Marriot Group expands in Nigeria, opens Protea Hotel Select Ikeja

The Marriott Hotel Group has continued on its expansion drive in Nigeria with the opening of a 117-room Protea Hotel Select in Alausa, Ikeja.

Alex Kyriakidis, president/managing director (Middle East and Africa) of Marriott International, said: “Marriott International’s fast growing footprint across the Middle East and Africa is a response to the potential we continue to observe in the region. At present, we are seeing strong GDP growth across sub-Saharan Africa, which translates into opportunity for our industry. Nigeria is one of our key markets and presents tremendous opportunity for us with the existing hotels we have in Lagos, as well as the strong pipeline of hotels that are coming up by 2018.”

According to Danny Bryer, Protea Hotel director of sales, marketing and revenue, Nigeria’s rapidly growing economy is prompting the need for more hotels, as “Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy with numerous industries supporting ongoing economic expansion.

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“We consider Nigeria to be one of our most important development markets and we would like to double the number of Protea Hotels here in the next five years. We have absolutely no doubt that the hotel will be running at close to capacity within a couple of months.”

The accommodation options at the Protea Select include 75 classic rooms, eight twin bedrooms, and 24 deluxe rooms, eight suites which feature open plan lounge and dining rooms separate from the bedrooms, and two universal accessible rooms, he said.

The hotel’s restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and has a strong focus on local and continental cuisine. The hotel’s bar is open 24 hours a day and there is also round-the-clock room service. Other facilities include a shuttle service, secure open parking, laundry service and free Wi-Fi access.

“This hotel is the result of a partnership deal made between Capital Alliance Property Investment Company (CAPIC), a $165 million real estate fund, and the Skye Shelter Fund,” he said.

Commenting on the opening of the new hotel, Obi Nwogugu, the CAPIC fund manager, stated: “We are excited to add Protea Hotel Select Ikeja to our chain of hotels; it complements our objective to develop hospitality infrastructure in under-served markets across Nigeria and West Africa, and we are confident that it will meet the global standard of service and comfort demanded by our business travelers.”

Speaking on the hotel management team, Patrick Ilodianya, managing director of Skye Shelter Fund, said: “The partnership with Protea Hotel provides best practices in comfort, health and safety in our hotel and reinforces our commitment to consistently deliver international hospitality standards at the right price.”