‘We are favoured to be open for business while in the middle of renovation’

When The Wheatbaker Lagos debuted, about15 years ago, it took the Nigerian hospitality market by storm with the unique offerings it brought to the table, amid daring to be different from the rest in the highbrow Ikoyi area.

The hotel has maintained its exclusivity over the years through periodic renovations, regular capacity building, among others.

In this interview, Salome Danjuma, the hotel’s Food, Beverage and Spa manager, shares with OBINNA EMELIKE why The Wheatbaker brand has remained exclusive, the rationale for ongoing renovation, why business is on despite the project, new facilities and products in place, support for the arts, her passion, among others. Excerpt:

How is The Wheatbaker brand fairing?

We are 15 years old this year. But when Wheatbaker started, there weren’t many hotels like us. We were very unique and energetic.
When everyone was going this way, we were going the opposite direction. I think we were one of the first that were very passionate about the arts, very passionate about the indigenous cultures and supporting Africa and Nigerians.

My slogan is ‘Vehicles of African Pride’.

I think it is important for us as a brand, especially as an indigenous one, to show that excellence, Nigeria and Africa can be in the same sentence. That being Nigerian does not disqualify us in any way. In fact, it is an advantage because we understand our market, we understand our people, and we can give Nigeria high quality.

I think we are always supporting youth development. The Wheatbaker, as a brand, has been very passionate about youth development and supporting in our own little way.

What informed the current renovation project in the hotel?

Well, we are still in the middle of refreshing the product.

At the end of the day, we are still a small hotel, but we still know that you need to reinvent yourself, if not, you become old. You need to constantly reinvent and renovate.

The above are the reasons we decided that it is time to refresh. But we didn’t want to close the hotel because if we had closed, it means all our team would have been out of work.

We have been doing it in phases and everyone has remained in their employment. We have a lot of gratitude to our owners to have supported us in the midst of such a huge project. It has also brought a lot of learning opportunities to the team where we are having to react quickly, pre-emptively and to think ahead.

Now we are planning, preparing, and thinking beyond ourselves, which is not a very typical Nigerian thought. As a brand and as other hotels, I hope that we are now beginning to think, what is the industry going to look like in 30 years, in 50 years from now and in 100 years?

We may not be there, but how are we building that? It is in thinking of what is going to be left behind that our owners are taking the steps to refresh the property and the brand.

What offerings are in place now?

So, when we complete, we would inform the public at that time. But for now, the one thing we can say that people can enjoy for now that has been fully refreshed is our spa. We are happy to bring world-class spa, wonderful treatment rooms, steam room, sauna, and indigenously supported products.

We collaborated with a lot of women businesses that produce in Nigeria. We are proud of each of our vendors from Mint, Bajanada, to Arami, to House of Uzozi, Centrofina, and Modara. These are all amazing female-led businesses that we were able to collaborate with in the support of our spa to ensure that we use ingredients that are healing, intentionally sourced, and no chemicals or things that can harm. We are very deliberate about the wellness of our guests and creating that environment that enables their refreshment, rejuvenation, and well-being.

What phase is the renovation project now?

We are still very much in the middle of things. There is still a stretch for us, but we are proud of the little that we are doing.

The fact that we can still be the Wheatbaker that people can still visit, still interact with our staff members, who still have employment, it has been super important and we are blessed to have that.

Will there still be a space for the arts after the renovation?

Absolutely. We are still curated by Bloom Arts founded by Ugoma Ebila. She is an amazing curator. We are still supporters of the arts.

I mean, even if you go to this spa, you see all the new pieces of art we have acquired. We still continue to grow our arts collection, which we are very proud of. We are looking to keep doing that, to keep being supporters of the arts, to keep expanding the possibilities of arts and Nigerian and African curated arts.

So, yes, we are proud supporters. We are still building our collection, which has grown and continues to grow over our 15 years history.

Beyond the comfort and luxury within the hotel, what other thrills can guests enjoy in the highbrow environment?

I think we are lucky to be in this area of Lagos, where if you want to be quiet, you can enjoy the solitude. But if you want to go out for a night out, Victoria Island is down the road from us. There is a paddle court that has opened down the road from us, the golf club is close and supermarkets are opening. Lagos is growing. I feel like if you are here all the time, you don’t see it.

But if you are a visitor, every time you come, you begin to see the new developments. If you count all the cranes, it means buildings and developments are coming up all the time. With that, there is a lot of growth that is happening.

I remember 10 years ago, it was very easy for you to say you had been to every restaurant. Now, there are so many restaurants, it is hard to keep up.

Are we where we could be? No. But I also like that now there are alternative events. Sometime in January, I was opportune to go on an excursion to Badagry and we had great fun.
It was such an intimate and memorable time for me. So, I think having more culturally curated events would be super important.

