Interview with Kevin Kamau, General Manager of Radisson Blu Anchorage

What is your personal overview of the hospitality industry nowadays in Nigeria?

I believe there are plenty of opportunities available now in hospitality as well as with inbound tourism coming into our market. At various times of the year, especially during the summer period, we see a lot of what I would call domestic tourism. This is due to most Nigerians returning home for the summer period and then again towards the end of the year over the festive period. It has been interesting to see this reflected with a growth in numbers as well as the traffic coming into Nigeria.            

You mentioned the regional tourism and that the locals are coming in for the summer but what are some specific trends this year? What are your expectations?

For this year, with the current economic market and the climate the way it is, it will be challenging.  in terms of tourism what we had coming inbound will drop but at the same time more of the traditional going out of Lagos will likely stay in the market we should still be able to get a of share from the tourists that would normally go to London and the UK in general. So it’s a bit of a mix. For guests coming in it is cheaper now with the exchange rate having devalued to extent that it has, so we believe there’s a win on both sides.

What is the position of Radisson Blu Anchorage within Lagos’ hospitality industry?

We are a five star brand and our location benefits us predominantly by be situated next to the lagoon. With the three outlets we have, we tend to take quite a big share of the inbound travel or the inbound leisure and tourism travel that comes in. We are perfectly positioned for that in the market.

We reopened in August 2015 after renovations of the hotel. We have upgraded everything from the rooms to the public areas and invested quite a bit into upgrading the entire product.

Who are your target customers?

Predominantly corporate clients during the week and over the weekend we have quite a few leisure travellers coming in. With our meeting and event spaces we have corporate clients that come in and have their meetings here. Over the weekend we have weddings and church ceremonies that are hosted at the hotel.

Tell us more about the hotel. What makes it unique?

It has a very iconic status and the fact that it also sits right next to Lagos lagoon is a definite benefit. In terms of views and the look and feel of the hotel, it resonates very well with what we do in the market. We have a very good team and we have invested a lot in the training of our team. We have also recently renovated so the hotel feels nice and fresh.

What is currently being done at the hotel in terms of renovations, in terms of launching something new?

We reopened in August 2015 after renovations of the hotel. We have upgraded everything from the rooms to the public areas and invested quite a bit into upgrading the entire product. This is because travellers and tourist are becoming more conscious of international standards these days. We have a very strong food and beverage team and offering and events that happen at the hotel help us match that through the weekend.

You only stepped in as the GM a couple of months ago so what is your vision for the hotel? What do you personally hope to bring in?

What we have tried to bring in is a fusion of the local culture and taste with international culture and tastes. We have a chef that has taken a lot of very creative international dishes and infused local touches into them. For example; instead of getting a traditional Caesar salad you would get a chicken Caesar salad. That resonates well with the team and the hotel. I think for us, our biggest pride and joy would be to merge different cultures from around the world and present that to the local market and I believe we have seen some success in that already.

How would you describe Radisson’s legacy in Nigeria?

For Radisson Residor as a whole, it is to keep growing hospitality. As an industry, hospitality is very young in Nigeria so our task is to keep building that and to keep growing it and uplift the level of service. As guests are traveling they become more aware so we want to keep building on what we have started and partnering with schools to teach the youth will ensure that we are providing the best in the market.

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