By Dipo Olowookere
The hospitality business in the Nigerian seat of power, Abuja, will get more competitive and bigger with the planned entry of Radisson Blu in the next four years.
In a statement, Radisson Hotel Group said it was adding six new hotels to its African portfolio, bringing the total to almost 100 hotels across 32 African markets.
One of the six new hotels is to situated in Abuja, the firm said it will be the first in the city. Transcorp Hilton has over the years enjoyed huge patronage of the high and mighty in the private and public sectors in Abuja.
It was stated that the Radisson Blu Hotel Abuja City Centre, scheduled to open in 2024, will complement the existing nine hotels in operation and under development in Nigeria.
Located in the heart of the central business district of Nigeria’s Federal Capital, the 258-room hotel will boast five different food and beverage outlets from a speciality restaurant and all-day-dining restaurant to a Lobby Bar & Café, a picturesque pool terrace and a premium business class lounge.
The leisure facilities will include a 555sqm wellness spa, a gym and a swimming pool to maintain guest’s wellness, the statement said.
“We believe in the vast potential of Africa. The addition of the six hotels, following the announcement of Radisson Hotel Saint Denis earlier this year, places us firmly on track to reach over 150 hotels in operation and under development across the continent within the next five years.
“The new hotel announcements include our debut in new markets, the introduction of additional brands and the strengthening of our presence in cities we’ve identified for scaled growth.
“We thank our hotel partners for their invaluable trust in Radisson Hotel Group and its people,” the Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer of Radisson Hotel Group, Elie Younes, said.
Also, the Vice President, Development, Africa & Turkey at Radisson Hotel Group, Mr Ramsay Rankoussi, stated, “Our growth has been well balanced between greenfield projects and strategic take-overs of existing hotels.
“We aim to further accelerate our presence across the continent through conversions, especially as liquidity remains a critical challenge. We have revisited our brand architecture to enable us to quickly integrate existing hotels to our network.
“This strategy will be reinforced as our brands continue to demonstrate a better value proposition to our owners.
“Following our revised strategy, we believe we are now geared in providing solutions to the investment community for every type of asset, every segment and at every stage – from funding to construction and repositioning.”
Business Post reports that Radisson Blu plans to open a 200-room affordable luxury hotel in Bamako, Mali within the next six months; launch a 289-room hotel in Johannesburg before year-end; open a 14-room facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2021; renovate of an existing 121-room hotel and construct an additional tower which will offer 54 hotel apartments in Accra, Ghana by 2023; and open a 168-room hotel in 2022 at the Durban International Airport in Dube, South Africa.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Modupe Gbadeyanka