World Report

INTERVIEW ALAIN CHATEL General Manager of Eko Hotel & Suites

ko Hotel & Suites is the largest hotel in Lagos, the economic and commercial centre of Nigeria. Occupying a prime site in Victoria Island, the hotel offers 640 rooms in the city’s exclusive business and residential district. It also boasts extensive conference facilities, including a large ballroom, an exhibition centre and private meeting rooms, making it a preferred venue for corporate functions and product launches.

You have 30 years experience in the hotel industry and have worked in many parts of the world. How do you find working in Nigeria?
I must confess that I have never worked in a country like Nigeria, as I had always worked in countries with higher living standards. I actually started my career in the Savoy in London after two years apprenticeship in France. Since then I have worked in Tahiti, Senegal, Dubai, Mascate, the Sultanate of Oman, Egypt, and Indonesia. Coming here was interesting and has been the most challenging job I have ever had.

The hotel has spent a huge amount on renovation. What has been your goal here?
My goal has been to upgrade it to international standard. Eko Hotel has been the biggest hotel in Lagos since it was built about 30 years ago. It has been through ups and downs during that period and has been run by different companies, but it has never been so successful as it is now as an independent hotel.

The owners have invested a lot of money. Whatever I have needed in terms of money or other support, I have never been turned down. This is the key to our success and we have now been named best hotel in Nigeria for the past two years!

What prompted the recent addition of the Eko Suites extension?
Eko Suites was built because there was a gap in the market for luxurious accommodation to attract the top-edge travellers. Today, it is considered to be the best accommodation in Nigeria. Eko Suites was opened with the best material and latest technology you could find in the country and we have made sure that the standard of service matches the quality of the product.

Lagos is an important centre for business tourism. Are you expanding your facilities for conferences, meetings and exhibitions?
We do a lot of exhibitions and big events. We have a ballroom which can accommodate 500 people and an exhibition centre with capacity for over 1,200 people.
We are very well equipped. However, we do have a new project that we are working on now. We have plans to build a new exhibition centre with capacity for over 2,000 people and we will be able to divide it into three. That means we can have different events going on in the building at the same time. This facility will be by far the best in Nigeria.