Furnished Apartments Gaining Grounds

The construction and furnishing of apartments as well as rooms for rents is increasingly gaining grounds in Cameroon. Either to supplement hotels, motels and inns or to right some of the wrongs that are characteristic of the hotel sector in the country, the business by individuals or corporate bodies appears to be selling like hot cake.

In Yaounde, the apartments exist for people of all works of life. At Djeugappart'Hotel in downtown Yaounde, there are high-class apartments of 100 metres square each comprising two bedrooms, a laundry with washing and drying machines as well as an equipped kitchen. There are also living and dinning rooms. According to the commercial official of the structure, Carine Bihin, customers can rent for as from a week, months and more. "For one week, a customer (s) can get an apartment for FCFA 600,000, for one month at FCFA 1.9 million with all charges included and when you want to rent for several months, the price gets better and better," she told this reporter yesterday September 19.

The proximity of the building to several important institutions in Yaounde, coupled with what officials said is its tight security (24/24 and 7/7) probably explains why the apartments are increasingly being solicited by customers, mostly expatriates on transit in the country. At press time, all the 39 apartments of the building were reportedly occupied.

At the Etoa-Meki neighbourhood, the business is also booming. Information either on brochures or placards like "Feeling c'est aussi la location d'appartments Meublés pour un bien être total," "Sawambo Bantu Centre apartment meublés à louer, salle de fête, conference etc," are eye catching. At Sawambo, we were reliably informed that the six rooms put on rents were all occupied at press time and that the price ranges between FCFA 15,000 and FCFA 20,000 depending on the content of the room. Meanwhile at Feeling, the two apartments, two studios and two rooms had also been reserved right up to September 28, 2012. A source told us that the price shuttles between FCFA 30,000 to FCFA 60,000. Unlike Djeugappart'Hotel that hosts customers for at least a week, Sawambo Bantu Centre and Feeling take customers on daily basis who could as well stay for as long as they would want.