It is beautiful to see now that we have a lot of festivals; music, food and fashion shows. So, I feel like Lagos does have more things to see outside of just being a sleep and rest location.

What about beach experience for the adventurous guests?

We are long-time fans of Jara Beach. We like the owners and everything they have been able to do. They are lovely people.

So, yes, every opportunity to collaborate is welcomed. At the end of the day, we are only stronger when we work together. So, yes, if someone is looking for such a curated opportunity, yes, we have many partners that can make that happen.

How do you go about training to ensure quality service delivery?

So, it is simple. The only way to do training is to train. You get better at it by doing it. We are lucky in the sense that we have owners that appreciate and understand the importance of training.

They don’t just say it, they put their money where their mouth is and pay for people to get trained.

Currently, we have been running exposure training where we spend a lot of money training and it improves people.

It gives people a different perspective and understanding of some of the things they do and may not understand why. But that is singularly one of the most important things that has kept us going because we continue to emphasise training and retraining because you are only as good as your last gig. But if you don’t keep working at it, you get complacent and we do not want to be complacent. So, we keep at our training.

Is 15 years in business not long enough to expand the brand?

We hear that a lot. But I think having the Wheatbaker as its own entity and not diluting it is also important.

There is no need to spread yourself thin and be doing three things poorly. It is better to do one thing extraordinarily well. So, I am glad that there is a Wheatbaker here in Lagos.

Who knows, maybe in the next 15 years, there will be a Wheatbaker in Addis Ababa or in Abuja. But for now, our efforts and our pride is in this one location and we are proud to be a Wheatbaker in Lagos.

But let’s see, we can never tell. Maybe in 15 years, we will branch out.

As an independent hotel, how does the brand appeal and woo the guests?

As a brand, we are very lucky because the way we treat our people, they speak to other people.
So, we have a reputation that has stood the test of time. At this junction, we are very trusting of what we bring to the market. We know that you can put us on par with any branded hotel.

That is why I still go back to that, we are ‘Vehicles of African Pride’. Having a name doesn’t necessarily mean much. But if we are all putting our best and carrying ourselves with excellence, that is what matters to a lot of people.

We have a lot of people who will typically not stay in unbranded hotels. But when they come here we change their minds to feel like there is quality and consistency.

Lots of people have been with us from the very beginning and they are still coming back year after year as a testament to all the good work that we have been doing.

How has the hotel been able to stay afloat in business despite the challenges?

I think it is to take it one day at a time. We have an amazing clientele base. We have amazing guests that have been with us for a long time. I think, if you have been in business long enough, you know that you just need to keep at it. You keep at it, one step in front of the other and that is why we keep trying to evolve, to better our products, and to ensure that our guests keep coming back.

In 15 years, we have been able to do well. We trust that we will keep doing well because challenges are a part of life. Overcoming those challenges is part of the process.

What about taxes and electricity supply?

I mean, tax is constant and in any country you are, you pay tax. Electricity supply is where I would say we are very fortunate.

We have actually gotten better electricity supplies. So, I think that is why it is very important to always know your own context. In our own context, we have seen a growth in our power supplies. We have three power supplies, and they have grown. Everyone wants it to be better, but overall, it has grown, and we are hoping that it will only get better.

Do you subscribe to the view that the Nigerian hotel market is overpriced?

I think anyone that is doing business would understand all the different logistics and dynamics behind the business.

It is a lot more complex than people would understand. It is not as straightforward as you think. We have some costs. So, if you are comparing us with other countries or markets, you cannot compare. Other countries don’t have to have the same kinds of people and business dynamics.

We have three sources of power supply, other countries don’t. It is a different ballgame entirely.

So, you remove your eyes from whatever is happening in other places, and you focus on your own context. In my own context, this is a reality for me and for anyone that is in the reality and in the business.

I think that is why we appreciate our guests because a lot of them are also business people. So, if you run your own business and you are crunching your own numbers, you are very empathetic as to understanding the overall dynamics and all the other things that people don’t see. But, we are really grateful for our clientele, and to be very honest, the market has continued to grow. Everyone is shouting ‘Detty December’, but it is true.

More people are coming in, Nigerians and non-Nigerians. We are seeing a lot of non-Nigerians beginning to say, we want to experience this Nigeria and they come, go out and want to stay in different fancy places.

So, those encourage the business. So, overall, challenges would always be there, but I think it is imperative as a business to always find how to meet your challenges.

What about occupancy rate?

Occupancy has been good and steady.

Like I said, we can’t complain. I mean, we are in the middle of a renovation and we are still open for business. It shows that things are working in our favour.

