Last week on a whirlwind trip around Uganda, I had the pleasure – and sometimes the displeasure, to test the best and worst of Uganda’s hospitality industry.
It was sad to see investments worth billions failing to live up to their full potential just because the bathrooms are designed badly or the receptionist is working like they are doing patrons a favour or you can not locate an establishment on google maps. That last one may sound funny, but the promoters of establishments need to realise we are past stopping on the road to ask a random bicyclist, laden with sugar cane, the way to such-and-such place. Guys?!
There was a lot of good to report from Jinja to Lira and from Mbale to Fort Portal but I think the industry will be better served by a how-not-to list, so here goes.
1. Get your google location, right
It is not funny when at the tail end of your journey the google maps sends you 10 km out of town and then announces in that tinlike voice “You have arrived. Your destination is on the right” where there is only a grass field and brick kiln.
The days of making the best mouse trap and people will make a beaten path to your door are gone. You have committed millions shillings on an investment, it is the height of negligence not to have information – accurate and attractive, out there so that people can find you where you say you are.
In relation with that what is it with pictures of shower faucets, tiled floors and light bulbs on your websites?
The way the trip was designed given the covid depression in the industry, there was no real need to book ahead, just outside every town we checked to see what was available. Believe it or not that is the way people travel these days, referencing online sources, believing client appraisals and judging by the nature of material you are putting out whether to patronise you or not.
So if you invested a billion on your facility the least you can do is invest a few thousands to get some well done pictures and a half decent web presence.
2. Staple a smile on the receptionist
When you have been on the road for a few hours you just want to get to your destination, clear the preliminaries, get to your room and put your feet up. In this context it does not help if the front of your operation is a grumpy receptionist, who meets every enquiry with a sneer and everything else with a resigned shrug of their shoulders.
These are hard times. Hotels have cut back on staff, rolled back the perks and are counting all the pieces of meat. We understand how there could be some hard feeling all around. But even more so now than ever, our hotels need to invest in amiable individuals to serve as the front of the operation not only at the reception but also on the phone. Our smaller, local establishments need to be making hay while the sun shines.
3. The bathroom is not a by the way
You like the room, they have a flat screen and AC, but the bathroom! It is not ok to have a shower in the same pace as the toilet in a way that you will be splashing all over the toilet seat when you are showering. It will not do that to use the sink you have to contort yourself into shapes because they just slapped the sink behind the door as an after thought.
These should be obvious but these faux pas happened enough times to realise that they may not be that obvious to our local investors.
Design aside, on a good day a normal bathroom habours millions, if not billions of germs invisible to the eye. It is not on, that you have not changed the towels, it is not on, that water does not drain properly out of the shower and it is an absolute deal breaker that you still have condoms in the waste bin!!!
4. Food! Food! Glorious Food!
In these hard times virtually no one was laying a buffet spread. It was all a la carte menus. In several places it seems they sacrificed quality in the kitchen to save a few shillings. Bad idea. We are away from home, we have to trust what you are serving – stay away from white meat if you don’t trust the cooking. I had to spit my meat out because it tasted like offals, awful. I had ordered chicken wings!!
The kitchen will make or make your establishment, again we thought these were standard requirements but we have been disabused severally on the journey.
There are hundreds, even thousands of small establishments dotted around the country – hotels, motels, restaurants, I am convinced you can’t lack for accommodation or a good meal anywhere in Uganda. But our poor proprietors are treating their establishments like they do their farms – a source of sustenance and not interested in maximising its full potential.
In the hospitality business all the advertising in the world counts little compared to word of mouth referrals, because eating or going to sleep in an establishment is a personal thing. For the few hours I am there i am entrusting you with my safety and good health.
The hotel proprietors of Uganda lets get the basics right – location, hospitality and food right and then we can add all the other bells and whistles later. Please!
