Hospitality Businesses Groan Over Increasing Operating Cost

The president of the Hotel and Personal Services Senior Staff Association (HAPSSSA), Comrade Iyeh William Adegbe, has expressed concern over the high cost of running hospitality businesses amidst epileptic electricity coupled with high cost of fuel and diesel across the country.
Just as he lamented against the systemic denial of unionism for workers in the industry.

As a result, the union is seeking collaborative effort with Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to tackle anti-unionisation employers, casualisation, contract staffing and outsourcing in the sector
According to him, most multinational hotel chains in Nigeria have introduced obnoxious practices targeting at weakening the strength of labour in hotel industries after Covid-19. They now resort to massive casualisation, outsourcing and contract form of employment, against decent workplace practice.

“As for the economic situation presently, It is obvious that most hotels run on diesel because they cannot afford to keep customers in darkness. So the hotel owners definitely experience a surge in their expenditure on monthly bases coupled with the increment on electricity tariffs in the country.”

Further during a chat with LEADERSHIP in Lagos, Adegbe said that hoteliers are facing hard tasks in order to remain in business following the hard business environment across the country. Some of the management have been taking steps to reduce costs and maximise their profits. Some have gone as far as embarking on reducing the size of their rooms.

According to Adegbe, high cost of doing business is not peculiar to the hospitality industry, but most owners of hotels are now devising survival strategies in order to maintain the staff and reduce cost of running the business.

Stressing that the current economic challenge is affecting both the customers and the owners of hotels, he noted that it is causing the running of hotels huge amount whereby customers are paying
Adegbe expressed that the harsh economic policies have further impoverished Nigerian workers and entire citizens.

Moreover, he reiterated his lamentation against the harsh business environment, adding that it has impacted negatively on the sector in various ways. There is a high cost of operations confronting the sector. Almost all the hotels are faced with fueling and maintaining their generators and battling to settle the various taxes.”