Ogeah: Marriot Will Drive Tourism, Hospitality in Lagos

The Managing Director of Mac Folly Limited, Chike Ogeah, operator of Lagos Marriot Hotel Ikeja, in this interview says the facility will spearhead the growth of tourism and hospitality services in Lagos state as well as Nigeria. Chinedu Eze provides the excerpts:

Why the choice of a Marriot in Lagos?
Marriott Hotels, the signature of Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of 30 extraordinary brands is behind the Lagos Marriott Hotel Ikeja. The hotel reflects the newest global design vision for Marriott Hotels, featuring sophisticated and intuitively designed spaces for today’s modern traveller, enabling guests to relax, work and find inspiration during their stay. We are excited to have opened the Lagos Marriott Hotel Ikeja, bringing Marriott Hotels’ transformed vision to Nigeria. Lagos is a vibrant and bustling city with much to see and do for leisure and business travellers. What better place to debut the Marriott Hotels brand in Nigeria with its thoughtful service and intuitive spaces that enable guests to be inspired during their stay. Lagos Marriott Hotel Ikeja offers 206 guestrooms and 44 suites each with expansive views of the city. The spacious guestrooms are thoughtfully designed with contemporary décor and intuitive in-room amenities. Natural colours, crisp lines, purposeful lighting and comfortable bedding create an intimate and peaceful space for guests to get into their best headspace for success.

Deluxe walk-in showers and spa-like lighting complete the relaxed experience throughout the room. In line with Marriott Hotels’ newest global design strategy, local accents add a sense of place to the sleek aesthetic. Open workspaces allow for flexibility to connect anytime. The Great room at the heart of the hotel blends modern elements with local touches inspired by Nigeria’s rich heritage and traditional crafts. The multi-use space is designed for guest to socialise, relax and work. The M Club is an exclusive space reserved for Elite members and Club paying guests and provides complimentary breakfast, evening drinks, hors d’oeuvres and premium beverages throughout the day. The M Club also offers the brand’s signature Mind Menu, a selection of delicious snacks and beverages with active ingredients to enhance mind and body. Accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the M Club provides free Wi-Fi, printing services and power supplies to ensure uninterrupted productivity for business travelers.

What motivated the hotel business?
Well the truth is that the hotel is part of the SIFAX group. Primarily SIFAX is in the shipping business and also in the aviation sector. The Chairman of SIFAX, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, who is really the visionary person behind the project has over the years conceptualised the idea of building a magnificent hotel in Lagos, especially after we had, started the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO). Previously I was in the handling company, when it was a government parastatal, which was later privatised and we were now working to together. So we did a few trips, trying to reposition the company and all of that and of course we stayed in different branch of hotels all over the world, top brand of hotels, in Europe, in America. Dr. Afolabi would tell me, Chike why can’t we have that kind of hotel in Nigeria? But being a pragmatist and looking at all the odds you have to overcome to have that kind of brand in Nigeria, I thought he was just dreaming, but he was insistent and he was persistent. And after a while I said to him, Chairman, if you really are ready to do this, I am all-in with you. We started by first getting the land. That was just first situation. After that we started blasting the land because we had to go three floors underneath. We realised that we had to put two floors of underground parking and then the basement floor of the hotel.

All that came after we had looked at all the top design, and the top hotel brands in the world and we settled for the Marriott for too many reasons. Marriott is one of the best and cosmopolitan brands that cater for the kind of customers we were looking at. The upwardly mobile, business executive, relaxed, not anything too conservative, cosmopolitan yet subtle. And we stayed in one or two of their properties in Dubai, especially the Marquis in Dubai, which is a wonderful hotel. We started talking to them and they realized how serious we were because when they give us the figures and what it entailed, we realised that their standards were so high and that is why, if you noticed, this is the first Marriott of this quality in this country. Someone attempted similar brand at some point and I don’t think it even went through. So that gives you an idea of the kind of thing the Marriott really is all about. They came in during the feasibility stage, we looked at all the different architects we could use and all of that and then we started designing this masterpiece that we have here in GRA, Ikeja. Of course, the choice of Ikeja was simple because we wanted to marry aviation and hospitality. You know, when you come into a country the first port of call is the airport.

