International hotels firm up plans to open doors in Kenya after years of delay
An artist’s impression of Hilton Garden Inn, coming up near the JKIA. PHOTO | FILE
This year is set to be a busy year for the hotel industry as several global brands line up to open their doors in Kenya.
Hotel Pullman Nairobi is one of the outlets confirmed for opening in 2017. Mombasa businessman Amjad Rahim, owner of the building that will house the hotel, confirmed that the hotel will open this year, but remains non-committal on the exact date.
The 340 –room Pullman Hotel Nairobi will increase Nairobi’s bed capacity in tandem with growing demand for accommodation and meeting rooms driven by the city’s status as the regional hub for many multinationals.
The hotel’s entry was first announced in 2015.
Other expected entrants include Hilton Garden Inn which has delayed by more than a year. The 171-key hotel located next to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is slated to open in May.
“Changes to the expected date are not unusual and we look forward to welcoming guests once the hotel is open,” Hilton Worldwide Holdings said in an earlier response to queries from the Business Daily.
Tycoon Noorali Manji is the owner of the upcoming Sh2.3 billion hotel sitting on a 1.3 acre plot bordering JKIA.
The Hilton Garden Inn is a mid-priced brand targeting travellers and businessmen, hence the strategy to position itself next to the region’s busiest airport.
JKIA handles an average of 0.5 million passengers monthly. International travellers – the captive market for airport hotels – make up three quarters of the total passenger traffic according to data from Kenya Airports Authority.
Mumbai-based hotelier Sarovar has pushed back the opening date for its Lazizi Premiere airport hotel in Nairobi to January 2017 citing building delays. It was initially planned to open in September this year.
Park Inn by Radisson Nairobi will open in February 2017, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group said in October, rescheduling the earlier date of last quarter of 2013 which had been postponed multiple times.
City Lodge is putting up a Sh2 billion three-star hotel at Two Rivers which was expected to be completed in October 2016. This has also experienced delays as the mall is set to open following completion in February 2017.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
