‘We go extra mile to ensure our guests get value for their money’

Foluke Jacobs is the General Manager of Glee Hotel, Lagos. In this interview, she spoke on her hospitality career, the vision of Glee Hotel and quest for efficient service delivery.

Tell us about Glee Hotel
Glee Hotel is a luxurious boutique hotel located in the heart of Lagos Island, with 47 rooms of different class and rank. Though each room is unique in its own features, all our rooms are world-class and specially fitted to suit individual taste at all times. Not only is our price pocket-friendly, our services are bespoke. Our facilities include a neat swimming pool, which is properly treated and cared for, a rooftop bar, a spa, pool bar and others. You can be rest assured that at Glee Hotel, all your needs are well taken care of, as we personalise and suit each service to your taste.

What’s the unique selling point of the hotel?
Perhaps the most obvious advantage Glee Hotel has is the excellence it delivers. We understand that quality is the most important service we can offer our customers, so, all our staffs are aligned to the goal of ensuring we never go below standard. Over time, our customers have come to familiarise themselves with quality, which never fails. Brand identity means everything to us, so, we want everybody to come to know that whenever they come to us, there is never anything failing. Success in the hospitality industry requires that we stand out from crowd, and that’s why at Glee Hotel, we go the extra mile to ensure that our guests get good value for their money.

What’s the actual rating of the hotel?
In Nigeria, the hotel rating system is unregulated. And for unofficial rating sources, the hotels are not closely monitored. What this means is that everyone is free to come up with his/her own ratings and push it out to the public. Having said that, we have severally attempted to gauge our guests’ experiences and politely asked for their feedback, juxtaposed with their lodging experience outside of Glee and we have arrived at a 3-star rating. We admit that sometimes, the feedback from some guest about hotel ranking generally seem arbitrary, making rating a difficult nut to crack

Globally, each country has different requirements for awarding ‘stars’ as there is no universal star rating system. Thus, a 5-star hotel rating in the United States may mean something completely different in Europe. In some countries, official star ratings can be a reliable guide to a hotel’s amenities, and Nigeria is no exception.

How has the experience been?
In a nutshell, the experience has so far been great. Hospitality enables you to work in a multicultural, extremely friendly environment. Working in a hotel does not mean that internationalism within the establishment stops at your clients because the people behind the reception, in the kitchen and at the offices come from all corners of the world; they bring along with them their own language, cultural background and ideas on how to efficiently work within the industry.

Many times, my acquaintances ask me what motivate me to pursue a career in the Hotel and Tourism industry. I think they would be better off asking me to define the purpose of life because there is no clear and certain answer to that question. It all depends on what a person seeks from choosing to work in a hotel; it has indeed been a wonderful experience.

What are the challenges involved in running a hotel in Nigeria?
The Nigeria hospitality industry is faced with a myriad of challenges ranging from poor energy supply, insecurity, skilled labour shortages and lots of bills from government with one thing or the other to be paid for by hotel owners.If only our government can look into all of these challenges because the industry as at 2017 was responsible for 1.9 % (2.3billions in actual numbers) of the country’s total GDP. The government needs to do better.

How have you managed to sustain the business and maintain your standards?
As a manager, there are certain qualities you need to possess in other to successfully manage a hotel. I’m self-motivated and disciplined enough to effectively run the hotel while handling other task and responsibilities. As a manager, I build my team by supporting them, not only my staff members, but also my guest. Communication is key; communicating effectively with my guest to know if there is anything they would like me to improve on, making sure they enjoy their stay helps to sustain the business. At Glee, we understand that quality is the most important service we can offer our customers. At Glee, we go extra mile to ensure that our guests get value for their money.