Busuyi Ogidiolu in Ado Ekiti.
No hotel in Ekiti State will henceforth be allowed to operate outside hospitality laws of the State owing to its negative consequences.
To this end, the regulatory and inspectorate units of the ministry of Arts Culture and tourism would be deployed as task force to ensure all hotels in the State comply with international best practices.
The Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism, Professor Rasaki Ojo Bakare, told newsmen in Ado Ekiti that the ministry had already put in place plans to facilitate regular capacity programme for hotel operators as part of efforts to promote standard.
He announced that the ministry had come up with first phase of hotels classification in the state where it was discovered that Best nine hotels in the state capital falls within three star class.
“This is the highest class available in the state for now, some other hotels fall within two star and one star category while majority were under the class tagged as others” he stressed.
According to the commissioner those hotels referred to as others fall within the classification due to some reasons ranging from construction deficiencies to operational errors.
“Some of those classified as three two and one star would have done better if the owner had not at the planning stage worked and designed in the ignorance of the required standard”, he said.
The commissioner maintained that the classification would enable government to assess revenue potential of every outfit and fix appropriate fees instead of estimated fixing that could be to the disadvantage of low revenue earning hotels.
Professor Ojo-Bakare added that the classification would be carried out biennially to allow those who have not performed well prepare effectively for necessary changes.
He reiterated the ministry’s determination to sustain optimal service delivery to the tourism and hospitality sector of the State in line with the vision of Governor Fayemi Led administration.
