All you need is a stay at Ikoyi’s Southern Sun to experience the best of hospitality packages on offer. But as trendy and refreshed as the hotel looks, it is probably the most sustained hospitality outfit in Nigeria after Hill Station Hotel in Jos.
When the hotel opened for the first time in 1928 (at the peak of colonial rule), it was a British colonial government’s guest house. Since then, it keeps evolving from guest house to Ikoyi Hotel and today to a foremost hotel brand that welcomes both business and leisure visitors to memorable experience in Lagos.
But what makes the hotel thick? Since June 2009, when Southern Sun Hotel brand (now Tsogo Sun) took over the management of the hotel, Nigerian hotel business has never been the same. The South African hotel management company, and foremost owner of the Ikoyi Hotel, truly turned things around with world-class facilities, improved services, variety of offerings and human face to hotel business in Nigeria.
Yet, the berthing of Southern Sun brought about the price war as the hotel crashed room rates against the wish of some top branded hotels on the highbrow Lagos Island. Before then, most hotels said rate slashing was not possible going by the high cost of operations.
But for those five years of consistency in service delivery and facility offering, one man stood out. He led his team to conquer the Nigerian hospitality market and was among those who made the sector booming for more investments that are evident today.
Of course, Mark Loxley, general manager, Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel, is at home in Nigeria. The British national is not homesick because of his supportive team across all the sections of the hotel and the feats they have achieved together in these five years.
During a recent media chat at the four-star hotel, Loxley noted that the more the merrier for the hotel business, and hence not scared of competition. “Every hotel is our competitor directly or indirectly, whether it’s in Ikeja, Victoria Island or Lekki. The responsibility is for all hotels to continually raise their standards. That is the only way any hotel will retain its portion of the market. You have to be innovative, you have to appeal not just to the international traveller but also have a user-friendly approach to the local market,” he said.
The hotel also leaves the guests with many comparative advantages. “For many of our guests, it is easier to get to the airport than from other (hotel) locations in Victoria Island.” Yet, some packages such as the Sunday Brunch are something guests lookout for.
“We have seafood on Fridays, an excellent Sunday brunch, birthday promotional packages, and we have just recently launched a weekend jumbo package. The added value is really fantastic,” Loxley said.
The jumbo package for the general manager is a must-experience offering. Besides the already discounted room rate, the jumbo package offers guests two free movie vouchers, a 10 percent discount on the Sunday brunch for two, a round of golf at the Ikoyi Club 1938, a 20 percent discount on laundry, discounts on Arik Air flight tickets (domestic and international) and a 35 percent discount on a day trip to the La Manga Beach at Ilashe, Lagos.
While La Manga Beach is a great outdoor for guests at least to see another side of Lagos free from traffic, airport and hotel rooms, the annual golf competitions and yachting races organised by the hotel for its guests offer more than a grand destination tour. The Tsogo Sun loyalty programme is as well fantastic.
The hotel is advocating quality relaxation for everyone. “Though Lagos is a business destination, everybody deserves a break. It is all about creating added value that appeals to the market. Unfortunately, a lot of people come into Lagos on business. But they should consider leisure as well,” he noted.
Besides innovation and appeal, the bottom-line for Loxley is the hotel’s user-friendly approaches to both local and international markets.
OBINNA EMELIKE