So, there are really no complaints from us. Since COVID, things have only gotten better. From COVID, there was that fear of, would the markets ever recover? It has recovered, grown and blown up a lot more than we could ever have expected.

You have been 15 years in this industry or more. Why the passion?

I think there are people that are meant to do certain jobs. The hotel industry just makes sense for me as a person. When I joke about it, when I was younger, my father used to be like, why can’t you just focus on one thing? That was because I liked engineering, I liked history and mathematics and I also liked the sciences.

But the beautiful thing about when you run a hotel is that you have to understand the engineering part of it because you are doing maintenance and all of that.

You are doing the cooking part of it. So, you are doing science when you are a mixologist. So, I think as a hotel person, I really get to try my hands on many things and meet different people everyday. I spent today’s morning packing food, we are having meetings in the afternoon and in the evening, I will probably be doing some maintenance work. Only God knows. But no two days are the same.

You have to be a very adaptable person, love change and love being able to think of multiple things at a time, which is a natural bend. So, I do think that it is an industry that fits certain kinds of people. But if you are weird like me, you would love it.

I struggled to imagine what else I would be doing. I feel like I would have been terrible at any other thing because I wouldn’t have had all the other things that I get to do. Also, the hotel offers a very dynamic work environment.

Did you start your career in the hospitality industry?

Funny, I did.

My first job was in the hotel industry. It was a very wise old man that said he thinks I should work in the hotel. And I think he was spot on because I may not have chosen for myself. Funny, also my mother too was like, I think you will do well in the hotel. I guess mothers know, and yes, I loved, loved most of it.

Did you study hospitality related courses in preparation for your career?

No, so my first degree is in Business Information Systems. I studied IT.

But before my masters I started working in the hotel. When I was asked, do you like it? I was like, yes, I really do. So, I went on to do my masters in Hotel Management in Switzerland.

Are you looking at becoming a general manager one day as a lot of women shy away from that position?

I don’t think a lot of women shy away from it, if I am being honest. You do know that it is a different challenge.

I have done my general manager’s programme from EHL. So, I am building capacity too and that is something that I would very much like to be in my future. But I do think it is a sudden thing.

If I want to be a hotel general manager, I need to prepare for it. It starts from today and not when the job comes, then I will now start running around to become a GM.

But I do feel there are more women general managers now. When I started 10 years ago, I had never met a female GM. In this city now, there are about five of them.

Yes, there are a few now. So, it shows me that it is possible and already here.

I trust that in time, I too will get to be GM of some hotel.

As a woman, how do you also support female women on the job?

I am a feminist. I believe that women are capable and should be given opportunities. I believe anyone should be given the opportunity, regardless of, as long as it is the best person for the job.

I don’t believe in giving opportunities based on other criteria. I believe that competence should be the yardstick and also in grooming competence.

I am passionate about grooming people to the extent that if they said they worked with Salome and they go out there, they carry themselves with a distinction that shows that, yes, we worked together. I want to be proud to see other people that I have raised. I will take it from one of my mentors, who is very proud of all the general managers he has raised in his lifetime.

For me too, that would be something that at the end of my career, I would love to be able to say, look at all the people I groomed and all the people that came through me. The sky is big and the opportunities are there. There are so many hotels that will keep coming, we need the talent and more people. I think that it is important for all of us to keep growing and investing in people.

I trust, eventually l, we would see the fruit of that labour.

Women celebration is across the month of March, do you have any package for female guests?

Women, we are trying. I think we should hail ourselves more.

One of the things, or the lesson I am trying to learn, especially this International Women’s Month in my reflections, is to be kind to ourselves. We put ourselves under so much pressure. I think there is also a pressure trying to compare us with men.

It is not a comparison. Let men be men and let us women be women. But we bring something to the table.

But if we are not able to see it, we can take it for granted. I think we should sit down and really take appreciation of all the gifts that we bring.

When the door is open to us, it is not just open to us just because we are women, but because we bring competence. I am excited to see more competent women. Like I said, about 10 years ago, I cannot recall seeing a female general manager. But in the space of one decade, we have a few. So, I think it is important to just keep putting that vision into perspective.

Our head chef here at the Wheatbaker is a woman. So, women are growing, and I think we should be proud of how far we have come, how far we can go and all the great things we can do.

But I think it is important to be confident in ourselves and not wait for people to clap for us before we do things.

Considering your tight schedules, do you get time to rest and do other things?

I am very blessed. I do take time to rest. I have seen that it is important, if not you will be pouring from an empty cup.

It is important to rest, which is something I had to learn the hard way because sometimes you keep going and going and you don’t realise that you need balance. But I am very blessed, I have a blessed family, I have two children and I have a blessed support system. I am grateful to have all these and balance.