Guest houses anticipate brisk business

Operators of Guest Houses in the capital Accra are looking forward to good business during the upcoming African Cup of Nations tournament in Accra. Proprietors of some guests houses visited say, they are ready to accommodate visitors who would not be in a position to stay in hotels or can?t secure hotel rooms because of overbooking.

dailyEXPRESS? visits to a number of the big hotels in Accra confirmed that all rooms have been booked, and according to Reservation Managers spoken to, visitors who are yet to secure bookings will have difficulty.

But there are a number of Guest Houses and live-in facilities that say they have available rooms with facilities that either match the standards of the big hotels or better in terms of relaxation and a homely feeling.

For the Guest House operators, reports of hotels been booked means good business for them, and already some proprietors have uplifted their standards to attract clients.

?Almond has a brand and I can tell you that our place is of international standard?, says a staff of Almond Guest Lodge at Cantonments, Accra. ? We are equally of international standards like that of any hotel in this part of Accra.?

At the Labadi Beach Hotel, Ghana?s only 5-star hotel, a front office executive confirmed that the facility has been fully booked during the tournament, with many arriving officials also expected to be lodging there.

?People began booking as far back as July last year and I must tell you that we?re fully overbooked.?

According to her, they anticipate that staff would have to work harder since it presents an opportunity and a challenge.

The situation is the same at the 4-star Golden Tulip, the Hotel Wangara and Alisa hotels.

At Alisa, the dailyEXPRESS was told that ?the rooms are not there and I could let you see somebody to cross check for yourself. The story at our other section- that is Cantonments is equally the same.?

At the Golden Tulip Hotel, our enquiries revealed that most of the tournament officials would be accommodated there, living just a few rooms which have all been snapped.

?Golden Tulip has always maintained a perfect standard and we?re much more grateful to have high profile officials here,? said a staff. ?We will continue to provide perfect local dishes with continental standards and that has been the hallmark of the entire Tulip family.?

And many people who are now trying to make last minute bookings for friends and partners have to look for alternatives. Sports Analyst and Communications Consultant Carl Tufour in a recent interview with the dailyEXPRESS disclosed that he?s finding it difficult to secure accommodation for some colleagues who would be flying from the UK to watch the tournament.

?I don?t know about other places because I have not been there but I can tell you Hotel Wangara, Golden Tulip and the few areas I?ve been are fully booked.?

Meanwhile, the dailyEXPRESS has learnt that newly renovated City Hotel, which was opened over the weekend, was booked even before the rooms were ready.