After the airport, the next is where you will stay, the hotel. So we thought with the synergies we have in our ground handling company, we will have to bring him products fresh for the hotel. You know, we thought well ahead that we could marry aviation and hospitality. We felt this is the best thing to do. So we started it, it was not easy. We are very grateful. We have the operations in the port where the real SIFAX shipping off dock and ports and cargo operates. So with their assistance, we could get containers in. We brought in well over 700 containers for this project. The materials we brought in were the standard we agreed with the Marriott. We also brought in artisans from China, from South Africa, from everywhere. Of course, we got our local content always to complement and for them to train because we wanted the best. But at the same time we wanted to also build a reservoir.

So those were the kind of synergies we brought in with this project. Not only did we just deliver a first class project, I can assure you that if you go through the history of this project, the number of Nigerians that have upgraded their skills because they worked on this project with us are many. Of course, we had Nigerian architects. We have Nigerian project managers that we all worked together with, including our designers, interior designers. We started almost seven years ago and by the grace of God, following all the government regulations and compliances for height, for safety, for everything and we were able to deliver this project about a month and a half ago. To the glory of God we have directors from all over the world in the project and these have opened different hotels in different parts of the world. This is because when Marriott opens a new hotel anywhere, the first thing they do is that they get their top directors worldwide that will go and head different areas of the hotel. Like food and beverage, human resource, operations and housekeeping. There will always be a foreign technical person that will be in charge. It is these top personnel that begin the training process for the locals. These are people who have had experiences all over the world.

They come from America, from South Africa, from Portugal from England; in fact, from everywhere. They said they had never seen a situation where a hotel has been received by the host community with so much enthusiasm. The hotel has always been full since it started. We get up to 85 per cent occupancy over the few weeks we have opened and it is getting better. Of course, you know with a thing like that as big as it is, we ourselves have to be tweaking and re-tweaking the standards to ramp up the training for the Nigerian workers there. So we have to keep improving and improving and improving to be able to get to that standard where we should be same thing, even with the menu the food and the different restaurants we have there. We just have to keep making it better and better and better. But so far so good and we are happy with what we are seeing.

Now the major challenge Nigerian hotels have is power. That is why the prices are very high. So how are you managing that?
Well, the truth is that in the case of power you talked about, it is very serious. We paid N60 million in the first month, just for power. And the truth is that for an operation like this, once you start everything should be working, from the chillers and will not be switched off. You have all kinds of lighting; you have all kinds of equipment in the kitchen, in the laundry. These are power units and they will consume power. You know, power generally in the world is not as expensive as it is in Nigeria. But you see at the same time we cannot drive our prospective customers with very high tariffs, either in our rooms or in our events. Maybe you want to do something in the ballroom or whatever, so we try and maintain the balance. But for now we seem to be working for the power company; that I can assure you.

But we pray that as it gets better, there are still one or two aspects of the business that has not started fully, which will commence next week. Like the wakame restaurant, which is like the Asian restaurant. I know that is going to be a major source of revenue, because Nigerians have predilection for Asian food: Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Thai foods. So, when that comes, I think we are going to have a lot of customers there. Also the spa is starting next week. So those two major aspects have not really started. But we are doing very well with the ballroom, with the meeting rooms and of course, with the lodgings the hotel accommodation.

Now let’s look at the plan to marry between the hotel and aviation. Are you looking at international airlines having their crew in the hotel, have you started that process?
Yes. We built the hotel with aviation in mind. And what we have done is that we have a special crew lounge for aviation. Well, the way the aviation industry operates is that when you have airlines, you have to have them for very long periods of time. So you tie them into long-term contracts and you have to give it to them at reduced rates. Airline crew flies for so many hours. So that means that at every point in time, you will have a crew on the ground. Now, you have to also look at your bookings. Yes, it is a 250-bedroom hotel with mixed suits, including presidential and two vice presidential suites. But we found out that we keep getting these bookings and bookings and bookings. So we are going to make a special quota for a few airlines; that is what we decided. We can’t take too many.

