August 05, (THEWILL) – Gibson Ngoka is a Houdegbe North American University graduate living in Lagos, Nigeria. His journey into hospitality industry dates back to 1990 when he joined Ikoyi Club, worked there and rose to the position of management staff until he voluntarily left to found a hotel consulting firm known as Primestone Real Estate and Hospitality Limited.
Walking on the serene and quiet streets of Ikoyi one day, Ngoka stumbled on like-minds in the hospitality industry and that led to birthing of the Pilgrims Brook Hotel and the Tranquil Apartments, both of which are situated in Ikoyi.
The Pilgrims Brook Hotel at a time exposed Ngoka and his partners, not only to the hospitality world, but also to major industry players.
Narrating his experience, Ngoka said, “Pilgrims Brook Hotel played a part in the foundation of my coming to Jaiye’s Place Luxury Hotels and Resorts. That is why when Pilgrims Brook Hotel was rested, many of our loyal customers were still looking for us. We are able to build the environment where our guests will always want to have relationships with us and made it very possible not to ignore us.”
Ngoka had some challenges when the first wave of COVID-19 struck. However, he is now the Pioneer General Manager of a newly established outfit known as Jaiye’s Place Luxury Hotels and Resorts. The hotel was founded six months now, with its location at Thomas Estate, Ajah-Lekki, Lagos.
The industry was hardest hit during the pandemic, which took its toll on the Pilgrims Brook Hotel and forced the owner to rest it. Recalling the devastating effects of COVID-19 on the hotel, Ngoka said, “The atmosphere was very harsh and we couldn’t cope and that was because we are in a rented apartment. We have to oblige with the set standard as from that time.”
On his new establishment, he added, “We want to use Jaiye’s Place to challenge the existing norm in this environment. We want to create something that is different. We want to create a culture that people will look up and say this is hospitality. I am mailing the attack. It is a team work. As a pivotal man we want to make sure we conform to our promises.”
According to Ngoka, the unique thing about Jaiye’s Place Luxury Hotels and Resorts is the big location. It is designed in such a way that it will be very easy to access any of the products.
Speaking on measures put in place to ensure the safety of guests, he said, “We have exposed ourselves to modern trends in hospitality management. There is a new normal and we cannot try certain things that were obtainable in the past. We need to meet the demands of the industry, which boils down to hygiene and personal grooming, as well as to ensure that we do not transport the virus. They are not the vehicle in which the virus gets across to other people. As the days progress, new ideas come up and so do new ways of handling guests and their complaints. The industry goes through complaints and whenever you see the complaints you know something is very wrong.”
On customer relations, Ngoka added, “We will be able to build confidence into them, so that they will know they are dealing with normal people with genuine and honest complaints. Most of the complaints are not manufactured. they are all tailored to meet their needs. It is a complex thing. We want to make you feel that anything you are spending is worth spending. More so, it is a service industry and we make sure whoever that enjoys our services will have something to show for it. We are trying to impact the larger society”.
Explaining their policy when it comes to hiring, he said, “At Jaye’s Place, we employ attitude and we don’t employ competency. Everybody with a good attitude can learn very fast. We choose people that are teachable and trainable. So we look out for attitude no matter their discipline.”
Expectations
I am aiming to expanding the business. I want to take it to the height that people will appreciate. The prospects are very encouraging. If we maintained our standard and guard our mission statement jealously in the next five years we would have two or three hotels of this kind.
Facilities
When approaching the property from the street on the right, the first thing that guests will see is the restaurant, which doubles as a multi-purpose conference hall. Considering the COVID-19 standard, it can comfortably accomodate more than 70 persons at a stretch. We also have the executive arms. The facility has 29 rooms and we want to increase it to 31. We want to make it more affordable and reachable for the demands we are getting from our patrons. We have a pool and beside the pool, we are trying to put sound in the gym center.
Challenge
Power issue is a very big problem to us and real travelers and hotel users are wary of the new wave of COVID-19 spread.
About the Author
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
