Hotels in the country are set to soon increase service charges due to constraints from the current high cost of doing business.
This is according to the President of the Ghana Hoteliers Association, Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr who explains the current economic downturn has affected hotels too.
“The hotel is basically like any other business so the economic environment affects our business, so we also depend a lot on disposable income. So, when the cost of living becomes an issue, it affects us because some will have to do with leisure, and some will have to do with business,” he is quoted as saying.
According to him, even though it is not comfortable, for hotels to stay in business under the current harsh economic conditions, hotels will have to share costs with customers.
“So, if the economy is not doing well, it affects your pocket and you may want to stay away from hotels. If you want to stay in business, it means that the customer will have to fund part of our operational cost, so we try as much as possible to stay within the comfortable profit margins because without these profits we will be out of business because hotel business is an investment,” he explained the predicament of hoteliers.
“Someone has invested money and expects returns, if the returns are not coming, you fold up and you leave. So, we try to stay within those margins, and once those margins are coming you stay in business. It’s not about making life uncomfortable for our clients, it’s a matter of using basic business principles to ensure that we stay in business.”
Ghana’s economy is in crisis after the Akufo-Addo government borrowed the country into a debt conundrum.
With the debt-to-GDP ratio topping some 86%, investors are refusing to lend to Ghana anymore fearing the country may not be able to pay back.
This has led to dwindling foreign exchange and thus galloping prices in goods and services.