Loft Fahrenheit’s GM Talks about the Culture of Fahrenheit Hotels in Nigeria

Interview with Claudine Roth, General Manager of Loft Fahrenheit

Can you tell us about your experience with Fahrenheit? How long have you been working for the hotel and what does it mean to you?

My name is Claudine Roth; I am the General Manager of Fahrenheit Loft. I have been in the hospitality industry for about ten years now. I studied hospitality management and marketing. I have worked in several different places and have experienced quite a lot of great things. A few years ago I decided that I wanted to delve into the Nigerian and West African market to see what hospitality is like here. I have been working for the Fahrenheit Hospitality group for about eight months now in the capacity of general manager here at Loft. The Loft was the second project that the Fahrenheit group opened as a Fahrenheit hotel. As you know it is a management company, they have managed several companies and then they actually cobranded two hotels. The first was the Maison and then the Loft opened in July last year. We are soon coming up to our one year birthday.

The difference with the Loft is that our location is a little more quiet, our feel is a little more cosy, the general atmosphere here is more of an ‘at home’ vibe, it is somewhere away from home where you can feel very comfortable.

What has been the acceptance of the hotel? How do you see it performing in the first months?

I was not here when it first opened but it was welcomed to a good opening because there was already a culture of guests who like the new Maison Fahrenheit and of course their design and style are very similar. The difference with the Loft is that our location is a little more quiet, our feel is a little more cosy, the general atmosphere here is more  of an ´at home´ vibe, it is somewhere away from home where you can feel very comfortable. It is very much an open space as opposed to “here is the restaurant, here is the lobby…” in fact the lobby leads into the restaurant which leads into the pool etc… it flows. It is a lot more Zen but still focused on our business traveller of course. It is great to have the diversity in the group. We have a lot of guests that do love the Maison but with the rooftop it gives the hotel a different vibe and some guests love the feeling but want something a bit more quiet and intimate, so we fit that niche perfectly.

When you started you said that you wanted to find out about West African hospitality, what have you found out so far?

I have been very blessed and fortunate to be able to see the hospitality industry in different places including Europe, Asia, the US and now Africa. Every country, every culture has a completely different style and something that makes it its own. I think the hospitality culture is definitely growing in West Africa. Every day it is growing a little bit more, you see it with the big international hotels that have come in, you see it with groups like Fahrenheit Hospitality that want to come and make it their own and build a brand that is home-grown but that has all of the planning and strategic knowledge of hospitality that you would maybe get with international brands. Being in Nigeria, it is a very hospitable country. Nigerians are very warm and friendly, they are hustlers and go getters and bringing that and refining that service culture is something that is really starting to pick up here. There are lots of restaurants, hospitals, banks etc. It is a hugely service driven country but there is a lack of quality service and definitely in the few months that I have been at the hotel and the few years that I have been in Nigeria, I have seen a difference. I have seen a lot more people wanting to engage in proper training and getting proper experience so that they are knowledgeable about what it is that they are selling so in time the service industry is going to match up with its international competitors. That is what I believe, we are not there yet, there are a lot of things that need to change and happen but the nice thing about it is that groups like Fahrenheit are dedicated to implementing the proper training programs for its teams and staff. They are empowering their team members and getting them out there, so even if they don’t stay with the group, they are leaving with a new set of skills and knowledge. I think that is a core pillar of what the group is doing.

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