How to Start A Successful Hotel Business in Ghana
The hotel business is a very lucrative business in Ghana. In fact, Ghana’s hospitality business industry is ranked 4th for profitability in the whole of Africa. It is said that tourism and hospitality are the two areas of business that generate the most income for developing countries.
There are a lot of hotels in Ghana, however, there is a need for more. This is because Ghana is one of the most frequently visited tourist destinations in English-speaking West Africa country.
Therefore investing in hotels is investing in a business that has a great future and great earning potential. Although there is a popular notion that this business isn’t profitable, that is not true. Ghana’s hospitality industry is practically self-sustaining.
The hotel business even though it has great potential for profit-making can also be very tedious as it requires great skills in management and customer relations.
So, In this guide, I’ll show you how to start and run a successful hotel business in Ghana.
Contents
How to Start A Successful Hotel Business in Ghana
Before you start your business, there are many things that contribute to the successful running of a hotel business.
You have to consider facility maintenance and direct operations; servers, housekeepers, porters, kitchen workers, bartenders, management, marketing and human resources etc, to run a successful hotel business every part of the hotel must run and function efficiently.
Having said that, below are the practical steps to start a profitable hotel business in Ghana.
There are actually two ways in which you can start a hotel business and they largely depend on the capital available at your disposal. Let us take a look at the different modes of entry into the hotel business.
Join a Franchise
There are several well-established hotel brands in Ghana and abroad. You can decide to start under any of these brands. One of the advantages of joining a franchise is that the names are already trusted brands by customers so they’ll be more interested in patronizing the business without even doing any adverts.
Another great advantage of this is that the business owner is able to glean from the experiences of the mother company and can use these to properly set up his business before standing on his own.
A major disadvantage of starting under a franchise is that the business owner is most likely not to enjoy flexibility in running the business as he has to run the business based on the standards laid down by the mother company.
The process is highly capital intensive though as there are several fees to be paid asides the building of the business to meeting up standards.
Starting Your Own Brand
Most hotel business owners start this way. In fact, it is the most advisable option for business owners who plan to start on a small or medium scale.
This option offers the business owner the opportunity of starting up with a great deal of flexibility as they can set up the business the exact way they want it. It is also not as capital intensive as the franchise option since the business can gradually grow into what the business owner desires.
The only disadvantage of this option is that the business owner will have to spend a lot on publicizing the business as the luxury of flying on the wings of the mother hotels is not available.
Starting Up a Hotel Business in Ghana
At this point, it is expedient to discuss the different steps involved in starting up a hotel. Please note that this is just a guide and you might need to add a few more based on your location or how flexible you want the business to be.
1. Write a Hotel Business Plan
Before you start your business, you need to write an articulated business plan. Your business plan will serve as a guide and effective in running of your hotel business.
A good business plan will highlight your products or services, how you will earn money, leadership and staffing, financing, operations model etc. I recommend you check our guide on how to write a business plan. However, if you cannot do it yourself, I will suggest you look for an expert to do that for you.
2. Register your Hotel Name
In fact, your business plan should be able to capture the name of your business. However, you need to make it official and legal by registering with the Registrar General’s Department.
You, first of all, conduct a name search with RGD and then proceed with other documentations. To get started, I recommend you see our guide on how to register a business in Ghana.
3. Get a Good Location
Choosing a good location is important for your hotel business. The location of your hotel goes a long way in determining the volume and class/type of customers you’ll attract.
I will suggest you let the class of customers you will want to determine where you’ll locate your hotel. For a medium class hotel, you can choose a busy part of the city. For a high-class hotel, you’ll need a more serene environment.
Also, pay attention to security while choosing a location for your hotel business. One thing that customers need is the security of their lives and properties.
4. Build Structures
After securing land in a good location, you need to get approval from the appropriate government agency to erect a structure on the land.
Remember, the type, quality and finishing of your building, furniture and other utilities in the hotel will be your major selling points. Customers will be more willing to pay for well-furnished and properly furnished hotel facilities.
They’re also more likely to visit your hotel more frequently if it proves to be very comfortable. For this reason, you should ensure that your hotel has a very beautiful structure and the finishing is perfect while the furnishings should be top-notch and up to date.
5. Hire and Train Your Staff
Customer service is the core of the hospitality business. As such, you should place much emphasis on your staff.
If you don’t have prior training in hotel hospitality management, it’s important to outsource this responsibility to trained personnel. You can either employ already skilled staffs or employ and train yours.
Some of the staff you will need are bar attendants, waiters, cleaners, laundrymen, receptionists, accountants, etc.
6. Create Awareness
No matter how well equipped your hotel facilities are, if customers don’t know about it, then you are definitely not in business.
To avoid this, you need to create awareness through advertisement. You can either do this via flyers, posters, billboards, jingles, newspapers, online adverts etc. Your media of advertisement depends solely on your budget.
7. Build a Website for Your Hotel
The importance of a website cannot be overemphasized. Your hotel must have an online presence where your potential customers can visit.
The essence of the website is to have an online presence. It also helps your customers to make hotel booking as well as enquiries for your products and services. Importantly, ensure that your hotel website is mobile friendly. You also need to integrate online payment platform for easy booking.
Conclusion
Just like every other business, starting a hotel business in Ghana has its own challenges. However, as an entrepreneur, you should brace yourself to handle them. With time and consistency, you’ll get to know more and master the business. I wish you good luck!.
