Flowerbud News

Tag: Hoteliers

  • Hotel Registration:NIHOTOUR calls for calm as security batters hotel staff

    Hotel Registration:NIHOTOUR calls for calm as security batters hotel staff

    NIHOTOUR Calls for Calm Engagement After Field Officer Provoked During Lagos Compliance Exercise

    On Tuesday, June 10, 2025, during a scheduled compliance and standardization exercise by the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) at Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, a moment of tension arose between a hotel staff member and a law enforcement officer attached to the NIHOTOUR delegation who was striped off his uniform by the hotel staff.

    The misunderstanding—which does not reflect the tone of the broader engagement—escalated when a hotel staff physically confronted the officer, resulting in damage and striping of his official police uniform. The officer, caught off guard and naked with only his pants trousers got visibly provoked, responded with a slap, which made direct contact with the staff member’s face.

    While the incident is regretable and avoidable, it serves as a sober reminder of the importance of composure, clarity, and professionalism during such exercises. The Institute reiterates that its mandate is anchored on collaboration, capacity enhancement, and stakeholder engagement—not hostility or confrontation.

    Commenting on the situation, NIHOTOUR’s Director of Inspection and Enforcement, Barrister Chike Ukuekwe, urged practitioners and operators in the industry to shun aggressive and combative engagement when officers of the law arrive at their premises for compliance exercise. He further emphasized the need for mutual understanding and a professional approach to enforcement efforts:

    “Our collective mission is the upliftment of Nigeria’s hospitality, tourism, and travel sectors through standardization and compliance. These exercises are not meant to antagonize operators but to align practices with national expectations and global standards,” he said.
    “We commend establishments like Eko Hotel Sojourner Hotel, Marriot Hotel, Radisson Blu Hotel VI, Black Diamond Hotel, Four Points By Sheraton and others that open their doors to these engagements, and we urge all stakeholders to embrace dialogue, not disruption. It would interest you to know that most of the hotels visited, the compliance issues were resolved within the premises of most hotels, and our team left peacefully after assurances were made by most management of those hotels to comply within 7 days’ time.”

    As Nigeria’s lead institution for the standardization of the hospitality, tourism, and travel industry practice, NIHOTOUR remains committed to ensuring a professional and safe operational environment. Initiatives such as the ongoing national compliance drive are designed to reinforce quality, ethics, and service excellence across the board.

    Moving forward, NIHOTOUR is taking deliberate steps to enhance communication protocols and on-site preparedness during field exercises, ensuring clarity of purpose and mutual respect among all parties involved.

  • Hotel owners decry business disruption, detention of members 

    Hotel owners decry business disruption, detention of members 

     

     

    By Tunde Akano

    The Hotel Owners and Managers Association of Lagos (HOMAL) has decried the disruption in businesses and arrest of its members in Lagos by the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR).

     

    NIHOTOUR’s action, according to the institute, was over the non-compliance with its directive for HOMAL members and their staff to register with the institute.

     

    HOMAL, however, called on the Federal Government to call the leadership of NIHOTOUR to order.

    It alleged that staff of some of these hotels were on Tuesday, June 10, illegally detained at the Lagos zonal office of the institute in Mushin, Lagos, for hours, saying such action is capable of sending wrong signals to investors in the hospitality business and truncating the steady growth in the hospitality industry that the country has been experiencing.

     

    The Secretary General of the association, Mr Adeniyi Ologun, while speaking to the media on the issue, described the actions of NIHOTOUR as illegal since there is a Supreme Court judgement on the role of the federal government on the issue of tourism in Nigeria and also due to the pendency of the case before the court.

     

    Ologun said, “We know that NIHOTOUR made a demand that members of HOMAL, among other hotels, should register. They said the registration would commence with the top management members; they should register with NIHOTOUR so that the institute can certify their qualification, so to say.

     

    “They said the enabling law of NIHOTOUR, that is the NIHOTOUR Act 2022, requires that all practitioners should be registered.”

     

    HOMAL said that this might be against the 2013 ruling of the Supreme Court, which specifically made tourism and hospitality subject to state legislations.

     

    “So, in the course of the exchange, like every responsible organisation, we decided to go to court to find out whether their request is validly made or not.

     

    “We approached the court, and the court proceedings commenced on May 21, 2025. At the court, after the exchange of legal documents, the case was adjourned to September 30, 2025.

     

    “I remember HOMAL’s lawyer specifically informed the court that NIHOTOUR has been forceful in the registration and certification of our members, which the court needs to order so that all parties maintain the status quo. So, that was the position when we left the court. “Only for us to be informed by many of our members, like the Sheraton, Marriot, Radisson Blu Anchorage, Four Points by Sheraton, Oniru and others, that NIHOTOUR has invaded their premises with armed policemen, barricaded their entrances, disrupted their operations and insisted on taking some of their management staff to follow them.”

     

    Asked whether some staff of these hotels were arrested, Ologun replied, “Well, I don’t know what NIHOTOUR will call it; we know that some of the workers of our members were picked up. When I called one Mr Ibe, the man said to be in charge, he said those picked were at the NIHOTOUR office in Mushin. “So, I came to the zonal office. I have been here since 12:30pm today (Tuesday); everybody said they could not do anything because they were following orders.”

     

    Asked what was the requirement for a hotel to get registered with NIHOTOUR and whether the institute was making any demand, Ologun explained, “When I spoke with our members that were arrested, if I will call it arrest, they said they were asked to pay N2.5 million before they could be released.”

     

    At the NIHOTOUR zonal office in Lagos, fierce-looking police officers mounted the gate, scrutinising those who want to enter the premises of the institute.

     

    When contacted for his reaction to the complaints made by HOMAL, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of NIHOTOUR, Dr Ajiboye Longe, made reference to the NIHOTOUR Establishment Act of 2022.

     

    The NIHOTOUR spokesperson was also asked why some of the staff of hoteliers were being detained in their zonal office instead of a police station; he replied, “NIHOTOUR has communicated repeatedly to all hospitality, travel and tourism concerns across the country, especially all those that our compliance and enforcement team has visited in Lagos today. Whatever actions that were taken are well within the ` legal authorisation of the office of the Inspector General of Police.

     

    Asked why not take the detained hotels’ staff to the police station instead of the zonal office, Alonge replied, “This question can only be answered by the Director General.”

     

    He later added that “They have been notified beforehand. The act allows them to be detained and processed at the NIHOTOUR Zonal Office before further moving to the police force command.

     

    However, I have been informed that most of those that were arrested today have been released on administrative bail by the police.”

     

    However, reacting to this development, a professor of hospitality and tourism at Atiba University, Oyo, Professor Wasiu Babalola, said while there is a need to regulate the hospitality sector, the approach in enforcement is wrong, as it is capable of sending the wrong signal to the international community.

     

    “When you are enforcing, you cannot be selective in enforcement. Because by this action you are sending wrong signals to the international community that in enforcement, you are only targeting some brands. You are trying to drive some brands away. We need to be careful. If we are not careful, the enforcement may take us ten steps backward from where we are.”