In order words, the patronage overwhelmed the hotel?
Yes, so we are going to make provision for a few airlines; just because we want that synergy between the aviation and hospitality sectors. I think it is very critical. I don’t know if you have noticed in the more advanced world that these days even the airport itself has malls, you find hotels, you can do everything like in Dubai airport today. You don’t need to go into the city, you can just go to Dubai stop at the airport, and do everything you need to do in Dubai and start coming back. You know that is the aerotropolis project the world over is talking about. Trying to make airports a one-stop shop for everything you need. And for now in Nigeria, it is the next best thing and that is what we have done at the Marriott and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. So to that extent, the plan is working very well and we are going to develop on it.

From what you have seen so far, apart from power what other thing do you think should be the challenges of running a hotel like this?
Well, there are quite a few challenges, which is the truth. Another thing is that you must understand that a hotel is a public space. So to that extent in as much as you want it to be exclusive, you still find situations where some people that don’t have any business being there, just come and sit down there. And they are trying to look for people, maybe find some people to talk to. They are looking for one big man in quote or the other and people love their privacy. So to that extent, we take time to make sure we also put checks in place where we make sure we don’t let people that have no business being there coming there, even though it is supposed to be a public place. Those are the kind of issues we have to deal with; then, of course, the issues with our staff. We have to make sure we keep them well motivated, so no staff is wayward in anyway. We have to make sure we get top quality service from them and then we have to make sure our customers are satisfied with 24 hours of the day. In as much as a hotel business is a 24-hour business, even if you wake up at 3:00 a.m. and you want to call room service, because you want something or the other, we have to make sure it is there for you.

The system in Nigeria tends to discourage investment: multiple taxation, arbitrary policies that subject organisations to the whims of individuals, what is the advice you will give the government at different levels so that they can create incentive to investment?
This is what we are saying and this is what we are trying to get across in all aspects. Okay we operate in Lagos; this hotel should be a credit to Lagos state which obviously is a tourist centre. I mean Lagos may be the fifth largest economy in Africa, even though it is a sub-national. You don’t want to kill businesses in Lagos. And the governor of Lagos has been very, very supportive of our project. But like you said, when the FIRS (Federal Inland Revenue Service), the LIRS (Lagos Inland Revenue Service) do not delineate their taxation system, all these multiple taxations come and these things kill business. In order to give incentives, this huge investment should attract tax holiday. It has created hundreds of jobs directly and indirectly. There are suppliers and other service providers to the hotel. So when you have situations like this, I think it is important that government should give the company time to take off and stabilize.

It is like a plane taking off, gaining altitude and cruising in the air. You know, it is just when you are on the runway that is the most challenging time until you get to a comfortable height and you start to cruise. So we are appealing to concerned authorities to give us that consideration. Even with the power companies, we need these tax and price breaks so that the place can be established because at the end of the day the hotel is going to be there for everybody to enjoy. It is going to be a one-stop shop like we are trying to do. We are therefore using this opportunity to appeal to them and we have been interacting with all the different tax offices to say, look, you have to give us a break, you have to give us some kind of tax holidays, even the expatriate quotas, pioneer status, all those things we have done. And you know, they have been quite cooperative.

In terms of security what’s the confidence you can give to somebody that come into the country?
Our security is top notch because Marriott has his own standard operating procedure. We also built a first class property, and we handed it over to the Marriott as the brand manager. And like I said, they come with the highest standards of operating procedure. And one of the very, very important things that they don’t joke with is with security. That hotel is secure in a way, in fact the security you see is just one over 10 of the security that is in that place. So in terms of security, we are totally covered. I assure you, the four corners of that hotel are totally secured.

