TRENDING

HOTEL TARIFF IN BRAZIL

Brazil’s tourism board has asked world football governing body Fifa and hotel operators to try to bring down hotel prices – which have reportedly sky-rocketed for the World Cup period.

The British Broadcasting Corporation reported that in some hotels featured by the Fifa-appointed agency Match, room rates will be up to five times higher during the tournament, a recent study suggests.

The board fears that “stratospheric” costs could damage the country’s image.

The World Cup opening match will be on 12 June 2014, in Sao Paulo.

The board, known as Embratur, said that Match should change its policy of blocking hotel rooms and also called upon the agency to reduce its mark-up rates.

We want to guarantee economic success and a legacy for the country that goes beyond the 2014 World Cup”

“We propose that the companies involved conduct new rounds of negotiations to lead to a restructuring of the prices,’’ the board was quoted as saying in a document by the Associated Press news agency.

HOTEL CLASSIFICATION IN LAGOS

Lagos State Government says it lost over N4.5bn revenue from hotel licensing in the last six years.

It added on Wednesday that the money was lost because of a suit filed by the Federal Government to bar the state from regulating hotel operations in its domain.

Commissioner for Tourism and Inter-Governmental Relations, Mr. Oladisun Holloway, said this during a press conference on a recent judgement of the Supreme Court on the control of tourism and hotel regulation.

According to him, the Supreme Court judgement paved the way for the state to take full control of tourism regulations and development.

He said, “By the Supreme Court judgement, the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation has been stripped of its powers to regulate, register, license and grade the hospitality industry in states.

“It has also put to rest the six-year court battle and thus paves the way for state governments to take full control of tourism regulations within their respective jurisdiction.”

He said levies that would have accrued to the government from hotel registration and grading fee from over 3,000 hotels yet to register with the state was stalled by the court action.

He said, “We stopped sharing funds from the NTDC in July 2007. We believe there are about 3,000 establishments, excluding five-star hotels, in the state.

HOTEL OPENINGS

Intercontinental Hotels Group, the global hospitality group, has formally announced its investment and business future in Nigeria with the opening of Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos, its first hotel in Nigeria and the company’s first Intercontinental hotel in West Africa.

A statement by the group in Lagos on Thursday said, “The 352-room Intercontinental, Lagos, is located on Victoria Island, Nigeria’s business city and diplomatic hub, and home to many multinational companies. Siting magnificently close to Lagos Creek, the 23-story hotel offers guests stunning panoramic views of the Gulf of Guinea. Lagos is the largest city in the country, as well as one of the biggest and fastest-growing cities in Africa.”

The General Manager of Intercontinental, Lagos, Didier Coeln, said,”Given its excellent location, Intercontinental Lagos is perfectly placed to give our guests access to central business areas, pristine beaches, and some of the best entertainment options in Lagos.

“We also understand that our guests value authenticity and want to experience the local culture. Our concierge team looks forward to sharing their local knowledge of Lagos so guests can enjoy an authentic and enriching stay with us.”

Adegbamigbe Patrick

Hospitality Consultant

234 80 57736980