‘In hospitality business, customer satisfaction is key’

If there’s any sector where customers are likely to be paying attention to the type of service they receive, it’s within the hospitality industry. From restaurants to hotels and everything in between, your job as a hospitality service provider is to maintain customer happiness and satisfaction.

Gone are the days when customers were happy just receiving “please” and “thank you” or getting service with a smile. Though those go into the recipe for proper etiquette, it’s just not enough. Satisfied customers are looking for a memorable experience and dynamic service where it counts. From receiving quick service to bending the standard practices; customers want to feel as if their business is appreciated.

Determined to continue in its tradition of giving the best to loyal customers and tourists alike, Dover Hotels recently unveiled new facility in Lagos called Dover Hotels Exclusive. Strategically located on Aromire Street, Ikeja, the new hotel boast of approximately 104 exquisitely furnished rooms, world-class bars, lounges, restaurants, fitness centres and others.

The formal opening ceremony for the exclusive hotel brought together players in the hospitality industry, as well as customers, who had the opportunity of inspecting the facility that was started and completed within a year.

According to the Chairman Dover Hotels, Jackson Agbai Abbah, the facility aims to provide world-class services to its customers. “This is why we followed the lead of some international hotel brands with the policy of completing hotel projects within one year. If given the right environment and funding, a Nigerian company can deliver within same period or even shorter time, which is what we did with Dover Hotels Exclusive. First, there was a commitment to open to the public 12 months from the groundbreaking construction. So, we started work on the site on August 2, 2018 and began operations accordingly on August 3, 2019,” he said.

Abbah added that the primary ideology behind the brand is the recognition of the primacy of man’s basic needs, which essentially remains food, clothing and shelter.

“We felt that the hotel industry take care of two out of the three essentials; food and shelter. So, in the past 15 years that we have been in the hospitality business, our customers both local and foreigners have been our priority. In hospitality business, customer satisfaction is key,” he noted.He observed that, while it is important that government increase its revenue base through taxes, there is a need to balance needs of certain industries, especially the hospitality industry.

“Our own experience has been that a lot of customers refuse to pay VAT or Lagos State consumption Tax. But in order to remain a law abiding corporate entity, we are compelled to pay those taxes on their behalf; we want to remain in business. The implication however, is that our profit margin becomes thin,” he said.