Brian Efa is a passionate Nigerian tourism and hospitality professional, with many feats trailing his over two-decade experience in the industry. From convening the first-ever international hotel conference in Nigeria, restoring Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort after the exit of Le Meridien, to taking over Victoria Crown Plaza Victoria Island Lagos from the Swiss Hotel brand and managing it better as the general manager.
In this interview, Efa speaks to Obinna Emelike on his push for a booming domestic industry with Celsius Hotels, his indigenous hotel brand, impact of his professional inputs in Nigeria and Akwa Ibom, his state of origin, the growing tourist traffic in the state, among related issues.
Excerpts:
Having managed some of the best hotels in the country and still managing more, you seem sought-after by hotel owners. What is the secret of your rise in the industry?
There are three guiding principles that drive success in my career; these are commitment, commitment and commitment. Commitment to success is my driving force. I believe, once you have a responsibility, you should see to it that this responsibility is given the required attention to achieve the expected results. This is the reason I always produce results wherever I find myself in any hotel. Furthermore, I am in the industry out of passion; very serious passion and that is why you will see that beyond managing hotels, I also contribute to the development of this industry through research papers, speaking in conferences and in other ways.
You are also making steady progress at developing indigenous brands and also becoming a reputable manager for indigenous brands. How much is the progress?
Celsius Hotels Brand is one of my biggest success stories. When we started Celsius Hotel Brand in 2020, our vision was to create an indigenous hotel brand that will compete favorably with international brands. Also, we wanted to provide an alternative that will help investors/owners make better return on investment, reduce the need for purchase of forex to pay management fees, among others. Our vision is paying off. Today, we have two hotels under development one in Abuja and the other in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. We are also in discussion with a couple of 4-star hotel developers in Victoria Island Lagos. When our hotels open in the first quarter of 2023, we will be adding 135rooms to the inventory of hotels in Nigeria.
The progress we have made is very encouraging and we are very grateful to Nigerian investors that have kept faith with us. On the back end, we have developed well-tailored SOPs and other standards to make us compete and stand out from the crowd. We have also signed agreements with various technology companies/providers that will support our brand.
How is the Celsius Hotel brand doing and being positioned in the market?
Right now, we are working on the backend to support our owners during the development stage. We are helping in critical designs, procurement and installation of critical infrastructure. On the soft side, we are developing and improving on our brand standards, policies and procedures, SOPs, technology requirements, training manual, among others. We are also discussing with technology providers, our technical support systems, central reservation system, booking channels and loyalty programmes.
Once we open our first hotel in March 2023, we will give the international brands a run for their money as we will be providing a very credible alternative in a more cost-effective way.
What new signings are we expecting from Celsius Hotel and when are they taking off?
As I mentioned earlier, we are in talks with two different hotel investors in Lagos State. We are in talks for a 150- room hotel development project in Victoria Island, Lagos, which is expected to commence construction in the second quarter of 2023. We are hopeful that by 2028, we will have five hotels under our management.
Considering the huge work you did at Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort that restored the resort after the exit of Le Meridien, among other feats in Akwa Ibom, do you think the state is now open for hotel business and investment?
Obviously, Akwa Ibom State had since been open for hotel business. The influx of visitors since 2015 into the state has been overwhelming. This is a fallback to the industrialization agenda of the present administration in the state and the relative peaceful nature of the state.
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Most of the time, during the weekend, there is scarcity of hotel rooms in the state capital despite the fact that more and more hotel rooms join the inventory of rooms every year. In 2022 alone, more than 250 rooms join the inventory of hotels in Uyo, including the recently opened Four Point by Sheraton Hotel Ikot Ekpene.
Do you think that your efforts in the state’s tourism and hospitality sector have not been rewarded by the government and why?
There are a lot of individuals like myself who have contributed immensely to the development of tourism in the state. The promotion of tourism and hospitality in AKwa Ibom State is largely private-sector driven. Unfortunately, very little has been done to recognize these individuals in the state. So, there is a consensus amongst us that we have all not been adequately recognized for our effort in the development of the sector.
What we did at Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort during my time as the Acting General Manager was done out of passion for the industry and love for the state. Till date, no one has been able to beat what the management under my watch did in terms of remittances to the government. Ordinarily, having made the highest monthly remittances to the State Government in the history of the hotel, one would think that the owners (state government) would retain and encourage that management to sustain the progress so far record as it would have been in a privately owned property.
But in government, things work a lot more differently. But this is even by the way. As we all have been advocating, even at the national level, governments at all levels have to look for core professionals to run the sector so as to bring the necessary development.
Akwa Ibom seems to have stolen the tourism traffic from Cross River, do you think there are enough quality hotels for the influx of tourists?
Unfortunately, no. There are not enough hotel rooms in the state to contend with the ever-increasing demand most of the time. Also, the quality of hotel rooms joining the inventory every year is still substantially below quality. This is because there is absence of quality control in the sector even at the national level.
What I advocate is the establishment of a well-documented grading standard to hotels and restaurants in the state and these standards should be enforceable. Also, all hotels must be licensed before they open for business, ensuring that minimum standards have been made. Regular monitoring for compliance is also important.
If you were in charge of tourism in the state, what would you have done to improve tourism development, appeal and earnings?
Tourism is a big business. Some countries in the world have tourism as their main stay. There is a lot that can be done to improve tourism earnings in the state. Tourism has the potential to contribute substantially to the IGR of the state.
If I were in charge of tourism in Akwa Ibom State, I would introduce two additional festivals in addition to the existing Christmas Festival and they would all be private sector driven with support from the state government. Akwa Ibom is rich in culture, so we will introduce a cultural festival. We are so rich in food, so we can introduce a food festival in the state.
Also, there are many rich tourism sites scattered around the state. We will improve on them and make them more accessible to tourists. We will support and encourage private sector initiatives in the development of these locations in the state. In return, the government will earn revenue through levies from visitors, taxes from companies, among others.
There are lots that can be done and time will fail me to enumerate them. Ultimately, if I am in charge of tourism in the state, I can generate N3 billion (three billion naira) annually as government income from tourism and hospitality-related activities.
What do you think should be the focus of the incoming government for tourism in terms of policy and enabling environment?
My expectation is that the next government in Akwa Ibom State will see tourism more like a business than a social welfare programme. Usually, we gauge the seriousness of any government in developing the sector through the appointments made in the sector. Therefore, I expect that the next government will appoint core professionals/practitioners to related tourism positions in the state. This is a good way to start. These professionals will in turn formulate the right policies for the advancement of the industry.
Since the emergence of Ibom Air, tourist traffic to Akwa Ibom has more than doubled. Do you think the state is ready for the influx of tourists, especially this December?
Ibom Air is a major contributor to the increasing number of tourists to the state. While I was at Ibom Hotel, we could see the impact directly and our numbers could tell that we were making progress in the state. Easy accessibility to any location is one factor that determines the number of persons that visit that location. Ibom Air has made this possible.
As I had mentioned previously, there are still not enough hotel rooms in the state to cope with the influx of visitors or to host professional conferences in the state.
