• Tasks Govt On Infrastructure, Enabling Environment For Operators

The Convener, Hotel Expo Nigeria (HEN), Joe Hanson, has implored government to take the hotel and hospitality industry more serious by providing enabling environment and critical infrastructure for players to thrive because the sector has the potentials to create huge employment, especially among the youth asides it has a higher rate for foreign direct investment.

Speaking at the 2025 edition of the Hotel Expo Nigeria, he added that technology is hugely reshaping deliveries in the hospitality industry as technology is simplifying and making things easier.

Hanson noted that aside the hospitality industry engage a lot of youths in its operations, it is one of the highest employers of labour in Nigeria.
He therefore implored the government to see the sector as a driver of mass employment, saying government needs to look thoroughly into the sector and not pay lip service.

According to him, many players in the hospitality and hostel industry yearly look forward to participating in the expo, disclosing that the expo now feature exhibitors and players from outside Nigeria.

“When we hear the stories that we get from previous vendors and some of them are returning vendors, that is why we call the expo the World Cup of hospitality industry. It is a World Cup because players every year look forward to it. And that gives us joy to know that this is really growing. And the only way we can continue to grow is to keep growing, nothing more.”

He disclosed that when the expo started in 2019, there were about 12 exhibitors but has grown to over 65 vendors with some of them the biggest names in the industry.

Commenting on interface of technology and the hospitality sector, he said: “I can categorically tell you that a huge percentage of the industry is tech driven. And everybody’s starting to adjust to technology. The reason is because many have come to see that tech makes things easier, simpler, faster, and takes you to that next level that you want to get to in the industry.”

During day one of the expo, there were two panel discussions. The first was on designing the future of guest experience: Merging technology, personalization and human warmth while the second was on Reward and Reality: Is hospitality still a smart investment.

On the first panel were Hotel Manager, Ebonylife Place and White Orchid Hotel, Sampson Omogoye; CEO, GateHub, Vera Ohioma and Hospitality Business and Inventory Management Consultant, Ntewak Umoh.

Speaking, Omogeyo noted that technology is meant to enhance experience and not take away culture and human experiences that are key to hospitality service. He stated that technology should help in data collection that will the organization to enhance consumer experience. He also stated that efforts should be geared to prevent the data collected from customers is not compromised by third party. He insisted that technology must be balanced with human interactions

On her part, Ohioma said that practitioners must know that technology cannot replace empathy in the hospitality industry, while Umoh culture must not be lost in the process of wanting to be westernised or technology driven. She added that training and retraining is critical and exposing staff to some of the tools before being fully deployed, noting that technology has come to stay.