary depending on vision and resources of owners, quality services are offered in many other hotels in Ado as in other parts of the state.

    From Fountain Hotel (Ado), to Delight, Pathfinder, Midas, D’Bliss Tit, Hilmat, Queen’s Court all in the capital, quality services are being accessed by needy and sufficient customers in varying degrees.

    According to findings, customers most times determine what services would be offered and those that would not. Trends are being studied to ensure a concentration on common areas of needs of patrons and ensure avoidance of redundancy and needless dissipation of scarce resources.

    And standards are being regulated

    Given the general picture of hotels and hospitality businesses across the state, it could be guessed standards are being watched and needfully kept in check.

    Confirming this, the GM, State Tourism Board said meetings are held with hoteliers and other participants in the industry once a week, a situation which he maintained allowed for effective checks and early disbursement of regulations whenever necessary.

    Ogunsola noted that unlike in earlier times when the Board was under the direct control of Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), hotels are now under the control of the Board which undertake grading, classification and registration processes.

    He maintained that while none of the nearly 400 hotels in the state has fallen short of standards, many have complained of low patronage and dwindling fortunes.

    Why fortunes are dwindling

    But the rich do also cry. Despite the façade of booming hotels trade in the state, there are ebbs and slurs, fuelling fears that if effective measures were not instituted, many of the hotels might go under sooner than later.

    One factor is an ever rising overhead cost arising mainly from near entire dependence on diesel-powered electricity generating sets.

    Confirming this, the GM, Hilmat Hotels, Obadare Bamidele, said public supply of power does not exceed one hour a day on the average while it rarely comes at night, a situation he said had forced hoteliers to depend on diesel-propelled generating sets with its unavoidable toll on overheads.

    According to Obadare, “the dependence on diesel is killing the industry little by little. When the cost of diesel consumption in a month is factored into the business, what is left becomes too negligible to be considered worthwhile. Uninterrupted supply of power is what customers want and that is what we give them although at a very high cost. We prefer it otherwise”.

    Is the state government mediating to parley supports of necessary institutions? According to the GM, meetings had been held with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company which had not yielded considerable outcomes.

    Said he:”The government is aware of very low electricity supply to Ado Ekiti generally. This is not a happy development given the plans to encourage industrialisation. But the state government lacks the power and facility to undertake needed improvement which explains why the committee set up for the purpose has been trying to appeal to the company. The in-coming administration will have to take over from whatever has been achieved in this regard.”

    Obadare also spoke about the relatively rural outlook of the state which he said informed the attitude of visitors to seek where to sleep during their occasional visits rather than book accommodations in hotels.

    His words: “The state is just developing. If a hundred people enter Ekiti today, they prefer to seek out long known friends where they stay quite often. When they come to the hotel, they only come to drink.”

    He added that although government patronage is available, redemption of owed sums were always being done in arrears which limits the value of the payments when considered against ever spiraling inflation.

    Another speaker who preferred anonymity disclosed that hotels are also suffering multiple taxation, noting “the situation in which you subject hotels to multiple taxes is most discouraging and disabling”.

    He said: “Go and find out, hotels pay for registration through Tourism Board, they pay tenement rate through the local governments while the State Revenue Board collect some payments as well.”

    Confirming this, Obadare maintained that an appeal had been forwarded to the state government which has given immediate 40 per cent reduction on all payments. “But we still demand for more reductions”, he said.

  • ‘Hospitality will improve in 2014’

    ‘Hospitality will improve in 2014’

    The Chairman of Capital Hotels, owners of Sheraton Abuja Hotel, Mr Goodie Ibru has expressed optimism that 2014 will be a better year if the issues of power and security are tackled.

    Speaking at its annual general meeting (AGM) in Abuja, Ibru said: “We will have a better 2014 and years in the future once the issue of insecurity is addressed and the issue of power is assured.”

    Giving report of its annual event and accounts, Mr. Ibru admitted that security and power were the major challenges the hospitality business encountered.

    According to him, security is the major issue because it scared some people away and that impacted negatively on our result. I am, however, pleased to announce to you that government is addressing that issue and things are going back to normal.

    While assuring guests of the safety measures put in place by the hotel, he said: “As far as security is concerned, we assure our guests that it is safe to be in the hotel.”

    Speaking on energy, he said: “We spend a lot of money on diesel and, of course, that has cost implication. We hope that things will improve; that will make us rely less on power generation from our generators and rely on national grid.”

    He praised the actions of government in the sale of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to private investors.

    “It is a good development that the government is privatising the Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc and we do hope that, in the very near future, the supply of power from the national grid will be steadier and it will reduce cost of doing business in the hospitality industry,” he said.

  • ‘Multiple taxes crippling hospitality business’

    Multiple taxes on hotel proprietors by the government agencies could cripple thge hospitality industry, the President of Hotel Owners Forum Association (HOFA), Mr Onofiok Ekong, has said.

