By Mustapha Sesay
Amidst controversy over its rating, Radisson Blu mammy Yoko Hotel has named a General Manager.
Johan Klana, a Swedish national, has replaced Nuno NEVES who has been recalled by the Radisson Blu management. Klana, at a special farewell press conference organized for his predecessor, told reporters that he had spent over 30 years in hotel business. He said seven of those years have been with the global hotel chain, Radisson Blu.
Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko is government-private partnership business that enabled Sierra Leone rejuvenated its moribund Mammy Yoko Hotel. The new hotel was unveiled early 2014, shortly before the deadly Ebola epidemic erupted.
Despite the difficulties posed by the epidemic, Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel managed to remain in the hotel business in the country. Last month it even announced it had won a continental award for its services.
Johan Klana spoke about his experience working in a number of African countries for Radisson Blu, including Nigeria, his last post. He said this experience puts him on a strong footing to handle whatever comes way while in Sierra Leone.
It appears that his first major task is to carefully address ongoing debate about the rating of the hotel.
The hotel’s management had taken offense over comments attributed to Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Yaya Tunis, saying Radisson Blue, contrary to earlier perception, was in fact not a Five Star hotel.
Klana declined to comment on the issue when asked by a reporter.
“I will not comment on what the minister has said,” he stated, noting that it was good for the country to learn from other African countries in the area of hotel business in order to have the capacity to establish five star hotels.
However, Jorgen JORGENSEN, District Director of Radisson Blu for West Africa, couldn’t shy away from the question. He said the hotel had all what it takes to be classified as a Five Star hotel and that they had a license to operate as such in the country.
The debate about the status of Radisson Blu, which was sparked by the minister’s statement early this month, has become a subject of discussion even among ordinary Sierra Leoneans.
Hotels are rated based on the services they provide.
Dominick Lewis, head of the Department of Food and Beverage Management at the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology (MMCET), Brookfields campus, told Politico that in as much as there was a boom in the hotel business with some outstanding services, that did not just make any hotel qualified to be rated as Five Star. He explained that there are certain conditions that needed to be met before a hotel is rated as one star, two star…. Or five star. He emphasized that in terms of five star status, there are certain facilities that a hotel must own, which include beaches, zoos, helipad and in some cases church and mosque, a well organized transport system, and a mini mall that should operate on a 24-hour basis.
“When we are talking about five star hotels there are lots of things we need to look into. There certain facilities that most be owned by the hotel. You can not refer to any hotel as five star hotel without a landing site for helicopters; you must also own a transport system and they must be first class. There are lots of other things that we don’t have in Sierra Leone per se, so we cannot class any hotel as five star in Sierra Leone. I can say they are three star hotels,” Lewis said.
He added that the scenario of Radisson Blu might however be different based on the fact that they owned multitudes of hotels across the world which falls within the category of five star, and that they might be using that chain of operation to license and class the hotel as five star.
Abubakkar Turay, head of classification unit at the National Tourist Board (NTB), was quoted by the government owned Daily Mail newspaper last week as saying that unlike other countries, rating of hotels, restaurants, night clubs and other tourist establishments in Sierra Leone is done on class basis, rather than on Star basis. He said this was done according to the Development Act of 1990, which mandate the NTB to undertake such exercises.
Turay also said they look at various factors ranging from the location of the facility, equipment and utensils used, as well as health and sanitation. He said they also look at the physical appearance and attire of the staff, fire prevention ability and the quality of the food provided.
Tunis’ statement that “Radisson Blu is not a five star hotel”, whether it was based on an honest assessment or not, has enraged the owners of the hotel and they want an apology from him.
The West Africa Holding SL Limited (WAHL), the company which controls a majority share in the hotel, has in a newspaper publication expressed grave concern over the statement which was made before the Parliamentary Committee on Cultural Affairs. It said it did not only have the tendency to damage their business, but could also undermine the reputation of the country.
“West Africa Holding Ltd. are profoundly disappointed that the newly appointed Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Mr. Sidi Yaya Tunis, has engaged neither the West Africa Holdings Ltd. nor the company contracted to manage the facilities, Radisson Blu, before making pronouncements in particular to the parliamentary committee on cultural affairs that has the potential to damage the reputation of Sierra Leon in general and the Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel in particular,” the statement reads in part, adding: “it is ironic that as Sierra Leone embarks on a post-Ebola charm offensive with the rest of the world, with a view to attracting investors and tourists, the only Hotel in Sierra Leone with international brand name of repute for quality and standards is being wrongly labeled by the Tourism Minister.”
The officials of WAHL pointed out that the minister’s statement was not only ill-advised but had the capability of misleading parliament, which is considered as serious crime.
Nuno NEVES, the out gone General Manager, said at the Radisson Blu press conference, which was held last week, that although they as operators of the hotel were not mandated to comment on whatever that had been said by the minister, he was certain that while the tourism industry was still staggering, they succeeded to capture good number of guests. “Because of our good facilities and high standard, we have the office of CDC [Centre for Disease Control] and other few UN staff.”
He observed that his three years stay as head of the hotel was nothing short of good memories and the friendly nature of Sierra Leoneans. He noted that he was also proud to have succeeded to empower more Sierra Leoneans in the hotel industry by given them managerial positions in the hotel.
He said during the outbreak of Ebola in the country, the hotel stood tall to extend its arms of hospitality to foreign medics and other international partners that were in the country to fight the disease. He pointed out that their services during the crisis period did not only help to maintain the job of local Sierra Leoneans but also to project the image of country in terms of Tourism. He also mentioned that during his tenure the hotel won a number of international awards that painted a good picture of the hotel.
“Sierra Leone has been exposed to the world through the good works of Radisson Blu. It’s like exporting the good image of the country in times of crisis. I brought in my wife when at the time people were leaving the country. That showed how much I love this country and its people,” NEVES said.
He said although economic activities were at the moment slow, the hotel would remain to be viable and serve the interest of the country and its people.
(C) Politico 28/06/16
