Hotel Business in Nigeria: Guide on How To Start (2024)

Hotel business is one of the most lucrative businesses in Nigeria if you know what you are doing and of course, you are doing it right. While some people will say it is not that lucrative, I beg to differ except of course if you set it up without doing your research well. This article will reveal to you how to start a hotel business in Nigeria and make money from it.

Hotel Business in Nigeria

First of all, I want you to know that you can start your hotel under a registered hotel and answer their name. However, you need to comply strictly with their guidelines. Alternatively, you can start yours independently. The advantage of starting your hotel under a registered name is that you will be leveraging on popularity of such hotel and also getting referral customers.

However, they have their strict rules that not everyone can keep to. If that’s your case or you want your own brand then why not start on a new slate. Follow the steps below to start your own hotel business here in Nigeria.

Write a hotel business plan

There is no business that does not need a business plan. You will need this to help you organize how your venture will be run. If you cannot write a hotel business plan, i will suggest you look for an expert to do that for you.

Get a location

The success of your hotel business is location dependent. It determines the volume and class/type of customers you will attract. So let the volume and class of customers you will want determine where you will locate your hotel. I suggest you get a location close to a university, polytechnic, or where there are organization or business. These places are hot areas you can secure a location for your hotel.

Build Structures

After securing land, proceed to getting approval from the ministry of land in that area and get approval on the type of structure you want to build. Have this in mind: the type, quality and finishing of your building, furniture and other utilities in the hotel will be your major selling points, so don’t cut corners here. Hotel business is a serious business. If you need to earn money from it, you need to spend.

Register your hotel at the appropriate commission

For your hotel business, you will need to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Nigerian Tourism Development Commission (NTDC).

Hire staff and get them trained

Customer service is at the core of this business and as such, you can’t afford to do without trained staffs. You can either employ already skilled staffs or employ and train yours. One of the places you can get your staffs trained is the National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism located in Abuja.

Advertise

Without customers, your business is dead on arrival. To avoid this, you need to advertise your hotel and get it popular among those that matter. Those that are within your audience range, those that are influencers and those that can help you grow.You can advertise on church magazines in the area, billboards, newspapers e.t.c. All depends on your pocket.

Wrapping Up

Aside the above, treat your staffs well, from the management, to the security and to every person working with you. Else, for every unhappy staff leaving your hotel to another hotel are also some of your customers leaving you because hotel customers usually build a good relation with the staffs and usually contact them before coming.