African Sun Now A force To Reckon With In West Africa Hospitality Industry

By Lucky Onoriode George

 ‘African Sun’ is the fastest growing hospitality group in sub-Saharan Africa.  It has interests in various African countries, namely Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, and Mozambique. Established in 1968, the company, then known as Zimbabwe Sun Limited, was part of Delta Corporation, but has evolved significantly from being just a Zimbabwe-based hospitality management company. In Zimbabwe, African Sun is the leading player in the tourism and hospitality industry, with the Zimbabwe operations forming the largest business under the African Sun Limited group of companies.  Lucky Onoriode George this interview with Cornelius Nyahunda, Director of Operations, West Africa and Bruce Potter, General Manager, Holiday Inn, Accra one of the six hotels currently manage by African Sun in West Africa profile the organisation’s readiness to be a leading player in the sub region.

How did African Sun break into the West African Market?

African Sun’s strategy to grow into West Africa was birthed from realizing the opportunities in West Africa and matching these with our own capabilities. African Sun has been managing hospitality and tourism facilities for the past forty years and through this period, has developed and managed some of the world’s best brands, has developed some of Africa’s’ best Hospitality personnel and crafted some of the best operating systems. These competencies and the confidence of having dominated the Zimbabwean tourism market, pushed African Sun to satisfy the growing demand for hospitality and leisure services in the West Africa region.

What were the initial challenges?

African Sun, like any other international business operator seeking to break ‘new frontiers’ did face some challenges. The major ones were the legal framework in the new territories, the infrastructural challenges both physical and administrative, and most importantly the skills to execute this rollout strategy.

African Sun has a lot of experience in managing tourism/tourist facilities, how are you being able to fit into a more business environment like Ghana and Nigeria?

Our portfolio of hotels is very well spread, from business hotels, conferencing and leisure resorts, to safari operations although our positioning is leisure and life-style oriented. Our promise is therefore to leave our business guests with the ‘unforgetable experiences’ whenever and wherever they utilize our facilities.

What was African Sun expecting when coming?

Our expectations were to establish our brand footprint in the West Africa enclave, create a critical mass, which in turn brings about economies of scale, and be there for the long haul.  In walking this journey, we know there will be some beneficiaries, key being The Traveller in West Africa, the Labour market, Communities where we operate, Suppliers and of course Our Shareholders.

Have the expectations been met?

Month-on-month, year-by-year, our expectations are being met.

We pride ourselves as being the Fastest Growing Hospitality Operator in Africa, and we have worked with some of the most wonderful business partners and hotel owners in private sector and state governments in this region.

What is the competition like in West Africa where you have the likes of Sheraton, Hilton, Le Meridien, Protea and Novotel?

Competition is the greatest thing that can happen to a business environment, and in most cases, it benefits the customer. Hotel users in West Africa now have more choice, and in order for us to gain their loyalty, we just have to deliver more value for the dollar paid, and more consistently than our competitors.

What endeared African Sun to the sub region?

After a thorough review of West Africa’s resourcefulness, in terms of oil, minerals, agriculture, timber, rubber, fish, growth cities, etc, it follows that there will be need to grow capacity in good quality accommodation services for travelers engaged in these economic initiatives.

The other opportunity was to review the potentials to attract tourist travel for leisure, a sector which African Sun has built a lot of competencies over the years and is here to lead the way in developing this line of business in West Africa.

Would you say African Sun is on top of its game, especially managing some quality hotels in West Africa than any international chain?

African Sun has been engaged in a long term relationship with (IHG) Intercontinental Hotel Group, arguably the largest operator of hotels globally, in franchise agreements for Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Express brands in various locations in Africa. Through this association, and other associations such as Leading Hotels of The World,with specific reference to The Victoria Falls Hotel, African Sun has grown its operating standards, business processes and systems to gear itself as an international hospitality operator.

Tourist locations such as Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, play host primarily to guests from  international markets such as USA, the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Does African Sun invest in the properties that you manage or you behave just like every international chain?

Our operating models vary from equity participation, leases to management and each deal may vary according to offer and investment merits from our own internal benchmarks and investment evaluation models.

What is the level of facilities of hotels being managed in the region by African Sun?

The facilities range from ‘average’ to ‘great’, and those in the average category are in the management radar to bring them to the great hotels that African Sun is proud to show the world.

Is quality and availability of manpower in Nigeria and Ghana a problem to your group?

Availability of manpower is actually not at all an issue but quality is on the other hand still an issue, but with time we foresee the efforts of the many hotel and tourism operators bearing fruit in upgrading the skill levels for the hospitality sector through the many brand standards that are scattered in West Africa.

From an African Sun perspective, plans to establish a Hospitality Training Academy (HTA) in West Africa, starting with Nigeria are at an advanced stage. This will assist greatly in addressing the skills issue, as well as providing training to ensure world class hoteliers and service standards.

What about relationship with communities?

One of our corporate values is CARE. This value is extended to the communities in which we serve through the many CSRP’s (Corporate Social Responsibility Programs) in the places of business. Our primary focus is on Education, Health and  Environment,  which are very much aligned to the United Nations Millennium Developmental goals

 Power generation is an issue in Nigeria, how does this affect your operations?

Availability of quality water and continuous energy supply are key elements in hotel keeping. In some locations where we operate, going to operate and wish to operate, these utilities are really a challenge, and the best way around them are to continuously engage the authorities and suppliers to ensure that there is clear understanding of these priorities and action plans are in place in most areas to address these. From our end, we also engage in ‘Green Initiatives” that reduce the demand side, and that maximizes utilization of the limited resources.

How many hotels are currently being managed by African Sun in West Africa?

We have 6 operating hotels within Nigeria and Ghana; The Obudu Mountain Resort in Cross River State, Amber Tinapa Resort in Calabar, Nike Lake Resort in Enugu, Clear Essence California Wellness Centre and Boutique Hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos, Utanga  Safari Lodge in Obudu and  Holiday Inn Accra Airport, in Ghana

We do have other properties in our pipeline in the following countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Cameron, Equiatorial Guinea and other West African countries.

What is the message for both private sector and public sectors on how best to develop tourism in the sub region?

There is need to seriously engage the 3A’s of tourism: ATTRACTIONS – We have them. Let’s flaunt them!  ACCESS – Yes we can. Fly the Airplanes in and ACCOMMODATION – Build. They will come “Kevin Costner”