Hotel owners in Enugu claim they are facing an economic downturn due to high cost of power supply.
According to those that spoke with NewsNGR, it is becoming very expensive to operate and make profits in the business.
“The patronage is becoming less,” said the manager of a hotel located along Timber before T-junction at Abakpa. “The major problem is the high cost of providing electricity, especially at night. It is a must, and with few customers, we are simply counting losses on a daily basis.”
It is the same story at a former government-owned suite at GRA, Enugu. The hotel, known for its relative affordability, is also not finding its businesses profitable as before.
One of the workers, who identified herself as Chinwe, said, “The only time we witness favourable turnout of customers are weekends.
“On other days, everything seems dry. If the management begins to sack us, I won’t be surprised.
“The expenses in running hotels are becoming much, especially on buying fuel. We normally shut our generators at midnight to reduce cost.
“The height of everything is the current epileptic power supply. We spend so much to power our generators.”
One of the customers seen in the premises of a hotel was heard complaining that, “I lodged here to write a report, hoping that I would have unhindered access to electricity.
“But it would have been better if I had stayed in my house. I have wasted a lot of time here, without any success.”
The story is however different at a popular hotel located along Udi road at 9th Mile. The owner uses solar to generate power.
The manager, Chinwe Ozo, said, “We spent a lot to install solar, and it is the only reason why we are still in business.
“With the low patronage of customers, it would have been impossible to break even for us. But the major cause of poor patronage is the high cost of things in the country. People no longer travel.”
A hotel operator, Paulinus Ezea, said he is in a dilemma of disconnecting his source of power from the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company.
According to him, “They migrated us from our original band to the one that is very expensive. It is no longer sustainable.
“Probably, buying fuel may be the option to consider, or shutting down momentarily. Solar is the best option, although it has become very expensive.”