Chief Timothy Ekene Okpara, Chairman, Perfecto La Villa Hotel and Suites, Lagos has promised to build a bigger hotel in his state Anambra in the coming months, to step up the hospitality profile of the sector in that axis and also create jobs for the teeming youth. Speaking at the opening ceremony of Perfecto La Villa Hotel and Suites hotel, Lagos, his first property, Chief Okpara said his plan to replicate the brand in Anambra will be a dream come true, adding it will be achieved within a couple of months. He said he was pleased to have achieved the feat within a short time adding that he was not too surprised by it because as a person, he was always determined to achieve whatever he set out his mind to do, he would go all out for it and ensure that it was accomplished and in record time too.
On why he invested in hospitality, he declared: “I started with a small business and since then I have achieved a lot in the business world. I am into petroleum business, oil and gas, and real estate among others. I am adding this hotel brand to my investment portfolio. On what influenced the nature of the hotel, especially the perfect finishing, he said it was not always about the money but your perception and taste. “I don’t have the money as such but I have good taste and eyes for perfection and distinction in whatever I do. I want whatever I do to be perfect and that is what informed the name of the hotel and all that you see here today. Even my Mall, Perfect Mall, which is adjacent the hotel, is governed by the same thought and philosophy. My product registration name is Perfecto, which means that everything I do must be perfect or excellent no matter how small it is.” Commenting on how he was inspired to build, the investor said “my nature is that anywhere I go, I learn or take something new away from the place or environment. The first time I travelled to Europe was in 2007, I was in Catalan town, Spain. The hotel I stayed in was very beautiful and I admired it quite a lot. Then I told myself that I will like to a build a hotel like this of my own in Nigeria. Since then the dream stayed with me until I had the opportunity to actualize it today. This hotel and that one abroad are almost the same and I am quite happy and fulfilled about this feat. As you can see, all family members, my business partners from Turkey and friends and even well – wishers are all here to
celebrate with me and that is something of joy and to be grateful to God. When asked how long it took to build the hotel, Chief Okpara said it took a short time. “It didn’t take a long time to build because when I was going to start the project, I gave myself one year to finish it but a lot of the people that I spoke to said that was unrealistic and that it wasn’t possible.
I insisted that I will make it possible and achieve it, however, at the end of the day I was able to complete the project in 13 months; a year and one month. And this was because of some changes and delay here and there by the workers and other factors. Another interesting aspect of this project was that when I made the undertaking of completing the project under one year, I didn’t have the money for it kept in my bank account or somewhere else. It was just mere determination, sacrifice and focus on my part because as money came my way I committed to the project and gradually it started taking shape and today it is completed and opened for business. I can’t actually put a figure to the total investment put into the hotel. But it is quite huge. It is massive.”
Speaking about the management, Mr. Victor Edosomwan, Managing Director, Vicwan Limited, a hospitality and wellness consultancy firm and consultant to Perfecto La Villa Hotel and Suites disclosed that he came in when the hotel had already gone up to about 20 per cent of the construction when the pillar works and some of the block works have been done. “I discovered at the time that a lot of mistakes have been made and using my expertise I was able to bring about some changes based on the kind of hotel he wanted to build. I was able to make it business and also a leisure hotel. I had to create a meeting room for him and the general out lay of the rooms were done properly and the kitchen area too. There is a customer and staff navigation, which most of these architects don’t understand. You have to ensure that the kitchen and restaurant and all other areas are properly laid out. If you go round, you will see that there is a roof top bar because as consultant you have to create a lot of centres for profits especially looking at this area, Amuwo Odofin, where a lot of food and beverages are served given the nature of the population. It is an open bar where people can stay, eat and drink. There are 45 rooms and suites, in all. We have some rooms with double beds and rooms that can connect to each other. These are some of the innovations that I brought in that if you are setting up a hotel like this, you must have it in mind that family and couples would come so you have to create something for them. The gym is there and what I couldn’t do was to create a spa because most of the hotels that I have designed, there is always a spa. It is a leisure place, it is like one-stop shop. But what we did was to create a gym where guests can experience wellness when they come. You can also see the swimming pool even though it is small but it is a pool that overflows and it is the latest model in hospitality business.We are currently creating a spa room within the premises for our guests as part of the total wellness package. Hotel is supposed to be a life time investment where even your grandchildren can benefit from and the only way that you can do that is through innovation, creativity and maintenance.
From day one, he really understands that there is a commitment to ensure that the place is presentable and maintained on a regular basis. He has to put the money back to the hotel’s maintenance and that customer’s experience is consistent through a commitment to continually make it new by renovating it, by fixing anything that is bad in a timezly fashion. Perfecto La Villa Hotel and Suites, is located on Block 41b, Plot B15, Akin Mateola Street, Ago Way, (Behind Gtbank), near Apple Junction, Lagos.