Project Nigeria’s image positively to boost patronage of hospitality industry— experts

NAN-H-27
Hospitality
By Taiye Baiyerohi
Lagos Nov. 23, 2016 (NAN) Some tourism experts on Wednesday advised operators in the industry to always project the corporate image of the country positively to boost their patronage.
They said this at a conference with the theme: “Tourism and Hospitality in Nigeria, Understanding the challenges, taking the opportunities’’ held in Lagos.
They said this was one of the best ways the operators could break-even in the face of the present economic recession.
Mr Yemi Johnson, the Digital Marketing Manager of Hotel. Ng, said that everyone in the tourism and hospitality industry must always project the image of the country positively to their clients and intending tourists.
Johnson said that this would create good impressions about the country in the minds of the intending tourists.
“Tell beautiful stories as regards the country and you will see everything falling in shape.
“ We can propagate good stories about Nigerians instead of exaggerating problems of insecurity, power outage and more,” he said.
Also, Mr Bruce Prins, the Operations Manager of MP Hotels said that hoteliers should avoid price bargaining for their hotel rooms.
Prins said that this act would result in a drop in the quality of service rendered to their guests , make it difficult for the operators to increase the rooms’ rates later.
This would cause the devaluation of the local hospitality industry, he said.
Prins said that hoteliers needed to focus on increasing revenue from their facilities and not occupancy, stay proactive not reactive.
“You should have a fixed rate for each category of hotel rooms to allow for uniformity, when you render good services, customers will keep coming in,” he said.
Another speaker, Mrs Ifeoma Nwabachili from Wavecrest College of Hospitality admonished hoteliers to work greatly on their employee’s attitudes to customers.
She said that neatness should be every hotel’s watchword.
“ Every employee in a hotel should be accommodating and caring to keep customers coming in, “she said.(NAN)
PTB/PAD
=======
Edited by Peter Dada