COVID-19 pandemic impacted negatively on the global economy, with the tourism sector worse hit as a result of the lockdown, ban and restrictions on travel by global destinations in order to mitigate the effect of the pandemic.
With the world bouncing back and global destinations are once again seeing the numbers rising as the travel business is back on course and leading the call for recovery of tourism is the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
For many tourism outfits, especially those in the hospitality business, with hotels shut for the duration of the pandemic, keeping afloat then and launching into the post-COVID -19 era, was a most difficult development to deal with as many outfits have to review their strategies.
For the Radisson Blu Hotel Ikeja, Lagos, one of the premium brands of the Radisson Hotel Group making waves in Nigeria, the saving grace was the five years strategic plan of the group launched shortly before the outbreak of the pandemic.
Speaking the General Manager of the hotel, Noel Christophe, said the hotel was fortunate to have a five-year plan laid out before global destinations shut down.
“We are fortunate that as a hotel group, we went through a complete diagnostic of the company worldwide in 2017, and we put together a five-year plan with concrete initiatives, which included taking on significant investments, new brand architecture, new information technology systems, new revenue management systems, and a new loyalty program. This helped us stay focused and afloat,” he disclosed.
He also spoke glowingly about the featured facilities of the hotel, which he said set it apart from the crowd: “Ours is a contemporary hotel situated in the heart of Lagos mainland with world-class amenities suitable for every guest including proximity to the local and international airports.
‘‘Amenities in our 155-room hotel include Iyeru Okin, our well-known all-day dining restaurant, Choco-Latte, our in-house coffee lounge, Cut Specialty Steakhouse is our fine dining restaurant, a relaxation spa named Amani, the R Bar for after-work hours and weekend hangouts, a well-equipped spa, fitness gym, outdoor pool area, and unbeatable meeting and event facilities.”
Christophe acknowledged the role of his team in keeping the hotel on its feet, as he said: “At our hotel, our people are our biggest asset, and we ensure their continuous development across all areas.
“We offer continuous learning opportunities for our team through our Radisson Academy with customized training programs, from induction to leadership, right from day one. Through these training, our teams are equipped with specific programs to offer personalized services to our guests.’’
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