The managers of the Sheraton Hotel Abuja, Marriott International, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the closing of operations of the hotel by its owners, Capital Hotels Plc.
Mister richard collinsArea Vice President, Sub-Saharan Africa, Marriott International, had this to say in a statement made available to reporters Tuesday in Abuja.
While regretting the inconvenience, Marriott management reiterated its commitment to the well-being of its staff.
“We are deeply concerned about the decision by the owners of the Sheraton Abuja hotel to close the hotel in a short period of time, causing unnecessary distress to employees and significant disruption to guests, suppliers and other partners.
“We disagree with the way the owners, Capital Hotels Plc, have rushed the decision to close the hotel, without making sufficient arrangements for the hotel’s 291 employees, some of whom have worked at this iconic property for many years. decades.
“The well-being of hotel employees is our first priority and we will continue to do everything we can to support them during this difficult period,” Collins said.
Meanwhile, a statement from the management of Capital Hotels Plc (CHP)indicated that the members of the hotel union protested against Marriott for the lack of payment of their compensation as agreed.
He said the protest was also about other issues that bordered on safety standards due to the hotel’s degraded condition endangering the lives of employees, guests and the public.
According to the statement, these reasons led to the management’s decision to capital hotel plc to temporarily close operations to allow them to carry out renovations on the hotel.
He stated that the new owners had communicated the decision to temporarily close the hotel to Marriott since September.
“Hotel management also assured that most employees would be reabsorbed upon reopening the hotel, allaying fears of job loss.
“This management commitment is in addition to the severance package that employees would be receiving as a result of the temporary closure.
“This development follows the acquisition of the majority stake in Capital Hotel plc, owners of the hotel, by 22 limited hospitality‘, he claimed.
Likewise, the Executive Director of the Group, NIPCOAlhaji aminu abdulkadirhad expressed the company’s desire to restore the hotel to its former glory as a “first choice luxury hotel” in Abuja.
Abdulkadir, in an earlier statement by NIPCO spokesman Alhaji lawful taofekHe said that the strategic push was aimed at building the hotel into a leading hotel company, offering premium services to customers in accordance with global standards.
“Currently, the hotel is managed by various system license agreements with cogeneration.
“In the past, Starwood had acknowledged in multiple reports that the hotel was in a very rundown state and would require major renovations to bring it up to brand.
“However, despite the hotel’s poor condition and non-compliance with its brand standards, it has continued to manage the Sheraton Abuja hotel, which is currently in a dilapidated and deplorable state,” he explained.
Abdulkadir said that as part of the commitment to workforce development in the hospitality industry, plans were underway to establish an “Academy of Hospitality” in Nigeria.
He said that this would be done in collaboration with the federal government to train Nigerian youth in various hospitality skill sets.
“This initiative stems from the current global shortage of skilled and experienced hotel workforce.
“In fact, statistics showed that there are currently more than a million job openings in housekeeping, wait staff, chefs, security, IT and maintenance in the hospitality industry.
“CHP’s Hospitality Academy will not only train Nigerians for local employment, but also equip them with the experience needed to seek overseas placements to fill the myriad of vacancies in other parts of the world.
“Thus making us a true resource in the quest to reduce unemployment in Nigeria,” he said.
News sourceCredit: YAYA
