Why Do Hotels Fail in Nigeria? Look around you, on every street corner, you have boutique hotels springing up fast, residential apartment turning into hotels, one room turning into shared flats and Air B&B, and just as this hotels spring up fast they close down even faster.

Ijeoma Ugamah presents to you the top reason why Hotels Fail in Nigeria.

10 Reasons Why Hotels Fail in Nigeria and How to Improve it

1. Owners Interference

I am the Ex Ceo of a bank; I have run 5 companies, I am a financial Wiz- Kid so what is so complicated in running a hotel? Hmm stop right their; running a hotel in Nigeria is not the same as running a hotel in Europe; Owner interference is the main reason why hotels in Nigeria fail; Owners believe they know it all and they know more than the hospitality expert and hence they open a hotel and after 6month they realize that it is not business as usual. Thinking of opening a hotel? Do the below 1^s? speak to Curzon and Jones Hospitality for advisory

2. No Online Presence

80% of hotel in Nigeria lack online presence and do not have a website; No website means a loss in up to 50% of your revenue. For as little as N70,000 you can have a business website, an official email address and a Pay Direct button embed into your site all handled by Horeca Cloud.

3. Lack of Investment in Training

Its Monday Morning and your waiter just quit, by 3.00 pm you have hired his replacement; no due diligence was carried out, no reference check; no facility training and yet you are shouting that the service is bad and business is slow.

To prevent this ensure you develop a train -the – trainer programme for each department or outsource your recruitment to Anywork Naija

4. VAT is Now 7.5 %, Why should I pay Service Charge?

Let’s face it 2020 is the year of taxes, Vat soon to be 7.5%, CBN N50 Stamp, which means more remittance to the government.

Hello Mr Hotel Owner this solely does not affect you, hotels that pay their staff service charge has seen over 70% increase in guest and employee satisfaction.

5. No Property Management Software;

Hello, Madam, this is Bello the Security guard, please Ma I find 100 USD in the waiter pocket when I searched him.

Oga 1 bottle of Hennessey is missing from the store I am suspecting Sule because he worked at night. Kola how come the goat meat I bought yesterday has finished and yet you said no sales

Yes we know; the theft in the hotel industry in Nigeria is high; You hire today – you fire tomorrow is there no end? Installing the right property management software will help you reduce staff. The best option will be a cloud-based software which allows you to know what is happening in your hotel at any time

6. My Brother is the Gm and My Wife is the Md

Before you hire your family member as the manager of your hotel ensure that they have gotten the proper training and are equipped to run a hotel. Jones Hospitality offer short term training for clients wishing to manage and run small hotels solely.

7. Disregarding feedback

Most guests read online reviews of hotels before making a choice. Not paying attention to feedback from guests will impact negatively on the online reservation stream.

When the negative reviews outweigh the positive reviews without follow up responses by the hotel, online potential bookers become apprehensive and look for alternatives within the same star grade and pricing. Most hotels offer feedback forms either at check out or in the room.

How to Increase the Profitability of your Hotel in Nigeria

Have a guest feedback form in your room
Send guest welcome and departure email with Horeca Cloud
Have one on one conversation with the guest to get feedback

8. Invest in Marketing

Hmm this your hotel is fine O, are you new? did you just open? Oga no oh we have been here for 5 years. A hotel needs to do marketing to stay competitive and relevant in the industry.

The reach of marketing cannot be underestimated. And most hotels/restaurants do not put into recognizance that the hospitality has its low and peak seasons.

9. Poorly serviced room

Guest to Receptionist “Can I see your manager” I want a refund, the roof is leaking, the bedsheet is dirty, there is no hot water in my room.

Hmm oga abeg no refund o, My MD has travelled but please Sir, Can I give you a bucket and boil hot water for you? We also have Fan as the AC is not working

The above dialogue is the norm in boutique hotels in Nigeria. Poorly cleaned and unmaintained rooms will cause dissatisfaction and affect repeat guests. When guests do not get value for their money, they make alternative plans. Air conditioning, hot water, water pressure, bad mattress, linens and towers, ambience, poor TV signal are some of the major complaints about rooms. It is more frustrating for guests where they are moved to another room and they experience the same or even worse challenges from the previous room.

10. Staff welfare

Oh God, what kind of Job is this? It is the 15^th of the month and I have not been paid, No staff meal, late payment of salary, no medical; this is the cries of 70% of waiters in Nigeria; you owe and you owe them and yet you wonder why they steal?

Dear Hotel owner your excuse is that business is down and we are not doing well? But guess what if you did the right thing from the beginning business will be up; do not punish the staff

Want to know more?

Chat with a representative of Curzon and Jones or send opinion and comments to Ijeoma.ugamah@gmail.com