Christoph Schleissing: Team Members Key to Hospitality Sector’s Growth

The General Manager, Lagos Continental Hotel, Mr. Christoph Schleissing, tells Charles Ajunwa why the company relaunched the Sugar 52, among other issues

How would you describe the Nigerian business environment?

When I came in August last year, we just came out of the valley, and business had actually dropped. Many factors were responsible for the drop in business –  we had some demonstrations, unrest in July and August. But the last four months – September, October, November, December of 2024, were extremely positive. The most positive month was December, and everybody talks about the 14 days in December and how they impacted the hospitality industry, particularly in Lagos. It’s called Detty December, and this upswing continues in 2025. We must say that we had an extremely positive start to 2025. The first quarter was very successful. When I see that the first quarter is successful and we can see how April is developing and what we have on the books, what we always look at is what kind of business is booked already.

In general, individual business is booked nowadays zero to three days. Let’s say group business is booked, if you’re lucky, 10 days in advance. Last year, we got very big group bookings for this year, April, August and November. They are very big groups. This is not local group business, this is international. So, once you have these three, let’s say, we have three big pieces like this already confirmed on the books, the first quarter came out very strong. 

We are extremely confident that we are going to make our budget this year. And what we see as well is that there is a lot of focus from abroad into Nigeria. We see a lot of new companies coming to Nigeria. There is a lot of interest. We just had the visit of the Crown Princess from Sweden, Victoria, and she came and opened a new trade office. These are very positive signs that, let’s say the exchange rate has somehow stabilised, the energy cost is stabilising because it’s depending on the petrol prices. It looks like a very or a more positive environment to do business than it was in 2024. We believe it’s very positive.

 What has changed since you came in? 

 When I came in, the mission from the chairman was very clear, and the vision of the chairman was to lift the quality of the property. To lift the quality of the property, we need the right skill set on duty. So, what we did first is that we had a look at which skill set is missing to move the hotel to this level. We brought in specialists, particularly in the kitchen and in the service. This has helped to move up the perception of quality of the property, because food and beverage for the restaurant is becoming more and more important for a hotel stay. The second point, is that we put in phrases our vision and communicated that vision to all of our team members.

So, we brought everybody together and we made it very clear in which direction we want to go. We have a complete backup from the holding company when it comes to our quality drive. That means it goes from, let’s say, ingredients for the kitchen to workforce to crucial investment in the product we have. This has really helped us to drive through September, October, November. And then in December, we had a very clear vision on when it came to the pricing. Don’t forget during what they call Detty December is where do our guests actually come from? Ninety per cent are coming from abroad.

You talked about your hotel having world-class quality. What products do you have?

 For example, in food and beverage, everything we do, we do ourselves. When we say in the pastry, we make you a Gâteau Opera, it is a Gâteau Opera like you find it in Paris on the Champs-Élysées. So we use the authentic recipe.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Often, you go to another place, they call it Gâteau Opera, but it’s a sponge cake. But we don’t do a sponge cake, we make a real Gâteau Opera. That means we have the knowledge on duty, and we have the ingredients in the hotel. And we have the know-how to produce it. I mean, if you have a croissant here, it’s the same croissant like you would have in Paris, because we use the same ingredients. We use real butter, we use real flat butter. We have the right flour and we have the right oven. We have a pastry chef who is from France. So this works. That means whatever we do, for example, our Chinese restaurant is authentic Chinese. That means every ingredient is either imported or freshly produced from the local market. This is what sets us apart. Also, we pay most attention to our people. This is a great advantage in Nigeria, that you have a young workforce who are very, very stimulated to learn, and they come with a genuine smile. You know, in some countries, they might be super skilled, but they have difficulty smiling. So more important for us is that you genuinely smile. The rest we can teach. And I think this is what we have done. We have done a lot of trainings, and I’m sure you saw this also. We are in the hotel operation. It’s not because you are here that I’m in the operation. We are always in the operation. From my point of view, we can only teach when you show the sample. I cannot theoretically tell you how to make a pineapple juice. I have to show you what ingredient you have to take, what you have to put.

With the support of the owning company, we are not cutting the corners. For example, if you have to make a dish in our restaurant where lemongrass is an important ingredient, but lemongrass is not available, then we will not produce the dish. You understand what I mean? We are not trying to put some, you know, no, it’s not available. What we produce has to be authentic, and this is the key.

We are authentic. We are very guest-oriented. The guest for us is the centre. Whatever we do has to make you more happy, and more satisfied. When you leave the hotel, actually make you a better version of yourself.  What I hear from you after one day and a half with us, you feel different. You know, I’m not saying you feel more light, but you feel different, a certain pressure.

