The outlook for Nigeria’s hospitality sector in 2022 looks extremely promising, said Abdulkarim Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of V-Hospitality. While sharing his thoughts on the industry’s future in the post-Covid-19 era, the CEO said: “We have already seen a rise in occupancy levels towards the third and fourth quarters of 2021, and we expect this to continue through the year 2022.”
Due to travel restrictions and regulations imposed by the covid-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown, the Nigerian travel and hospitality industry, like most others across the world, had a substantial drop in business since 2020. As Ahmed noted, “the service and hospitality industry are finally seeing an upsurge in revenue, thanks to the introduction of mandated vaccinations for international travel. This has encouraged more individuals to get vaccinated, giving the industry a fresh lease on life”.
Ahmed, who owns and operates Vanern Residence, described his experience since the outbreak began, he said “While most businesses regarded the epidemic as a difficulty, we opted to see it as a set of possibilities. We designed a highly successful home-away-from-home concept targeting upwardly mobile consumers caught up in the lockdown at our flagship asset, the Vanern Residence, with a vacation experience that was in compliance with the Government’s COVID standards”.
As a result of the pandemic, Ahmed noted that the sector is seeing an increase in business model reengineering and process optimization caused by economic variables, such as rising costs of products and services and a large decline in revenue creation compared to past years. He said, “Hospitality investors are much more careful about their expenditures and overheads, while travelers, customers/guests are likewise more cautious about what sort of hotel or restaurant best matches their demands, particularly in terms of pricing and health and safety.”
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The hospitality magnate who has launched a consulting service providing advisory support to hoteliers, asset managers and moribund homeowners, notes that the industry has the capacity to boost tourism and travel in Nigeria, thereby growing the nation’s economy.
Speaking about the Nigerian Hospitality sector in relation to the economy, he said “The industry is rapidly expanding and diversifying. In addition to the issues posed by the pandemic, travelers and restaurant patrons are increasingly demanding novel experiences, personalization, and flexibility. The exponential short-let market, for example, poses a severe risk to hotel profits, while foodservice apps are encroaching on in-dining restaurant experiences.
This implies that operators and investors in the field will require targeted strategies, resources, and expert advice to meet the challenge. This is where our expert consultants can assist. Apart from providing pragmatic solutions as a service, we recently published a white paper on ways for hotels and restaurants to navigate their path to profitability in 2022. This may be downloaded for free from our website. We plan to establish our franchise network in the third quarter of this year. This will give hospitality investors a safe and supervised road to making lucrative investments in the industry, as well as access to a dependable ecosystem of resources and clients.”
