Nigerian born Max Nonso Menkiti, a graduate of economics, based in the United Kingdom, had the option of taking a promising banking job in England but chose to follow his dream and passion, which is setting up shop as a real estate consultant. As an individual with the tenacity and perseverance to succeed, Menkiti’s dream came true with the birth of the Millennium Apartments in faraway England. Expansion of his business empire saw him visiting Nigeria to commission the latest project in highbrow Lekki, Lagos, recently. Nneka Nwaneri met him.
The concept of Millennium Apartments began in England, when I found myself during my spare time not studying, spending time in clubs and such places. I later began having meetings architects at the age of 19.
I was being fascinated by structures and how people congregate. I also loved music and used to collect records in those days. They are called LPs and CDs.
When I found myself drawn to that industry and spent a lot of time going to bars where I got a few jobs managing such bars, where I was a DJ and began and began reorganising clubs for people and I followed my passion.
Though, I studied Economics in England. At some point, I had to make a choice to either be a banker in England and do the nine to five jobs like my friends or follow my passion. I chose the latter and things built up and I owned my own bar and restaurant in England until I came back to Nigeria for a holiday.
During the holiday in 1997, I saw a lot of Lebanese occupying the Island and owning restaurants and cafes. I knew it was not right so, I challenged that and thought to set something up that could compete with the foreigners and that was how we started.
The beginning was very difficult. It wasn’t easy breaking through in Nigeria with electricity problems.
It wasn’t easy but it’s been worthwhile leaving England and its nine to five jobs. Now, I will look at spaces and create. I look at our customers and imagine what they will like to feel. I take the perspective, creative and draw up the perfect product, which is very difficult to do England. That goes to show that Nigeria is working if you follow your dreams and don’t focus much on the negative aspects of the country.
We run almost like normal hotels with a prestige studio apartment called self contains. The idea was gotten in England and their style of renting apartments. They are one-bed apartments and two-bed apartments, but the difference between us and a regular hotel is that we run serviced apartments. Here, you can do from light cooking to heavy cooking.
Comfortably furnished with all the trappings of a regular house, which include couches, beds, cookers and you are set to go. Just come with your dress and start living; no use buying any equipment. Full DSTV Channels with 24 hours light and security.
There is a guest lounge with Wi-Fi to service them while they wait. There is a pool and gym and is sure to be everything in one package.
Passion
Hospitality has been my passion and I have been in the business for more than twenty years. I have had and run successful clubs and restaurants in England. From the age of 21, I got a passion to serve. I also have an artistic flare for decoration and I create unique buildings. I look and get different ways of getting people to relax. The only difference is that I have learnt to build a business around my passion. I have simply monetised mine.
Watching people relax is my passion; so I design chairs and empty spaces. When business and passion come together, you are sure to have a successful enterprise.
Management style
The concept of Millennium Apartments is designed not to be staff intensive. We take the best staff, train them and retrain them. So, we are light on staff, heavy on quality with chambermaids.
Compared to other hotels, we run at about forty percent of their staff strength which gives us a cost advantage over others.
Compared to a regular hotel, we are more affordable because we bill according to short and long stay. The longer you stay, the lesser you pay. It thus, reduces the hassles of the strict rules of hotels. Here, you feel like you are in your house and still pay lesser than a normal hotel.
Such apartments are set for the business minded people, those who don’t want to think of the hassles of running a domestic staff; those who want to hop and go and everything is still running and a clean environment.
With my experience in hotel business for about fifteen years in Victoria Island, Lagos, this is our fifth property haven done properties for expatriates in V.I. In so doing, we noticed that there was this demand for people who stay longer than a week or two. They always asked for cooking facilities or more space that a standard hotel could not typically provide.
Millennium was set up to solve that challenge and was designed to take the best from the classy hotels and the best from serviced apartments and fuse them together. It’s the real definition of home from home.
All the apartments have home kitchenettes. Anyone staying in Lagos for a month can just stay in millennium with a separate living room, own decoder all encompassed.
For those that do not want to cook, we outsource caterers. Millennium fills the gap for those who want more than a hotel experience. Just for an expatriate who instead of looking for a house, paying a yea’s rent, having to buy furniture, bother himself with the hassles of running generating sets; Millennium fills that gap completely. So, we are neither a hotel nor a serviced apartment, we cross between both.
That we chose a location in Lekki that is serene and six minutes away from Victoria Island is not by accident but a perfect location just a little away from the business district of V I.
For those foreign partners who want the best of things that work. With all facilities embodied in a top decor, it is all at their fingertips. Top finishings with power showers don’t come cheap. They are luxury. We don’t follow the trend in Nigeria where people cut to provide cheap things.
Providing standard luxury in Nigeria is very expensive so the niche we occupy does not point us at the bottom of the market. We are made for the middle and top class and that is why our priced are categorised. For those who stay longer, they get more value but quite affordable than staying for thirty to sixty days in a hotel.
Marketing edge
With the level of security in the state, investors are coming in. Hotels should be of standard and be able to comfortable house foreigners.
The need for Nigerian’s accommodation has increased. So, it is a national response for entrepreneurs to rush into the hospitality field, but we in Millennium have been our passion since 1997 and this is our fifth property. We have properties and products. Hotels will come and people will copy. But it is essential to know your game and know your niche.
I’m making a bet that in the next four to five years, some hotels around won’t exist because it is not their passion and it is not their thing. They will only make short term cash, take the money and move on. Four to five years later, the properties will be dilapidated without good management and staff training.
For Millennium Apartments, we are pioneers and we like to carve a niche in the business of luxury apartments where you can come in and stay day to night with everything provided for where you can choose your own bouquet of services. This is the first of many products to be rolled out under the Millennium Apartments platform and we hope to be in other parts of Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and export brand to neighbouring countries of Ghana.
Whatever is to be done in the hospitality business should be done properly. Everything is imported, even to the wallpapers, Italian tiles and glass fountains, invisible wiring and to run something of International standard, you have to get them abroad.
It is expensive to get quality in Nigeria but that separates the real interested investors from the short term quacks. But that’s the price that you need to pay if you want to play the whole length of the game.
