Building For The Future: The Envoy Hotel’s Vision For Nigeria’s Hospitality Industry

In this exclusive interview with Dr. Lucky Onoriode George, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of African Travel Times, Dewald Kruger, General Manager of The Envoy Hotel, managed by Silk Road Hospitality, reflects on the philosophy, people, and professional discipline that have driven the hotel’s success. Excerpts:

The Envoy Hotel has established itself as one of Abuja’s leading luxury hotels. What has been the secret behind its success?

When I saw the drawings and proposals, I knew The Envoy Hotel project was going to be a special project. It started with a good concept, good architecture, quality construction and finishing, the right location and a sound business case. A professional team was assembled, and the work started. Everyone knew what was expected of them.

Big kudos to that team! They made my work easy. We had professional implementation teams, induction teams and trainers. I know there is a push away from international associations, but you get the best results when you fuse the best of multiple worlds.

We selected the best talent available, both in qualifications and skills. We also took some chances on people with no skills or qualifications, recognizing passion, enthusiasm and attitude.

We do not relent on maintenance. To a point, we over-maintain, improve and correct. Yes, everything was not perfect at the start. We add new inventions, materials and technology. We push forward into the future. We want to remain a relevant project 10 and 20 years from now.

I think we apply trusted and scientific principles to the process, starting with planning, organizing, leading and controlling.

The hotel recently unveiled new wings and expanded its facilities. What informed this major investment, and what new experiences can guests expect?

We have since added eight new bedrooms as The Envoy Hotel Annex. Here, we celebrate Nigeria through colours, icons, heroes and achievements. All finishes are in soft greens and whites, creating a calming colour palette.

At the top end, we present the Emerald Suite, a two-bedroom apartment decorated in rich greens and luxury, and the Michika Suite, featuring traditional elements and finishes.

It is a two-bedroom apartment in a calm and serene environment. We needed additional rooms to address the residential conference market.

How does the expansion position The Envoy Hotel within Nigeria’s increasingly competitive hospitality market?

We extended our meetings and hall inventory, adding three more boardrooms and three halls, making The Envoy Hotel campus a serious meeting and conference space.

There is an ever-growing demand for professional meeting spaces. We were fortunate to repurpose some space on our property to create these venues.

Sustainability is becoming a key consideration in hotel development. What sustainable features have been incorporated into the new wings?

The new wing has a small footprint. It will lean on the established engineering and service practices already embedded in The Envoy Hotel operation.

Cost per room will be softer as we have more rooms to draw revenue from. The Envoy Hotel remains a small, compact hotel where large-scale sustainability initiatives can be uneconomical. We will, however, drive our waste separation and find a market for the different waste streams.

How has guest feedback influenced the design and services offered in the expanded facilities?

As mentioned before, one doesn’t always get it right from the start, and the market might have moved to something else along the way. We value all comments, use what is useful, and move on with it.

We were lucky that we had space to manoeuvre. It is not always possible to build in redundancies.

As Director of Silk Road Hospitality, what is your long-term vision for the company in Nigeria?

The future is not certain, as ever, so we prefer to build solid platforms from which we can take riskier decisions and actions.

We see an upswing in hospitality and property proposals and spending. We trust this will go along with spending in the complete hospitality ecosystem. If not, things will fall apart.

Are there plans to replicate The Envoy Hotel model in other Nigerian cities or even across Africa?

The model is scalable, and we see our base of seven hotels expanding well in the future. We will add two properties in Abuja in 2027, and have five projects in the pipeline. Locations include Lagos and Akure.

As mentioned, the market is buoyant, and we expect to make more welcome announcements. We are definitely looking at properties in Ghana and South Africa.

What distinguishes Silk Road Hospitality’s management philosophy from that of other hotel management companies operating in the region?

As mentioned before, it starts with a good plan, a good team and a forward-thinking owner or investor.

We use guest-centred layouts, designs, amenities, products and services. A shout-out to HMC 2026, where it was condensed into an easy question: “What are you doing to make life easy for my guests, and what are you doing to frustrate my guests?”

How important is innovation and technology in delivering memorable guest experiences across your properties?

Technology can only bring you so far. If available, it should be best-in-class and work every time. Working only now and then is no option. You have wasted your money and frustrated your guest. It is more about the staff member behind the technology.

Some owners also buy technology that will never be used. Technology needs upgrades, licence fees and training. These are not one-time purchases, and then the technology fails.

What role does staff training and talent development play in maintaining international hospitality standards?

This is a problematic area. There seems to be a disconnect between what the education sector delivers to industry and what industry requires.

The hospitality industry is young, vibrant and technology-driven, while we remain a warm, person-to-person industry as well.

Staff don’t respect work the way we used to have. Staff don’t respect guests the way they used to. All guests still expect full-service, friendly service from hotels and their staff.

Somewhere, we still expect our educational institutions to deliver the standard of staff we need. Staff shy away from taking responsibility, taking charge of things and giving instructions to others. These are still all part of the job.

The hospitality industry in Nigeria continues to face challenges ranging from infrastructure deficits to rising operating costs. Which of these has had the greatest impact on your operations?

