KENYA: More Hotel Rooms Expected In Kenya

Kenya is set to get an additional 4,000 hotel beds in the next five years as per an estimate of international and upcoming brands that have announced plans of setting up in the country.

Ms Keziah Odemba,Director of Tourism said the coming of the international brands portends good tidings for the industry and for the country’s economy as the established brands will directly source for tourists from their niche markets thereby adding to the total visitor numbers.

Speaking during the World Tourism Day fete in Nairobi, Ms Odemba said the expected multi-billion shilling investments among them by Swiss Lenana Motel, Radisson Blu, Villa Rosa Kempinski, Golden Tulip, Amber, Ibis Styles.

Upcoming brands such as the 64-storeyed Hilton Upper Hill among others across the country show Kenya’s tourism projections are positive.

Last year Kenya received 1.1 million tourists mainly entering Kenya for business and leisure, with 2017’s projects currently set at 1.4 million.

About 937,000 tourists were hosted on holiday, 78,000 were business travellers and a further 136,000 tourists visiting for other reasons.

Online travel marketer Jumia Country Manager Cyrus Onyiego urged passenger airlines and tourist hotels to introduce special rates to cater for local travellers.

Mr Onyiego said Kenyans were keen to travel locally but were discouraged by exorbitant fees charged by the hotels.

It is cheaper to fly from Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam to Kigali in Rwanda than it is to fly from Nairobi to Mombasa.

Hotels also need to come up with an innovative pricing model that embraces cheaper pricing for advance family bookings for locals, he said.

Ms Odemba said Kenya continues to record high tourism arrivals due to the relative peace that has continued to prevail even after the Supreme Court annulled the August 8 presidential election results.

Tourism expert Carmen Nibigira reiterated her call to African governments to open up borders for intra-Africa travel, saying affordable air fares could be realised if governments eased all charges levied on incoming airlines as well as zero-rating of visa charges like Europe and America had done.


Tourism Observer

GHANA: Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast Accra And Villa Rosa Kempinski Get New General Managers

Villa Rosa Kempinski earlier today announced the appointment of hospitality guru, Mr. Kees Heuveling, as the new General Manager, replacing Mr. Manish Nambiar who moved to the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast Accra, Ghana.

Kees’s immediate former position was as a General manager of the luxurious Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square, Vilnius, Lithuania, for three years.

The career hotelier has over 30-year experience working with some of the world’s finest hotel brands spanning in three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa.

A Dutch national, Kees is fluent in four languages, English, German, French & Dutch. The globe-trotting hotelier has worked in Germany, France, Holland, Great Britain, China, South Korea, Turkey, Jordan, Palestine, Greece, Abu Dhabi, Lithuania and Chad where he worked as General Manager of the Kempinski N‘Djamena.

Kees is not new to the Kempinski brand. He has worked with the European luxury hospitality brand for 10 years in various positions, including top management.

He was the General Manager of Kempinski Hotel N’Djamena Chad for 3 years, Hotel Manager, Emirates Palace Hotel Abu Dhabi and The Kempinski Hotel Ishtar, Dead Sea, Jordan.

He also has a decade experience working with Intercontinental Group of Hotels (IGH).

Keen, who describes himself as a lover of modern art, hiking, sailing, reading and music, said I am delighted to be in Kenya and in charge of Kempinski flagship in East Africa and one of a kind tented camp in Masai Mara.

Meanwhile, As part of Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra’s recent re-certification by Green Globe, it has for the first time published their environmental initiatives on their global website, along with other Mövenpick hotels in Africa.

Through the concerted efforts of management and staff, The Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra has been awarded Green Globe Gold Membership.

Gold Membership is in commemoration of five successive years of compliance to the Green Globe Standard, a worldwide certification program, developed specifically for the travel and tourism industry to assess sustainability performances.

As part of the hotel’s recent re-certification, Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra has for the first time published their environmental initiatives on their global website, along with other Mövenpick hotels in Africa.

This initiative transparently shares the hotel’s sustainability actions and demonstrates the continuous improvement on previous performances. Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra’s Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management Plan can be accessed from this link with details on reductions in energy and water consumption, and also improvements on the amount of waste recycled.

Community development initiatives conducted by Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra include a blood donation campaign to help replenish bloodstock in the National Blood Transfusion Service.

In total, 22 employees successfully donated blood to support the cause. To further encourage the spirit of giving among hotel employees, an auction was held earlier this year by staff to raise much need funds for selected organizations.

During the year, the hotel also reached out to the local community with an invitation to children from the Woodfield Manor Special Needs School, bringing children with autism to join in Christmas celebrations and a hosted dinner with gifts.

An educational partnership with the Accra Polytechnic was also be established, which has helped to improve the college’s Hospitality Management Curriculum and develop professional capacity for the future.

Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra is a proud sponsor of events that benefit their destination. The Ghana Wildlife Society’s Corporate Partners Lunch was fully supported by the hotel as part of their Biodiversity Conservation initiative.

Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra also provided room night as a co-sponsor of the 2016 Accra Millennium Marathon, held in September to promote good health, tourism and trade.

The annual Hotel Optimizer Report, compiled by Green Globe Preferred Partner FARNEK Middle East, showed the hotel has made more than 5% genuine savings (accounting for all variables impacting in its energy consumption) compared to the base year, 2014. Specifically, the hotel recorded a 2.48% reduction in electricity consumption and a 12.93% reduction in fuel consumption.

