Investors are investing billions of shillings in Kenya’s hotel
business, pointing to the potential of the tourism industry that is
currently performing poorly.
The giant projects are expected to create jobs for over 400 people.
Last
week, the Kenya Commercial Bank signed a deal with Ole Sereni hotel,
paving the way for expansion that would increase conferencing capacity
at the facility.
The bank has funded
part of the project with Sh1.93 billion ($21 million) loan. This will be
topped up with Sh637 million ($7 million) generated from the hotel’s
shareholders.
Ole Sereni general
manager, Mr Ghulam Samdani, said the expansion has been informed by the
increasing number of conferencing deals that the hotel has been missing
out owing to its limited capability.
“We’ve
been having small conferences and business meetings but we’ve been
losing out on bigger international conferences, so we decided to
expand,” he said.
WELLNESS SPAS
The
project will see the hotel build a conferencing centre with a capacity
of 800 sit-in guests or 1,000 guests for a cocktail event. It also plans
to increase the number of rooms and suites by 154 from the current 134.
The project will see the set up of a parking with a capacity of 500
vehicles, a spa and gym.
After completion in the next two-and-a-half years, Mr Samdani said, the hotel intends to employ over 300 people.
India-based hotel chain Sarovar Hotels and Resorts recently acquired Westlands-based Zehneria Hotel for Sh1 billion.
Sarovar
Hotels, which operates in Kenya as Heron Portico, said acquisition
would position the company to reap the benefits of the expanding
hospitality industry in Kenya and the region.
“To
remain relevant in the hospitality sector as a business we have to
ensure we continue improving services to our customers and provide extra
value for money,” Heron Portico director Karim Teja said.
Zehneria Hotel, previously solely owned by Mr Ismail Mawji, will now be known as Zehneria Portico.
Thailand-listed
Dusit International has also announced plans to set up a wellness spa
and conference villa resort in Rift Valley.
According
to the director of Cape Hotel, Snehal Sanghrajka, the second project
after the recently launched dusitD2 in Nairobi earlier this month, would
be the wellness spa that would operate under the name Dusit Devarana.
The
company did not disclose details on the planned investment but it plans
to hire about 60 people at the Rift Valley project especially now that
the country has positioned itself globally in the subsector and won
several bids to host international conferences.
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