{
  "id": 7017982,
  "title": "Power costs biggest threat to hotel businesses – Panama Hotel CEO",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/power-costs-biggest-threat-to-hotel-businesses-panama-hotel-ceo-7017982",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-12T23:48:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/power-costs-biggest-threat-to-hotel-businesses-panama-hotel-ceo/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Inflation has negatively impacted Nigeria's hospitality industry by driving up operating costs, while customers lack the purchasing power to cover increased prices. For example, diesel costs have surged, but hotel owners cannot raise service fees due to low consumer spending capacity. The naira devaluation has also made importing equipment more expensive as it was significantly cheaper when the business began. Power supply issues have further strained hotel financials, as diesel constitutes around 50% of the hotel's overall expenses. Hotels that lack solar power often spend more than half of their revenue on diesel, which is prohibitively expensive in Nigeria. With inconsistent electricity supply, hotels may only operate for three to four days without grid power. Rising interest rates have also deterred investment and expansion in the business, as banks charge high interest rates, making it difficult to recover profits. Hotel owners prefer using funds from their primary businesses rather than borrowing from banks to invest in hospitality. Moreover, despite high taxes, they believe that stable electricity would be more cost-effective than solar power, which is costly and challenging to implement.",
  "summary": "The CEO of Panama Hotel says power costs are the biggest threat to hotel businesses in Nigeria, with some spending 50% of revenue on diesel due to poor sup Read More: https://punchng.com/power-costs-biggest-threat-to-hotel-businesses-panama-hotel-ceo/",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Power costs biggest threat to hotel businesses – Panama Hotel CEO",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/power-costs-biggest-threat-to-hotel-businesses-panama-hotel-ceo",
        "published": "2026-09-12T23:38:25.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}