Management of hotel properties in south-western Nigeria: facilities management perspective

Type Thesis or Dissertation - Doctor of Philosophy
Title Management of hotel properties in south-western Nigeria: facilities management perspective
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2009
URL http://theses.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/bitstream/handle/123456789/94/Full Thesis.pdf?sequence=1
Abstract
The study examined the use of facilities management as a potent management tool in hotel
asset management within six States of South-Western geo-political zone of Nigeria. The
aim of the study is to investigate the degree of beneficial application of facilities
management principles in the management of hotel organizations in the study area with a
view to curtail widespread disinvestment. The population of the study comprised of all
hotels within the six States namely Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ondo and Oyo States. The
sample frame consisted of hotels that are registered with Nigeria Tourism Board and
located within the State Capitals namely Ado-Ekiti, Ikeja, Abeokuta, Oshogbo, Akure and
Ibadan. Stratified sampling technique supplemented by cluster sampling was used.
Stratification of hotels within the six States that formed the study area focused on the State
capitals, which generally harbor the different categories of hotels under study. Using
Kothari?s formula for calculating sample sizes, appropriate sample sizes of customers for
each hotel was calculated at 95% level of confidence and degree of freedom. Data
collection instruments included three questionnaires targeted at hotel organizations, the
Facilities/Maintenance Managers and the hotel customers. These were implemented by
personal interview and discussion with hotel stakeholders as identified and the study of
system operations of selected hotels. Data from all the centers were analyzed by means of
descriptive and inferential statistics while model for facilities management compliant hotel
was validated or rejected by comparative analysis with the aid of benchmarking method.
The findings of the study were that facilities provision in the hotel industry within the
study area was not totally in conformity with national recommendation of Tourism Board
of Nigeria especially in quality and wholeness. The degree of application of facilities
management in the hotel industry in the study area is low. There were traces of facilities
management features perhaps due to overlapping of maintenance management, property
management and facilities management. There appeared to be a correlation between hotel
management style and hotel effectiveness in service delivery while there was strong
evidence indicating that facilities management, as a style of management, aids hotel
effectiveness generally. Identified traits of effective facilities management driven hotel
organization included a flat organization structure, process team as work units, absolute
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workers? empowerments, and a multi-dimensional process team, job preparations
anchored to education and training with customer based performance measurement. The
executive, management and the general managers were basically leaders and facilitators
while employees/staff are proactive people. Finally, accommodation and services were
discovered to be customer dictated. The interaction of the major variables, the executive,
the general manager, the facilities managers, the customers and the line staff, led to the
development and validation of a pictorial and mathematical model for facilities
management driven hotel organizations. Precisely thirteen benefits were agglomerated
with extensive responsibilities and authorities for facilities managers coming first,
followed by improved quality of services and then national stock of hotels worthy of
presentation. Nineteen challenges were also identified with the first three being that the
concern for immediate return on investment generally among the investing public,
religious sentimentalism which views hotel as promoting immorality and social
misbehavior; and un-conducive business environment in Nigeria with regards to poor
infrastructure, epileptic power supply, policy inconsistencies and high level of corruption.
Based on the findings from the research, the following conclusions were made. While the
world at large has accepted facilities management for what it is, Nigeria?s responsiveness
to it is slow. Having proved its efficacy in aiding hotel effectiveness in operation and
service delivery in developed countries, the time is ripe for its accelerated adoption and
implementation not only within hotel sector but other sectors of the economy.

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