The cost of hotel building, construction and finishing is a further cost element that influences final rate setting. Development cost per room also puts Nigeria at the top end of the scale.

The cost of property and materials, with the final 40 percent of costs needing to come from imports, is affected by currency movements. This is an ever-moving target, but it is on an upward trend.

Staff costs are still relatively low. If we want to deliver real international standards of service, this will have to rise.

The supply chain is very limited and expensive if we want to deliver an international range and standard of goods, especially food and beverage items. Import duties, commissions and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control [NAFDAC] costs all contribute to the final price to the guest.

Government charges, levies and taxes all play their part. We now have to levy guests an entertainment tax, with no idea what will happen to this tax.

Energy remains one of the biggest operational expenses for hotels in Nigeria. How is The Envoy Hotel addressing this challenge while maintaining premium service standards?

Certainly, the cost of energy is a major issue. It puts Nigerian rates among the highest in our competitive set.

All hotels are equally affected, so prices are adjusted to take care of these costs. From an outsider looking in, it offers no value for money. So, comparing the price for a bedroom in the same class from city to city, Nigeria stands out.

Security perceptions can influence travel decisions. What more should government and the private sector do to boost traveller confidence?

One incident, even one rumour of an incident, will send cautionary travel bulletins to many embassies and high commissions, warning citizens not to travel.

Surely, we have internal travellers and guests who will wonder what the drama is all about, but sincerely, NGOs will delay and even cancel.

International guests will not send representatives. Online and hybrid meetings are here to stay.

The government should modernize the military and police profile. Twenty-vehicle-strong car cavalcades with attack groups and even ambulances create a scary scene.

Enough is said about this issue. It starts with the immigration process, arrival at the airport and the drive through town to your destination.

Compare it to your journey to Kampala, Addis Ababa, Accra, London, New York or Dubai. Evaluate it critically. The private sector is doing its best to navigate through many obstacles.

Access to long-term financing remains difficult for hospitality investors. What policy reforms would you like to see to encourage greater investment in the sector?

Nigeria remains an unfriendly investor destination. We should develop from within. Without being too elaborate, we need to build trust and reliability in ourselves.

Developments should start on a small scale and build from one success story to another. Once there is momentum, one can then launch a public share issue and invite investors to participate.

We should create pockets of excellence and, through hard and smart work, dig ourselves from our current position to the next level.

There are many schemes to lose all your money with little effort, and few schemes to make money that takes time and effort.

Nigeria has enormous tourism potential but still lags behind many African destinations. What practical steps are needed to unlock the country’s tourism economy?

All elements should work in synchronization with each other, as mentioned earlier. People need to travel. They have always travelled, and they will always travel.

Destinations, options and reasons for travel have expanded. For Nigeria, there are many options: business, leisure, medical, education, sport and so many others. People flee from danger; they flee to safety.

The Tourism Authority or Ministry should arrange for a think tank and educational study tours to places and countries with successful destinations. International tourism practitioners should be part of this effort. Recommendations and budgets should flow from it.

How do you see the relationship between hospitality, aviation and tourism evolving in driving Nigeria’s economic diversification?

The potential of tourism is always there, but it is competing with the low-hanging fruits in the basket.

Hospitality, aviation and tourism are a tight group, but immigration and foreign affairs, agriculture, education, infrastructure development and almost every other sector have an input into the success of the tourism and hospitality sector.

We all know about the high cost of flying up and down the West Coast. There was an effort for all these countries to drop commissions on these flight charges, with a saving of 35 percent envisaged.

These are the types of ease-of-travel arrangements that the Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS] and wider communities should implement. Ease of border crossing is also key here.

What opportunities does the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) present for the hospitality industry across Africa?

Honestly, I don’t really have an opinion on this at the moment.

With more African countries embracing visa reforms and regional integration, how optimistic are you about the future of intra-African travel?

Visa control is important. If you don’t control your border, you don’t have a country.

The controls should be easy to obtain and inexpensive. Unfortunately, some countries are more successful than others. This should be managed and protected by the top-performing countries.

Where do you see The Envoy Hotel and Silk Road Hospitality over the next few years, and what milestones would define success?

Our organisation should move towards a wider reach at a higher standard. We want to establish ourselves as a destination of choice and an employer of choice.

We are building an improvement of The Envoy in Lugbe, The Envoy Gateway Hotel. It will be a beautiful escape out of town, with large and interesting rooms, modern architecture and private spaces.

It will be a conference and business destination with 110 bedrooms, a main hall capable of accommodating 850 delegates and six further meeting rooms.

There will also be outdoor spaces to enjoy and relax, multiple pools and lawns to relax and reconnect with family and friends.

Finally, if you had the opportunity to advise policymakers across Africa on creating a thriving hospitality and tourism industry what would be your top three recommendations?

Regulation is good. However, greater attention to safety and security, coupled with fewer government restrictions, would help. Other priorities include a reliable and affordable power supply, friendly and efficient immigration procedures, a broader range and improved quality of imported and locally produced goods and services, greater efficiency at the ports, and more cost-effective tariffs.