Kwara State council of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has joined the hospitality industry with the recent opening of its guest house to the public.

The guest house, located  opposite Saint Anthony on Ofa Road, Ilorin, is a 12-room bungalow furnished with basic facilities.

The car park is an instant attraction with an expansive space that can safely keep cars of guests and visitors. The space even offers an opportunity for easy expansion of the guest house.

Another attraction of the place is a regular live band on Friday night, when fun-seekers are treated to the best of lyrics. There is a Suya Spot, where steaming hot meat is roasted to complement chilled drinks.

It has since enjoyed high patronage of quality guests from different walks of life. A Lagos-based journalist, Abdullateef Odofin, who recently had a stop-over in Ilorin, confirmed the status of the guest house as an hot cake of sort.

The journalist said by 7 pm, he could not get a room as he was told that all the 12 rooms had been fully booked.

“I was surprised when the attendants told me that not even a single room was available. What instantly struck my mind was that the business is good. I think it is good journalists are now exploring business angles of our profession. In a nutshell, the place is good,” Odofin said.

Although the guest house is being managed by a firm, a committee is in place to oversee the place to sustain the purpose for which it was set up.

Chairman of NUJ, Abiodun AbdulKareem, said the guest house was opened in February, five months after the NUJ Secretariat, which houses it, was commissioned.

He expressed optimism that the guest house would live up to public expectation.

AbdulKareem stressed that the committe in charge  of the guest house is doing well in ensuring that proper management and maintenance are strictly adhered to.

“We know that lack of proper maintenance is a problem of a venture like this, but we are doing all things possible to do this differently,”the chairman said.