You know that hospitality and tourism go together, on the tourism side, is there anything you are doing?
Yes, we are working with the Ministry of Tourism in Lagos. We are already in synergy with them. We have even scheduled a meeting with them. We are going to be in the Lagos state tourism master plan. At the planned meeting, we intend to interact with them and find out those areas they want us to come in. The facility is going to be available for them; whether we want to do events that would depict our cultural heritage. Whatever it is they bring we are ready to make the facility available. And we want to be part of the hub of tourism and culture in Lagos and in Nigeria. So in that whole ecosystem of aviation, of tourism, of culture, we want to make sure that the hospitality business is also in the center of the hub so that they can all work in synergy. Because that is what delivers first-class tourism to a traveling customer that comes from outside the country, that wants to understand your norms, your culture, your values as a people. This is because that is what you sell, anyway.

Another issue with hotels, is when you open newly, people flock to it, after some time, there becomes a lull. Do you have pre-emptive plans to avoid such?
Yes, what happens is when you drop the ball and that is the problem. That is why a hotelier or as a brand you must make sure that your standards are unassailable. You must hold on to your standard because that is the only way you keep your customers. If you don’t keep your standards then you lose your customers. And how do you not keep your standard? By then you don’t maintain your facility, all of a sudden your facility looking run down, things are not working, your food is not top-notch then people start complaining and inevitably there will be a degeneration of the hotel. But if you are serious about your facility and that is why, like I said to you, we have got top-notch brand managers in the Marriott. Their standards are totally unassailable first-class. And their standard operating procedure, which encompasses their maintenance manual, is second to none. I cannot assure you. So, we don’t even run that risk, that hotel is going to be run as if it is in Washington, as if it is New York, even though we are working against all odds. Because in those places certain things are taken for granted, we have to do our own power sometimes for 48 hours, but it is okay because we have all kinds of different tiers of power solutions in the hotel.

How do you get your food supplies, considering the fact that foods at the hotel represent different cultures?
Nigeria is blessed with local fruits, vegetables, and all of that. But there are still some types of fruits that are grown in temperate weathers abroad. Again, that is where our synergy at the airport, SAHCO Plc, which is the ground handling company, we have major cooling facilities there. So we have situations where we get fresh produce from France. Different kinds of things that we bring are well stored and they are brought into the hotel. These things that come daily or two times a week are served fresh. Those are the perishable fresh items. So because of those synergies we have, it makes it easier for us to be able to run it that way. And like I said to you that was part of the whole conception of the hotel being near the airport and what we are trying to do.

In the long term, do you think it is possible to start growing some of those things, maybe, directly from Plateau State?
Yes, we are also looking at that. You know Nigeria is a country that is blessed immensely. We have all the different weathers here. It is all about the synergies and security. So in a few inquiries we made because, of course, that was the first thing we did, to make inquiries for what we can get locally, especially in the Middle Belt area of the country because of the security issues they have, so a lot of farmers are not even going to their farms. Because these are things that are done deliberately and they are done with technical exactitude so to speak. So when you can go today and then they are killing tomorrow, and you run away, you miss some time, you miss the whole thing with some of these crops. So we are having an issue with that, but the minute the country as a whole can get is security right then we will start looking more towards home grown fruits and vegetables and cash crops for most of these fruits we need.

When do you think you can break-even?

That is a very tricky one. I won’t lie to you. In the books it says in 10 years. Because I can assure you that this investment is a N40 billion investment. We started at, maybe, when the naira was N150 to one dollar and ended with the naira being about N500 to one dollar. As I speak to you we still have one or two things that are coming through. So, to that extent, it has not been easy. And with the cash outlay with the banks we worked with, we are looking at ten years. But if we do very well, we can do seven years. And if we do extraordinarily well, maybe five years, maybe seven years, we should be talking about breaking even and just getting on our feet because it to is a huge investment.