As Sandra Kneubuhler Unfolds Radisson Hotel Expansion Plan

The Managing Director for Africa at Radisson Hotel Group in English-speaking countries, Sandra Kneubuhler, was on a familiarisation visit to Nigeria where she interacted with journalists on her plans to further grow and expand the hotel chain. Charles Ajunwa reports 

With a clement weather on Wednesday evening in Lagos, I alighted from my car in front of Radisson Blu Hotel located on Isaac John Street in the Ikeja Government Reserved Area (GRA). As I swiftly crossed the road and walked straight to the hotel entrance, one of the security guards on duty opened a small iron gate and directed me to the lobby. At the main entrance of the hotel building, another security guard politely asked me to drop my bag at the screening machine for security checks and ushered me in. I picked up my bag and sat down in the lobby before a female staff member came to welcome us. With smiles on her face, she took us to the Executive Lounge on the first floor, the venue for the media networking with Sandra Kneubuhler, the new Managing Director for Africa at Radisson Hotel Group, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who is bringing over two decades of hospitality expertise to her leadership of operations across Radisson’s English-speaking African markets.

Guests, after taking photographs on a background with Radisson’s different brands, were served drinks, small chops masterfully prepared by the chef and light music from a live trumpeter making the evening a memorable one. Kneubuhler, who was dressed in a single pink suit and a black gown touching her knees, walked into the venue unannounced and smartly engaged all the journalists and General Managers of the hotel present. 

After the opening remarks by  Kneubuhler who could not hide her excitement in her welcome address thanked all for the warm welcome she received since her arrival in Nigeria. 

“Since my arrival, I’m really getting to know this market. This is a market that has great potential, it oozes opportunity. And not only to remain in our position as the market leader in Nigeria, but we are going to enhance that position. We currently have five hotels in operation and a further eight under development. By 2027, we will have 2,000 operating hotel rooms in Nigeria. 

“We will open Radisson in Benin City next year, and following that in 2026 we will open the Radisson Blu Abuja and Radisson Red Abuja. Our support for hospitality is growing people and this is where our commitment is absolute. I have been here in the last few days, it has been such a joy to see our colleagues growing consistently in their careers throughout their time working in Radisson and that will grow and accelerate.”

Speaking further on the company’s expansion plan, she said: “Next year, we are going to bring Radisson Academy live to Nigeria. Radisson Academy is our business school and we are focused on training and developing our teams.

“We have Radisson Academy online that has over 30,000 training courses available but the true part of our team comes in training people face to face. This is a face-to-face business and we are doing everything to bring Radisson Academy to Nigeria and I know our team will embrace it and make the most out of it. We are excited to be part of Nigeria’s amazing tourism story.” 

According to her, the decision to bring the Radisson Academy to Nigeria was due to the inability of interested Nigerians to get visas for such training.

“If we can’t bring people there then we must bring it to the people. It’s a very practical decision,” Kneubuhler explained.

“Our core brands are Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Park Inn and Radisson. Another growing brand is Radisson Collection and there is one in pipeline for Nigeria.”

On what informed the aggressiveness in building businesses in Nigeria despite the declining economy, she said, “We build businesses for the future. We have a sustainable long term vision. So economies come and go. We operate in very volatile markets, I think the key is strong hotel development. You keep pushing forward and sticking with your long term strategic plan. 

We have a long term vision and we think for the future.”

When the founder of Akwaaba Travel Market, Mr. Ikechi Uko, asked her whether she would continue success stories of ladies leading in Radisson under her leadership, Kneubuhler answered in the affirmative.

According to her, “Radisson will continue to expand and develop but at the same, we have to constantly impact our existing products…We have a very sustainable approach to our business and bring that to every aspect of what we do.

“Strategically, we are looking to constantly grow our people because you can’t grow development if you don’t grow the people. 

“We want to enhance our products. We have one of the biggest hotel equipment in Africa. We will have over 100 hotels operating in the next five years. So we have to constantly add value to our guests and have loyalty rewards.”

On what she intends to do differently during her tenure, she said with her strong commercial background, “I will far rather make more revenue than think about how to cut cost and that is my general business philosophy and I have a very deep focus on making more.

“I think we can be very strategic, very smart without having to go crazy running around businesses. My big focus is on prime commercial business and I also believe we can score a 100 per cent.”

On what she intends to do about Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and exhibitions (MICE) competitions among some big hotels in Nigeria, Kneubuhler said, “Nigeria has a very robust MICE market and it has been a very good education in the last three days understanding this market. What you guys do very well in Nigeria is big volumes. What will be great is to uplift it experimentally so that we can attract more international MICE travellers.

“I believe in what I call experimentalism. There are more things we can do to make it more experiential for international travellers.”

Speaking on what she intends to do on the issue of energy which many industry owners said was taking a heavy toll on hotel businesses in Nigeria, Kneubuhler said, “The cost of energy is a problem globally and is never going to get cheaper. Across Africa, many businesses are struggling to sustain our growth. There is need to move to more sustainable energy sources. There are plans and discussions on how to move to more sustainable energy solutions. It’s a long time goal.” 

Kneubuhler, who promised to taste Nigerian pepper soup with other delicacies, joined Radisson in February 2019 as the Country Director of Sales and later became District Director for South Africa, where she demonstrated exceptional leadership and strategic vision in developing and growing the company’s presence in South Africa. In her initial role, she established the South African Cluster Sales Team, tasked with selling Radisson’s 11 branded hotels across the country. She successfully positioned key revenue segments such as leisure, MICE, government, travel management companies, and corporate clients, resulting in 11 per cent growth in the corporate segment within her first year. Under her guidance, the sales team also grew significantly in capability and performance, now comprising 14 highly skilled sales professionals.

Before joining Radisson, Kneubuhler held several senior roles at Hyatt Hotels Corporation. From 2015 to 2019, she was the Global Sales Director for Africa, based in South Africa. In this role, Sandra launched new global sales offices and achieved a 30 per cent increase in revenue by the end of her second year. She played a critical role in sourcing key accounts across corporate, MICE, crew, and leisure markets, contributing to Hyatt’s global revenue stream.

Expectations are high on Radisson’s commitment to the Nigerian market with the significant  growth over the past two years and meeting increasing demand with diverse hospitality offerings. In Africa, Radisson Hotel Group has nearly 100 hotels in operation and under development