Chinedu Eze

High cost of international travel, the growing attraction of hotels and resorts in Africa have influenced a rethink among Africans who in the past, travelled to Europe, the US and some parts of Asia for holiday.

From Nigeria to Ghana and to other parts of Africa, the hospitality industry is beginning to boom because of higher patronage and the new tendency for Africans to spend their money at home.

Reports indicate that among the key pillars of the tourism sector, the hotel industry stands out as a significant contributor to Ghana’s economy, providing employment opportunities, fostering tourism, and showcasing the country’s rich culture and hospitality.

In a recent trip to Ghana during the Accra Weizo Travel Expo, THISDAY spoke to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Accra City Hotel, Yaw Mamphey, who talked about the rapid growth of the hospitality industry in Ghana, the growth of hotels because of surging demand and how his own hotel is expanding to meet the demand of the segment of the market it belongs.

According to Mamphey, “As much as possible, we cover a very wide range of segments. But predominantly, because you have a lot of business people coming to Accra be it on a daily basis or maybe weekly. So, we accommodate these individuals because you want to come into the city, quickly do your business, and you are out. And when you are in the city, you want to stay in a place which is close to all the major avenues of businesses you are coming to attract. That is where Accra City becomes very relevant, and we understand the needs of different markets. So for example, 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.”

Mamphey further said: “So, yes, we will cater for a lot of business travelers. The same way, 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. When you enter, you can get anything Ghanaian you are looking for. Apart from that, Accra is also developing to be a major shopping 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, with specialized and Ghanaian authentic dishes. Your jollof, your wachi, your fufu, you can get all of them. Of course, if you also want continental dishes too, excellent. We provide all of these. We also have a wonderful line of buffet selection. If you do not want to select from the menu, you can then run through our buffet selection and then have something to enjoy.”

Since Accra is becoming a fast growing city, hotel service has become very competitive and they have tailored their services to the need of their guests, he said. Mamphey believes that with the rapid way the city is growing, existing hotels may not meet the need in the foreseeable future.

“Personally, I would say we need more hotels in the city of Accra, more than we currently have, because the more hotels we have in the city, at a highest standard, five-star, four-star, three-star, we will be able to hold a lot of huge international events. So for me I love competition, so I won’t say more hotels coming on board would mean that we are not going to get business. We actually need more hotels in the city. That would be the only way we can host a lot of big international events, sporting events, entertainment events, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibition) events, AU events, ECOWAS events, we need more hotels. So I don’t think it would be a bad business for us if there are more hotels in Accra. We actually need more hotels than we currently have. And for us, the strategic location of Accra City Hotel, being in the middle of the government business, the commercial business, the entertainment business, we are strategically in an ideal location which would always favour Accra City Hotel,” the COO said.

According to him, the Accra City hotel has been operating for over 35 years but changed name to Accra City Hotel recently. He emphasised that the hotel has thrived over the years because it has efficiently met the needs of its guests.

In the hospitality industry, tour operators are very critical because hotels rely on their recommendation to have guests. According to Mamphey, tour operators are very important to his hotel.

“They are actually very integral to us. So we do not play with tour operators at all. 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 which you will not find anywhere. So at any given time we are looking out for them, when we approach them, we are looking to give them the best of deals so they can bring in volumes into the city of Accra.

“However, what sustains hotel and keep the guests coming is the standard of the hotel, which depends on maintenance. Many hotels that were the rave of the moment yesterday may have diminished to less than footnote today due to poor maintenance, Mamphey said, adding that maintenance is very critical to the management of Accra City Hotel.

“Maintenance it is key to us. It is for that 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, the building, you need to refurbish, you need to change equipment and it is this that keeps us relevant. Because the last thing you want is, when guests coming into your properties and they say your place looks too old or your things are breaking down, I don’t want to come there again. And that is what drives us to make sure our maintenance culture is paramount. It is for that reason we are still relevant in the Accra market. There are many hotels that have come and gone and are no longer in the market, but we are still relevant in the Accra business, because maintenance culture is our priority,” he further said.