Transcorp Hotels Managing Director, MD, Dupe Olusola, has lamented the rising energy cost in the hospitality industry.
In an interview cited by BizWatch Nigeria, where she made this known, Olusola also noted that the changing needs of guests are putting hotel managers on their toes.
When asked about the challenges Trancorp faced in the past year, Olusola attributed it to the ”rising costs, especially energy costs have been a very big challenge for our business, in addition to the supply chain, which continues to be a challenge. I must stress that these challenges are not peculiar to our business, Nigeria as a whole needs to address rising energy costs. Therefore, we prioritised cost management strategies. We are also constantly looking inwards to see how we can address most of our supply needs locally without comprising our standards. Now, more than ever, we are enhancing our marketing strategy, and focusing on optimising operational efficiency.”
Speaking on the company’s drive to protect the climate, she explained that ”You would recall my stance on delivering value to our stakeholders. Our communities are very important stakeholders that we do not take for granted. Hence, as part of our ESG program, we take great care of our environment and communities. By implementing environmentally-friendly practices such as energy-efficient lighting and water conservation measures, supporting local suppliers and vendors, and investing in community development initiatives such as education and healthcare, we have made a lot of positive impacts.
”However, it is good to mention a few of the activities we are engaged in. Every year, we join the rest of the world to celebrate Earth Hour, the biggest hour for the earth when non-essential lights are turned off for one hour to show our collective commitment to energy conservation. We train women in the fashion business as part of our Business Empowerment Programme for Women, every year. Our Soap for Hope project also sees us donate soap to communities as we promote personal hygiene, prevent avoidable diseases, and create awareness for recycling and repurposing soap waste. Used soaps are collected from the hotel, scraped, sanitised, flavoured, coloured, and moulded into new exotic soap bars which are wrapped and distributed to pupils and students of primary/secondary schools and to indigenes of rural communities where soap is a luxury. Since its inception, the Soap for Hope project has distributed over 3,200 soaps to the beneficiaries of the programme. In 2022, Transcorp Hotels recycled 15,271kg of recyclable waste from the landfill into productive uses, and also donated a portion of waste collected at its property towards Chanja Datti’s Bottles for Books Initiative, helping the NGO to support two full-time waste collectors and two out-of-school children. These are some of the ways we are making a positive impact on our environment and communities,” she added.