    He disclosed this to The Nation in Lagos.

    He said multiple taxes could force hotel proprietors out of business in the country, if immediate solution was not provided.

    He said: “Hotel operators are faced with daunting challenges; apart from losing members of the association through closure and change of purpose.

    “The lamentations of the existing ones over multiplicity of taxes can only be ignored to the detriment of the economy.

    “The government needs to engage stakeholders in a holistic discourse to enable it to understand the magnitude and dimensions of the challenges facing the industry.

    “This will help to bring out recommendations that will help Nigeria have a more investment-friendly tax regime.”

    Ekong, however, called on the Federal Government to take necessary steps to reverse the trend.

    The HOFA chief said hoteliers pay various taxes, which had made it so difficult for them to stay afloat.

    The taxes include the consumption tax, value added tax, company income tax, withholding tax, health certificate, and waste operation permit.

    Others are vehicle emission fee, contravention charges, business premises and administrative charges for environmental audit.

    Ekong said the multiple taxes had contributed to the increased charges by hotels operators, saying that the numerous taxes were affecting the growth of the industry.

    He said the hospitality industry contributes to the economy through payment of such taxes.

    He called for urgent intervention and incentives to operators to enable the industry stay afloat.

  • ‘ Multiple taxation killing hospitality industry’

    The hospitality sub-sector is currently faced with an avalanche of taxes: Registration of Hospitality Premises, Stamp Duty, Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSIT), Industrial Training Fund [ITF] National Pension Commission (PENCOM), Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Value Added Tax (VAT), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Company Income Tax, Withholding Tax, Liquor License, Food Handlers and Health Certificate; Others are Visual Advert, Waste Disposal, Bill Board, Sign Post, Operation Permit, Vehicle Emission Fee, Contravention Charges, Business Premises, Administrative Charges for Environmental, Audit, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Water Supply, Electricity Supply, copious levies by the local government councils as well as other fees charged by regulatory agencies across the sectors at the state and federal levels has pushed the sector to the brink.

    The reality is that the current burden of taxes and levies is heavy, especially when situated within the context of the high operating cost for business. The sector wants to be very clear and certain of its tax obligations, the number of taxes, the rates, period of payment, mode of payment and so on.

    Enginner Onofiok Ekong, President, Hotel Owners Forum of Abuja (HOFA) said: “The local governments are the main culprits here

    “We crave for a tax regime that is fair and flexible enough to respond to changing circumstances; tax regime that takes into account the prevailing economic conditions and the harsh investment climate with attributes that could promote an investment friendly tax regime,” he said.

     

     

     

     

  • Bukola Saraki Delves into hospitality business

    Bukola Saraki Delves into hospitality business

    FORMER governor of Kwara State now Senator Bukola Saraki is not resting on his oars. Just as he is building his political empire, he is leaving no stone unturned businesswise. The scion of the late Chief Olusola Saraki, those in the know squealed has delved into the hospitality business. The gigantic edifice still under construction, sources said is located around Ajao Estate, Airport Road, Ikeja. Things are definitely looking up for the former governor also with the returning of the moribund Societe Generale now as Heritage Bank.

  • Entrepreneur seeks govt participation in hospitality

    The Chairman/CEO of The Residence Holiday Inn,Prince Bola Soetan, has called for proactive efforts from government and private entrepreneurs to boost the hospitality industry in the country.

    Speaking to reporters recently during the official opening of the hotel located in Lekki, Lagos, he said if the hospitality industry in the country must grow, entrepreneurs must be willing to partner government to take the industry to greater heights.

    Soetan maintained that hospitality in other countries is a huge investment which has become their major source of national income earners. “If this attitude is adopted in Nigeria, the over-reliance on the oil and gas for major revenue will be reduced. This on it own will provide jobs for the legions of unemployed graduates roaming the streets.”

    The Residence Holiday Inn also has a club house which he said was capable of providing relaxation for those who normally take time off to refresh after the week’s hectic job.

    “When you take time to relax, you are rebuilding in order to face future challenges, but when you work and hardly find time to refresh then you are preparing your self for danger.”

    He called on the government to tar the Alpha Beach Road where the hotel was located, this, according to him, would enable tourists and holiday makers access the beach easily and earn income for the state.

    He stated that if government provided he enabling environment for those who are willing to invest in the hospitality, the industry would attract other investors and this would be a big advantage to the Lagos State Government, especially now that it was aiming a mega city.

    “Let me say the investors would trickle in to build more hotels which will help the state in tourists’ attraction. Though at The Residence Holiday Inn, we ensure that the facilities are there, we equally want government to play its role which this will help the industry,”Soetan said.

    He further stated that countries where hospitality provides major revenue for their country, the government ensures that the enabling environment for easy operations is created. This, he remarked, encourages the private sector to sink money into it.

    Soetan thanked those who have contributed in one way or the other to the emergence of the hotel and promised not to relent in the standard already set.