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Interview with Mr. Panos Panayis, General Manager Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island
Exceeding Guests Expectation
CN: Mr. Panayis, you are General Manager of Eko Hotel & Suites, a prestigious international hotel in Lagos and part of the Chagoury Group of companies. Can you describe the history and operating philosophy of Eko Hotel & Suites?
Mr. Panos Panayis: Eko Hotel & Suites commenced business with the Kuramo Lodge that opened in 1976. The main hotel was opened in 1977 during the Festac 77. From its opening it was managed by Holiday Inn and was known as Eko Holiday Inn. On 1st August 1988, Le Meridien S.A took over the management of the hotel and remained operators of the hotel till November 1994. During this period the corporate identity of the Hotel was L’Hotel Eko Meridien. The baton of management was changed to Accor group who managed under name Eko Hotel till 1997 when Le Meridien made a come back and managed the hotel under the name of Le Meridien Eko Hotel. When their contract expired in February 2004, Eko Hotels Limited owners of Eko Hotel took over the Management under the name of Eko Hotel & Suites.
The operating philosophy of the management of Eko Hotel & Suites is to continue to be the leader in the hotel industry in Nigeria, offering seamless service beyond the guests’ expectations.
Who are Eko Hotel & Suites target customers?
Strategically situated in the heart of Nigeria’s economic activity, our target customers are obviously the business men and women. We reach out to our target customers through corporate relationships with the major businesses in the country and overseas. The Conference and Exhibition market also makes up a segment of our target customers.
What are your ambitions for the hotel over the coming year?
Our ambition is to consolidate our position as the market leader in the industry. With this in view, there has been a lot of structural projects initiated and some completed. There has been a complete renovation of the rooms in the main building. The Eko Gardens has received more than a face lift; the rooms have been completely changed and would compare favourably with those in the main building; the New Expo Centre with 5,000 sitting capacity is currently being built and with its opening, Eko Hotel & Suites stands to be “the conference centre hotel” for West Africa. Additional 160 rooms / apartments are being constructed along with the Expo Centre.
As Nigeria’s economy improves, more international chains are moving into the hospitality market in the country. As competition in the sector increases, how is Eko Hotel & Suites positioning itself to stay ahead of its competitors?
As mentioned earlier, the Management and owners of Eko Hotel & Suites are conscious of the fact that competition is coming. The new entrants into the market would be coming in with brand new products. The renovations and refurbishments we have carried out have literally transformed our product into a new one. This puts us in a very competitive edge with the new hotels because in addition to the good product we have the experience, the service provision culture and the over the years built customer loyalty. Apart from this, we are also adding brand new buildings for those who insist on the new.
To retain the customers when the competition comes, the hotel is embarking on training and retraining of staff both locally and internationally to be able to keep them in tune with current trends in the industry. At the end of the day, it is the service delivery of each hotel that will be the deciding factor in who leads the industry.
