Presidential Inauguration: Abuja Hotel Operators Smile to the Bank
- By Simeon Ogoegbulem
- Published May 31st, 2011
- News
- Unrated
Hotel operators in Abuja city are relishing on their good fortune following the unusual high patronage they received during the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Following the inauguration of Jonathan, Abuja recorded an unprecedented number of visitors.
Though no official figure is available, it is estimated that over one million peoples from within and outside the country visited Abuja within the last one week. It is estimated that more would arrive within the week for the inauguration of the National Assembly.
The greater number of visitors had put a huge pressure on the hospitality industry in the federal capital territory. BusinessWorld Intelligence gathered that due to the volume of guests, most hotels cancelled reservation services and resorted to giving out rooms to guests that are waiting and ready to move in.
BusinessWorld Intelligence also revealed that many hotels capitalized on the high demand for accommodation to jerk up rates. For instance, hotels that charged N12,000 per standard room hiked the rate to N25,000. Most hotels also cancelled weekend rates in order to maximize profit.
It was learnt that there were mild drama in some hotels as guests who had earlier agreed to check out changed there minds and rather opted to deposit more funds for fear of loosing the rooms completely. The situation led to guests to tip hotel staff heavily before they would be allocated rooms.
The inability of the hotels in the city centre to accommodate the high number visitors forced many to take up residence in hotels in the outskirts of the city. Many hotels in the far flung places like Kuje, Gwagwalda, Kubuwa became a beehive of activities as they readily accepted guests who could not get rooms in town.
The situation is also the same for hotels in the neighbouring states of Nasarawa and Niger states. Hotel operators in these areas also took advantage of the high demand for rooms to increase their rates. A hotel manager who does not want his name in print said that they have to jerk up their rates in order “to have a piece of the cake”
Though no official figure is available, it is estimated that over one million peoples from within and outside the country visited Abuja within the last one week. It is estimated that more would arrive within the week for the inauguration of the National Assembly.
The greater number of visitors had put a huge pressure on the hospitality industry in the federal capital territory. BusinessWorld Intelligence gathered that due to the volume of guests, most hotels cancelled reservation services and resorted to giving out rooms to guests that are waiting and ready to move in.
BusinessWorld Intelligence also revealed that many hotels capitalized on the high demand for accommodation to jerk up rates. For instance, hotels that charged N12,000 per standard room hiked the rate to N25,000. Most hotels also cancelled weekend rates in order to maximize profit.
It was learnt that there were mild drama in some hotels as guests who had earlier agreed to check out changed there minds and rather opted to deposit more funds for fear of loosing the rooms completely. The situation led to guests to tip hotel staff heavily before they would be allocated rooms.
The inability of the hotels in the city centre to accommodate the high number visitors forced many to take up residence in hotels in the outskirts of the city. Many hotels in the far flung places like Kuje, Gwagwalda, Kubuwa became a beehive of activities as they readily accepted guests who could not get rooms in town.
The situation is also the same for hotels in the neighbouring states of Nasarawa and Niger states. Hotel operators in these areas also took advantage of the high demand for rooms to increase their rates. A hotel manager who does not want his name in print said that they have to jerk up their rates in order “to have a piece of the cake”