We have a lot of fun. You’re more relaxed. And so the goal is to take you through a positive transformation when you go home. This can only work when we make it individual to you, and it all starts with your name. I mean, nothing is more individual than your name. So our goal is always to try to remember your name and to make sure that our team makes sure that you know their name too. For example, when we serve, we are trying to make sure that our team comes to your table and says, my name is Joy. I’m your host, not your waiter. We are on the same level. So we are with Ritz-Carlton, we would call it, ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen. I think this is a very innovative approach to service.

What are the unique selling points of Lagos Continental Hotel? 

First of all, from my point of view, is the team. The second, is the location of the property in a very secure environment. And then we have a variety of outlets and facilities. So we have an Ekaabo for breakfast and we have a lunch for a buffet for lunch and dinner. We have brunch on Sundays. Then we have on the second floor where we are sitting right now, our Chinese restaurant. Authentic. One of the best Chinese restaurants in Africa. On the fifth floor, we have our fun, fitness, lifestyle and nightlife, which is from the gym where we went this morning to the outdoor pool. It’s the only hotel, where you have a view over the city of Lagos. Then, of course, Sugar 52, the relaunch party where we actually reintroduced the new menu. The new menu, what is different about the new menu is that it takes into consideration now the new skill set we have in the hotel. So it goes from Asian sushi, barbecue, South African imported dry aged meat and a very nice selection of pastries, which are all done by our Lebanese and French pastry chefs. Then what we haven’t seen yet, but we can show you later on because we are setting it up on the third floor, is that we have very extensive meeting facilities. Our ballroom is 1,400 square meters, is the second largest in Lagos. And what is super important is without pillars. It has a capacity of 1,000 to 1,100 on theater? We can do 500 to 550 when we do dinner style, depending a little bit how the setup is done with the stage and so on. And then we have different room categories. So we go from superior over deluxe club rooms to the different kinds of suites. We have one presidential suite, which is a very particular presidential suite because it’s a big suite and it has three separate bedrooms in the suite, which is very important when you have official visits. You can actually keep the bodyguards inside the same suite, but they’re in a separate room, but it’s all happening in the same premises of the same suite.

To the club room and suite guests, we have on the 21st floor is a panoramic view over Lagos, and you can see even the seashore is our executive club lounge where we serve breakfast and we do a very nice happy hour from six to eight every day. We maybe serve some, a small finger food buffet and a very premium selection of international brands for wines, whiskey, gin. It’s a very nice open bar. 

Can you throw more light on the Sugar 52 Restaurant? 

 Sugar 52, what makes it perfect is because it’s outdoor. It’s absolutely fabulous. It’s outdoor and it has a very relaxed ambience. I mean, you’re near the pool, you’re on the fifth floor with a panorama over the city, but without the bustle of the city. Then you have a menu which is going from Asian, from sushi to barbecues. So it’s a very, very diverse menu. It goes through very different parts of the world. There is Asian, there is Arabic with a mezzanine section. There is Nigerian. There is, of course, the barbecue part. There is a sandwich part. There is a very strong vegetarian option. And I think it leaves the choice something light for lunch while you’re at the pool, something more heavy in the evenings when you perhaps want to sit with your business partners or your colleagues. Then every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, we have a themed evening. So it’s live music around the area, around the pool. It makes it really the place to be when you want to, let’s say, change your mind, think out of the box under the stars and unwind. Chillax. Our tagline for the restaurant is called Chillax. Repeat.

Chillax, which is chill and relax. 

Earlier you had mentioned skills and attitude. What’s your definition of attitude in this contest? And how is that working for you in this hotel?

 Our business is very important. Our business is characterised by people delivering service to people. This is from people to people. The attitude is key. So the attitude is you must like people. You must love people. You must love to engage with people. That’s the attitude. With a smile, genuine welcome and how you enter, for example, your details into my system so that I can deliver you the key, this I can teach you. On the other hand, what is extremely important is that we are a company with very strong beliefs and values. The key values are integrity, honesty, dedication, commitment towards our brand and, the willingness to grow. This is what I would put under attitude. Skills, we can teach. Skills are, let’s say, linked to using the system. When it comes to cooking skills, I can teach you that too. It’s a longer journey. You understand? This is a longer journey. But you need, for example, if you say to me, I want to become a chef, no worries. I will teach you. But you have to have the patience to go through the learning curve. I mean, a chef doesn’t start cooking. The chef starts first cleaning, cutting the vegetables, and understand the product. You need to touch it. You need to smell it. You need to understand, is it a good product.