The hotel union members protested against Marriott for the non-payment of their severance packages as agreed with Marriott and for other issues bordering on safety standards as a result of the degraded state of the hotel.

It is understood that the appalling state of the hotel had given reason for the safety complaints that the union had asserted as posing danger to the employees, the hotel guests, and the general public. This explains why the new owners have decided to temporarily shut down its operations to enable them to carry out renovations of the hotel. It is also understood that the new owners had communicated its decision to temporarily shut down the hotel to Marriott since September, a sufficient time frame that allows them to make all necessary preparations for the shutdown.

The management of the hotel has also assured that most of the employees will be reabsorbed upon reopening of the hotel, dowsing the fears of job losses. This commitment from the management is in addition to the mouthwatering severance package that the employees are receiving as a consequence of this temporary closure.

This development is coming in the wake of the acquisition of majority stake in Capital Hotel plc, owners of the hotel, by 22 Hospitality Limited. The hotel union members protested against Marriott for the non-payment of their severance packages as agreed with Marriott and for other  issues bordering on safety standards as a result of the degraded state of the hotel.

It is understood that the appalling state of the hotel had given reason for the safety complaints which the union had asserted as posing danger to the employees, the hotel guests, and the general public. This explains why the new owners have decided to temporarily shut down its operations to enable them carry out renovations of the hotel. It is also understood that the new owners had communicated its decision to temporarily shut down the hotel to Marriott since September, a sufficient time frame that allows them to make all necessary preparations for the shutdown.

The management of the hotel has also assured that most of the employees will be reabsorbed upon reopening of the hotel, dowsing the fears of job losses. This commitment from the management is in addition to the mouthwatering severance package that the employees is receiving as a consequence of this temporary closure.

This development is coming in the wake of the acquisition of majority stake in Capital Hotel plc, owners of the hotel, by 22 Hospitality Limited. It will be recalled that the company earlier had issued a statement through its spokesman, Alhaji Lawal Taofeek, who quoted the Group Executive Director of the company, Alhaji Aminu Abdulkadir, as saying that the new investors are desirous of restoring the hotel to its former glory of being the first-choice luxury hotel in Abuja.

According to Aminu, this strategic drive is also aimed at making the hotel carve out a niche for itself by becoming a leading hospitality firm offering premium services to customers in accordance with global standards.

“The hotel is currently managed by Starwood/Marriott under various system license agreements with CHP. In the past, Starwood had acknowledged in various reports that the hotel was in a much-degraded state and would require hard renovations to make it brand compliant. However, despite the hotel’s poor condition and non-compliance with its brand standards, Marriot/Starwood has continued to manage the Sheraton Abuja Hotel, which is currently in a dilapidated and deplorable state,” the statement explained.

The statement added that the new investors are keen to turn around the fortunes of the hotel through the injection of substantial new capital under certain preconditions.

As part of the new investors’ commitment to manpower development in the hospitality industry, the statement said, plans are in the pipeline to establish a ‘Hospitality Academy’ in Nigeria in collaboration with the federal government to train Nigerian youths in various hospitality skill sets.

“This initiative is borne out of the current global shortage of trained and experienced hospitality manpower. Indeed, statistics showed that there are currently more than one million job vacancies in housekeeping, waiters, chefs, security, IT and maintenance of the hospitality industry,” the statement added.

According to the statement, the CHP Hospitality Academy will not only train Nigerians for local employment but will also equip them with the requisite expertise to seek overseas placements to fill the large volume of vacancies in other parts of the world, thereby becoming a veritable recourse in the quest to reduce unemployment in Nigeria.It will be recalled that the company earlier had issued a statement  through its spokesman, Lawal Taofeek, who quoted the Group Executive Director of the company, Aminu Abdulkadir, as saying that the new investors are desirous of restoring the hotel to its former glory of being the first-choice luxury hotel in Abuja.

According to Aminu, this strategic drive is also aimed at making the hotel carve out a niche for itself by becoming a leading hospitality firm offering premium services to customers in accordance with global standards.

“The hotel is currently managed by Starwood/Marriott under various system license agreements with CHP. In the past, Starwood had acknowledged in various reports that the hotel was in a much degraded state and would require hard renovations to make it brand compliant. However, despite the hotel’s poor condition and non-compliance with its brand standards, Marriot/Starwood has continued to manage the Sheraton Abuja Hotel, which is currently in a dilapidated and deplorable state,” the statement explained.

The statement added that the new investors are keen to turn around the fortunes of the hotel through the injection of substantial new capital under certain preconditions.

As part of the new investors’ commitment to manpower development in the hospitality industry, the statement said, plans are in the pipeline to establish a ‘Hospitality Academy’ in Nigeria in collaboration with the federal government to train Nigerian youths in various hospitality skill sets.

“This initiative is borne out of the current global shortage of trained and experienced hospitality manpower. Indeed, statistics showed that there are currently more than one million job vacancies in housekeeping, waiters, chefs, security, IT and maintenance of the hospitality industry,” the statement added.

According to the statement, the CHP Hospitality Academy will not only train Nigerians for local employment but will also equip them with the requisite expertise to seek overseas placements to fill the large volume of vacancies in other parts of the world, thereby becoming a veritable recourse in the quest to reduce unemployment in Nigeria.