Q
Ostra Hall and Hotel is basically an hotel reservation. We also have the one for event. We have the bar.We usually call it Ohio lounge … which is the late chairman’s name.it was named in honor of him,It was due for renovation and also during the Covid-19 we also observed that most of our clients are corporate customers and people no longer do events. People do events through zoom or virtual platforms so we observed that we are not strong with corporate customers so we thought that what can we now do to attract corporate customers and we don’t have a swimming pool here so we said, let’s do a lounge and with that we can get individual customers to get involved with the place so we decide to upgrade from a main bar or open bar to a lounge. The response has been very positive. Now we have people who use the lounge from 11pm don’t want to go home and they lodge. It is impacting to and increasing our occupancy rate. So that is what the Covid was an actual opportunity to show the business strength and weakness. We discovered that we were not strong in individual customers so we have to take that decision to upgrade into a lounge and made it more cozy for people to relax with music, cool air conditions and we also offer meals that are very healthy that people want to eat now. So, that is what brought us to upgrade it to a lounge.
Q
The first challenge of course, every other business in Nigeria is power. Power is key. The new power rate by Dimko or what do they call them, we spend over N2million. And N2million for us that represent over 30% and that is a big challenge. The second challenge we also have is multiple taxation. We are supposed to pay 7.5% vat to the federal government and also back here in Lagos state we pay consumption tax of 5.5%. so, when you buy the water of N150, 7.5% goes to federal government and 5% rate to state and local government also come back to say that you have liquor license. So anything you are drinking you pay a license for it. you pay radio license. One of the biggest challenges we have of running events in lounge is the Covid thing. The Lagos state …. And they have a safety commission. People will tell you, the occupancy rate for your hall is usually before covid you can take 500 but with covid that means you are going to have 250. And for some people only the groom family alone is more than 100 and it is also really a big challenge. We are losing a lot of customers because of the reduced number. We have also pay a lot. We pay for safety permits. These money if we are paying it, the amount of their renting a hall has not increased. The amount we are selling the rooms also hasn’t increased. Because with the Covid and the reception, the purchasing power of the average customer has reduced. The purchasing power have reduced and your needs to run the business have increased. How do you now balance things? So, since January, our staff are taking, about 50% of salary. They are in between losing their jobs, staying at home or just getting something to sustain. So, we also very hopeful because this month, the government lifted the ban that we can do events but at a very reduced rate. So, we are still hoping that things will improve and we are already seeing the sign. For the event, it is improving but in terms of the trainings, we are not just opened for parties. We are also opened for trainings so in terms of the training, we have a lot of training halls. We have trainings for 20, we have for 50 just that they are not coming because those trainings they do it virtually these days and the advent of Zoom, … and all of that has also affect our training facility. They are dormant because people now leverage on virtual trainings. So, there are some of the challenge we have. Just last week, LAWMA we used to pay N40,000 per collection, now they said it is N180,000 per collection. In a month we pay four times collection. It is huge. It takes someone who has faith in God to run a business. Those are some of the challenges we have running the business.
Q
This is a eighteen-years-old facility. In march, it was eighteen years and at first, we are one of the first hotels in this area. Now a lot of hotels have sprung up. For us to stand out there is a lot of challenges. Running a hotel is very capital intensive so first we have categorized ourselve to be a budget hotel. because if you have so much money to spend you won’t come here. You would probably go to a Marriot that you just open. It is very tasking. So, we at our own end the class that we find ourselves as a budget hotel, what we do is that our old facility we make it as clean and fresh as possible. And also the service should be very receptive. Our service is very very receptive because we know that in terms of facility, we are not really up there so what we can do to complement it is a neat and serene environment and effective service. And of course, we also know some other facilities we need to incorporate. We already created a place for the gym and we just want to bring in the gym facility to the space because people want to burn their fat and stay healthy. So of course the gym is one of the added facilities we have and the lounge that we launched. These are some of the facilities and added advantages that we are adding to make us competitive and stay in the business.
