TOPLINE
Cameroon wants to occupy the top of the pavement in the real estate sector. The organization of Can Total Energies 2021 has allowed the country to expand its offer. In the industry, competition is tight between furnished rentals and hotels. “Furnished apartments are eating away at the market share that was previously reserved for hotels. I think this is normal since it is a vast area, and each actor must be able to use his assets, “says Arthur Donfack, one of the managers of the New Heaven hotel in the Melen district of Yaoundé.
Back to back, each side defends its position. “Today, furnished apartments offer services that do not exist in a hotel. We are discussing the possibility of cooking special menus in the apartment, benefitting from a large enough space, and accommodating a whole family in one place”. In furnished apartments, prices seem more accessible. “We have apartments of 80,000 FCFA a day, while you have more expensive hotels for one night which do not offer all our services,” adds the boss of Ango Corp, a real estate company.
Hotels have for many years occupied the first ranks of the accommodation sector. Today, with the advent of furnished apartments, the situation has changed. “We try to adapt without losing our essence. We have targets. Companies and business customers. This target can not be interested in furnished rentals. For example, each hotel has conference or meeting rooms. In the suburbs, there are more spacious hotels with a layout logic close to furnished apartments. The lines are moving, “reassures Arthur Donfack maitre d’hôtel.
The rental of furnished apartments is on the rise in Cameroon. This business has made a place for itself in the sun and attracts more and more investors. The American firm Elite Trends Group, according to the Ecofin agency, will invest nearly 350 million dollars or about 200 billion FCFA, for the construction of a university complex on the campus of the University of Yaoundé II-Soa, including, among other investments, nearly 12,500 furnished rooms.
