The Oyo State House of Assembly has passed a motion for the creation of a standard guest registration process for hospitality business in the state.
The standard registration document to be created by the state, the lawmakers said, should provide as mandatory the verification of valid identification and the maintenance of up-to-date guest logs.
According to the law makers, this must be done before any guest should be able to access any hotel or guest house in the state.
This was part of the resolutions following a motion sponsored by Mr Waheed Akintayo, (PDP-Oluyole).
The motion was Co- sponsored by Mr Rasak Mabaje (APC-Ido) and Mrs. Olubisi Michael, (PDP- Ogbomoso North) respectively.
The plenary was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Abiodun Fadeyi, (PDP-Ona-Ara), who moved the motion.
Fadeyi said that hotels were increasingly being used by fraudsters, commonly known as “Yahoo Boys,” who conducted cybercrime and sextortion schemes within the establishment.
“Investigation has shown that some fraudsters deliberately reside in hotels for extended periods to operate undetected.
“These criminals exploit the anonymity of hotels, where poor guest registration and monitoring system allow them to evade law enforcement,” he said.
Also, Akintayo noted that significant number of hotels and guest houses in Ibadan and across Oyo state were not registered with government despite the rapid expansion of the hospitality sector.
According to him, non-registration of some establishments makes it difficult for regulatory agencies to monitor their operations, enforce security standards, and ensure compliance with necessary regulations.
“Mandatory registration and periodic renewal will enable government to monitor these businesses effectively and enforce security measures where needed,” he said.
NAN reports that the House, directed its Standing Committee on Security and Strategies and that of Culture and Tourism to engage all relevant stakeholders.
The stakeholders include, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Oyo State Hotels Owners Association.
They are expected to deliberate on measures to be put in place in curbing the menace of insecurity in hotels and guest houses across the State.