Total CO2 emissions consequently reduced by 3.5% compared to the previous year resulting to 250t CO2e not being released. This saving is the equivalent of a Boeing 747 flying for 8 hours non-stop and is reflected in an energy cost reduction of over USD$82,000.

To further improve on these gains, a Management Energy Committee has been set up to review initiatives from Heads of Departments on how energy consumption can be further reduced. The hotel is also in the process of conducting an energy audit to identify opportunities to optimize its equipment and plan the required investments required over the next 5 years to reduce its impact.

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, an international upscale hotel management company with over 16,000 staff members, is represented in 24 countries with 83 hotels, resorts and Nile cruisers currently in operation. Around 20 properties are planned or under construction, including those in Chiang Mai (Thailand), Bali (Indonesia) and Marrakech (Morocco).

Focusing on expanding within its core markets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts specializes in business and conference hotels, as well as holiday resorts, all reflecting a sense of place and respect for their local communities.

Of Swiss heritage and with headquarters in central Switzerland (Baar), Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is passionate about delivering premium service and culinary enjoyment – all with a personal touch. Committed to supporting sustainable environments, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has become the most Green Globe-certified hotel company in the world.

The hotel company is owned by Mövenpick Holding (66.7%) and the Kingdom Group (33.3%). For more information, please visit movenpick.com

Green Globe is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries.

Green Globe is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For information, please visit greenglobe.com

Green Globe is a member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP).

Tanzania, Uganda And Kenya November Deadline To Complete Classification Of Hotels, Lodges And Restaurants

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have until November to complete classification of their hotels, lodges and restaurants using the agreed upon East Africa Community criteria.

The uniform classification of hotels and the single tourist visa will make it easier for marketers to promote the region as a single tourist destination and to offer multi-destination packages.

In Kenya, hospitality facilities in 41 out of the 47 counties have been classified by the Tourism Regulatory Authority.

Only five hotels received five-star rating. No hotel in Mombasa County, a popular tourist destination, was rated five-star.

Popular brands like Serena Beach Resort, Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort, Voyager Hotel and English Point Marina were ranked as four-star.

- Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have until November to complete classification of their hotels, lodges and restaurants using the agreed upon East Africa Community criteria.
- The ranking of hotels differs from country to country and there is no international standard of ranking hotels, as each country’s ranking system is established by its authorities.
- However, the East African region in 2009 came up with common criteria to classify hotels, lodges and restaurants across the member countries.

Industry players are waiting for classification of the remaining six counties — Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Kitui, Makueni and Kajiado.

Nairobi is home to international hotel brands like Radisson Blu, Villa Rosa Kempinski, Hilton, Serena, The Tribe, Sankara and Hemmingways.

Hotels in Kampala were classified in November last year, with 78 hotels assessed and 26 receiving star ratings, ranging from two to five stars.

Kampala Serena Hotel, Kampala Sheraton Hotel and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort got five-star rating.

The Ugandan Tourism Board will continue the classification process for hotels and accommodation facilities in other major towns such as Jinja, Entebbe, Mbarara and Gulu.

Commenting on the rating of hotels in Mombasa County, Mohammed Hersi, chief executive officer of Heritage Hotels, said missing the five-star rating was not a concern because four-star hotels tap into the middle-class market, which is bigger than the upper middle-class.

Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism last week announced a plan to review and rank all hotels to meet international standards.

Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Ramo Makani told the media that this is part of initiatives to boost the county’s tourism.

“Most hotels are not doing well; some of them are ranked as five-star, but do not meet the standards, and this cheating has been frustrating tourists,” he said, adding that the ministry has been receiving complaints over poor services offered by the hotels.

The ranking of hotels differs from country to country and there is no international standard of ranking hotels, as each country’s ranking system is established by its authorities.

However, the East African region in 2009 came up with common criteria to classify hotels, lodges and restaurants across the member countries.

Kenya’s Tourism Regulatory Authority director general Kipkorir Lagat said hotels that feel underrated have the option of reclassification at a cost of $500 — after they have addressed the concerns raised by the rating authority.

“A five-star rating will tell the whole world that you will get exceptional services in that particular facility, that is why we were strict on giving this rating to hotels that do not tick all the boxes. Some hotels lacked insurance cover, some were not Kenya Revenue Authority compliant, others lacked fire extinguishers, at others we had to check with the hotel’s human resource office to determine the qualification of staff, and so on other details,” Mr Kipkorir said.

The EAC criteria encompass close to 200 classification areas to be checked, ranging from obvious checks like quality of service, cleanliness, sewerage system, refuse handling system, occupational permits for the buildings and details on how often fumigation is carried out, among many others.

But even with the detailed checks, industry players have welcomed the classification, saying the ranking has come at an opportune time when the country is seeking to hosts international conferences.

Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers chief executive Mike Macharia said the requirement that town hotels have a presidential suite for them to be rated five-star will give the country an upper hand when being considered to host international conference.

“Look at TICAD, we are have many presidents attending, but do we have enough hotels in the city that have a presidential suite, to accommodate these guest.” said Mr Macharia.

The agency that did the classification said a number of the hotels dropped in the ratings because they had not improved their facilities from the time when they were last rated as five-star more than a decade ago.

Big hotels located in the major cities in East Africa target delegates attending conferences, experts have been calling for attractive packages for the locals, to cover them during low meeting season.