3 months ago
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The hospitality industry is one of the major global leverages for economic stability and growth. It stimulates economic activities, as well as attracts international investors, tourists and business travellers from all sectors. In this interview, MARIA DIAMOND spoke with Yaw K Mamphey, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) Accra City Hotel on the economic impact of the hospitality industry in West Africa and other issues.
The Accra City Hotel is the first International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) certified hotel in West Africa. 36 years after establishment, how has the hotel maintained its relevance both in West Africa and globally?
We have a great maintenance culture. Accra City Hotel has grown a long way and is becoming a major international destination for international events. So, we regularly rebrand and expand to meet international standards. You can see the expansion going on at the back there. We are also going to have about eight additional conferences. We are building a thousand capacity event hall, which will do a lot of big events: Weddings, groceries, book launches, and corporate events. That is the MICE business. And so, the hotels and event centres in Accra and West Africa need to get ready for these types of business. Accra City Hotel is not going to wait until the business is in before we do that. We have anticipated the growth of the business in the sector and we are preparing solidly for that. That is why we are building this four storey event centre to handle the business coming in the future of Accra. Aside from that, we are also expanding our recreational aspects. We are adding another swimming pool. We have a tennis court. Anytime there is a major tennis tournament in Accra, because we are very close to where the tennis courts are, a lot of tennis players like to lodge in the hotel. These facilities bring people into the hotel.
We have a tennis court where they can practice before they go on the tournament. We understand the needs of what business people are looking for when they come to Accra, and the location is perfect. We are right next to the business district. Makola is one of the largest shopping areas in Ghana, not just in Accra. We are also next to the ministries where all government businesses in Ghana happen. We are close to the entertainment, the Accra Sports Stadium, close to the National Theatre, and the conference centre. So, anyone coming to do business in Accra, Accra City is the best location to live in. Once you are in Accra City, you are just like five to 10 minutes away from all the major destinations you want to go and transact your business. Accra city is a prime location. The rooms we provide are quality standard rooms, premium rooms, and superior rooms. These automatically meet different individual’s needs. We have guests from all over West Africa and internationally coming to Accra City. And they want a place they can feel at home. And that is what we provide, conducive environment for different markets.
After 35 years in the hospitality sector, what would you say is your major operation sustainability?
The bottom line of this is customer service. We are in a customer service business, despite everything. We are here to serve. Once you lose track of the fact that you are here to serve, you are going down the drain, because it is the customers that have made Accra city what it is and what we want is a repeat business – a client coming, feeling good and wanting to come back again. Customer service is top priority for us. It is about making the guests feel good, no matter what. Providing what they need. When you look at our books, we have a huge number of Nigerians coming to Accra City Hotel to lodge and we understand this. So, a good number of times in the restaurant, the buffet selection you do, because we know we have a big number of Nigerians in-house, we try as much as possible to incorporate some of the local dishes from Nigeria into our buffet.
And we have come to understand the minor nuances and tastes of different people from different parts of the world. So our kitchen team has also adapted.
If we have to cook Chinese food, we are ready to do that. If we have to cook Indian food, we are doing that. I remember last year around the Nigerian independence, September, October, that period, that whole week, we cooked only Nigerian food in our restaurant and we did not make any noise about it but Nigerians who were coming in and seeing Nigerian food, were the ones calling their Nigerian friends in Accra that they are cooking Nigerian food in Accra City. So, from nowhere, we had Nigerians coming in that whole week just to come and enjoy.
And those dishes were all done by Ghanaian chefs in the city. And the Nigerians who came to us, were asking, do you have a Nigerian chef in the house? We went all out to make sure it was authentic Nigerian food we cooked in the restaurant. So for us, customer service, understanding what our clients are looking for, that is paramount for us. And also the maintenance culture is top notch for us.
With the growth of the city, would you say the services you provide for your target market is in tandem with the way the city is growing vis-a-vis the hotels coming up?
The truth is we need more hotels in the city of Accra, more than we currently have, because the more hotels we have in the city at the highest standards, five-star, four-star, three-star, we will be able to hold a lot of huge international events.
I won’t say more hotels coming on board would mean that we are not going to get business. The strategic location of Accra City Hotel, being in the middle of the government, commercial and entertainment businesses, we are strategically in an ideal location, which would always favour Accra City Hotel.
And what is most important is that we are not stagnant. We have been operating for over 35 years now. We actually need more hotels events in the city in order for us as a country to be able to host a lot of big events, sporting, entertainment, MICE, AU and ECOWAS events, etc.
Looking at the segment of your market, where will you place Accra City Hotel in that market?
As much as possible, we cover a very wide range of segments basically. But predominantly, the location is a strategic one that allows seamless access for individuals, tourists and business people who want to work within a time frame – they want a place where they can easily go in, do their business and they are out. More importantly, they want to stay in a place close to all the major avenues of businesses they are coming to attract. This is where Accra City becomes very relevant. We understand the needs of different markets. So, for example, the majority of Nigerian flights coming into Ghana are coming in the morning. So, we are ready for them. Those who want to do early check-in, we will check you in. You check in, you drop your luggage, and then straight you are in town transacting your business.
You finish, because we are close by, wherever you are doing your business, you come back, you rest, and then you relax. So yes, we will cater for a lot of business travelers. The same way on weekends too, we get a lot of travelers who are coming to our Accra to shop. So they come, drop their luggage, go into the shopping district, the largest shopping area, Makola. We are just a minute walk from Makola. Accra is also developing to be a fashion destination and we are close to all the major fashion houses in the city. So, you come, you drop your bag, you go and do your shopping and we have one of the top chefs in our hotel, Chef Matthew. He has won numerous international awards. So after a long day in town, you come back and you come to our restaurant, you are sure to get a wide variety of dishes local and continental.
In terms of affordability, what is your relationship with tour operators who bring people for vacation from other countries?
Tour operators are very important to any hotel and at Accra City Hotel they are very integral to us. This is because it is these tour operators who also know and understand the clients from various countries who are bringing in volumes of business into the country. As much as possible we work hand-in-hand with tour operators and at any given time we do very special Offers and deals for tour operators.
How often do you do maintenance and upgrading of your facilities?
Maintenance is the key to the growth of hospitality industry, especially hotels. This is why we have a strong team of over 20 staff in the maintenance department and as I mentioned we are a 35 years old hotel, so, certainly you know that you have equipment to refurbish including the building. You need to constantly equipment and upgrade your facilities to stay relevant. No guest wants to stay in an old looking hotel. Lack of maintenance culture is a major reason behind the crashing of some hotels that are no longer in the market.
Do you think Accra City Hotel pricing is competitive enough, and how does it affect patronage?
There are a lot of factors that go into rates being what they are in the city of Accra and I believe the same goes for other countries. This could be taxes, tariffs, high utility costs, everything having to be imported, etc, all these things play into the cost ratio of hotel pricing in Accra.
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