Q
Human capital is key for business development. If you have a one billion dollar business, and you don’t have the right set of people it would be a big challenge. First what we do as I said to you earlier, leadership is key. Everything falls and rise with leadership. When you provide exemplary leadership, your subordinates will follow through. You don’t just say things, you do them. When they see you doing certain things, if you are doing a party for instance, I do arrange the chairs and serve customers, when they see me at the top doing it, they now know that I am not just talking. It is easier for people to follow you through. A lot of Nigerians have imbibed this quick money syndrome. They don’t want to go through process. They don’t want to think, they don’t want to work, they don’t want to do a lot of hardwork. But, from what we do here, we just make it easy by providing exemplary leadership. It is easy for them to follow. For discipline, we also ensure that if we are disciplined, which I am. I haven’t come here to sleep with a girlfriend or have an affair with staff so you provide that topnotch strong disciplinary quality, it is easy for your staff to also follow. Yes, managing human beings is a global thing. One of the things in managing human beings in an organisation is organizational culture. Organisation culture is you as a leader saying okay, we have to prioritize respect to respect every person in the organizational hierarchy. So, every staff learns to respect themselves because even their boss respects them as well and so they also need to be trust. We ensure that we trust ourselves. When those things are there you ensure that you have an effective culture. Culture is the way of life of a people. And when you do that at the top level, it is very easy to manage them. In Nigeria, I don’t think Nigerians are very difficult to manage when you provide this strong leadership example who is exemplary who is selfless. I get involved in every aspect of the business. My staff who are marketers, I do marketing more than them because I have to say, you have to think. You know when you say you are a supervisor for example a supervisor means someone with a supervision. You should be able to see more than the way the average staff is seeing. So, if you are their boss, you should see more than they are seeing. That is how you can provide direction for them. Yes, it is challenging but that is how you can provide to always think ahead, be kind to them.
Q
My mission is that I want to make a blueprint. I can actually do this and do the two simultaneously. Everything has their exclusivity. I have a catholic background as a manservant. I have this mindset that I am going to a priest for my parents and my dad wanted me to be a priest so that mindset still go with me. For seven years in marriage, my wife is still my wife and she is the only one. Because if I go to ten women, the same resultant effect I would have. If I meet ten it is the same thing I would achieve so it is cheaper to just stay with one. It is cheaper and safer and you don’t bind yourself with too much responsibility. Not just the money again but the fact that you are enjoying your time. Somebody would say I want to spend time with you. Lets go here and there, I don’t really have that strength. So, for me I tend to just, you know some of them may offer themselves to you for free but as I said, you mission is mor important than your emotion. Don’t mix your emotion with your mission.
Q
The marketing team is not strong. The location is quiet strategic. Strategic in a way that it is connected to Lagos Ibadan expressway, it is connected to the road leading to VI and it is connected to the airport, it is close to the Lagos state government house, it is a walking distance to it and is in a central business area and it is the first hotel around this place. it is eightee n year old so everything determines. If I meet ten people in Alausa and if I meet ten people at church, there is a potential for six persons. The hotel is known so referral is key and most of our customers come through this platform. Of course we know that referral and all the effort we are putting in the occupancy we are still recording 60%. You can see that we have not fully attained potential. Therr is still a vacuum of 40%. That 40% is what we are to key in. we are trying to do more of training. We try to leverage social media through whatsapp, Facebook and instagram. It is quiet effective. We also try o optimize our website and increase the search visibility. Everything is going digital. There is a consumer pattern that the younger generation have that is different from that of our parents. our generation, before we consume, we want to have a review. If I want to buy this laptop, I will have to go to a review button which is on a commercial site. Where I would go to is the review button. What are people saying about this product? Because the best experience for me is the experience of other people. I must go to the review button. The rating. How do people rate this product? We want to also be very very visible. Now, most customers go online so we want to be as visible as possible on social media. In the past, our strength was that we were not doing individual customers , we had corporate customers. Companies was our strength. They deal with less stress and they pay in bulk. When we do two or three in a month, we are fine. But right now with the covid and the corporate customers stretched, staying in a hotel has become luxury. Some have converted some of their rooms into training rooms because they need to control cost. People are working at home and nothing is really happening in those offices. We are losing a lot so now we have changed from corporate customers that we used to rely on to individual customers. So, how do we meet our individual customers, social media. It is difficult to sell rooms. It is easier sold to corporate organisations. So, our marketing strategy is to be on social media, rely on PROs with a percentage.
Q
I am always working because they say for a man with a running ambition there is no sleep. And as I said, I have other business that I do and those are for my spare time. I used to have a flair for writing and reading but these days, I have not read a book for the past two years because I don’t really have the motivation to read because the ones I read before I don’t think I have used half to do anything. My spare time is to play table tennis and watch matches and gist. Maybe my favourite color is black. I am wearing black now. Of recent I ate fisherman soup and where I ate it, in fact I am begging my wife to go and learn it. I think for now it is my favourite meal. It is really nice with crabs and snails.
Q
I don’t think I have achieved much.