The Hotel Industry in Nairobi and Kenya by Shaileen Shah of Trademark Hotel

Shaileen Shah, General Manager of Trademark Hotel, gives an overview of the hotel industry in Nairobi and Kenya.

“There has been an evolution. There is a bit of a new age coming along with the old age. Concerning the old age hotels which existed in Nairobi back in the day, you would only find an Intercontinental and a Serena and the Norfolk of the Mount Kenya Safari Club. Those were the iconic hotels that existed and they are still referred to as such today. However, you can see a lot more growth that has happened since then, not just owners putting up buildings, but bringing in that style. There is a little bit more of flamboyance, there is art and architecture. There is a look and feel to it. You walk into a hotel today and you feel like this is where you want to be because this is what you relate to. You choose hotels based on the services they provide, not just a hotel room, a hot shower, and a good breakfast in the morning. It is no longer about that. The evolution has been great because a lot of brands have entered Kenya and Nairobi is one of those big hubs. Brands such as Starwood, which you would have never known, is now a Marriott. Most recently, Sankara converted into an Autograph Collection. There is an Accor coming up beside us. We are part of Design Hotels which is indirectly affiliated with Marriott with a 74% ownership. People are starting to learn about the loyalty points and staying at those properties to get those points. Travelers are becoming more and more aware of what their needs are. They have choices now when they choose their hotels. When you have those kinds of choices, every owner has to make sure that they build up something that is going to appeal to that client. That is where I see the evolution happening. A lot of business owners that are traveling outside of the country now come back and want to apply those concepts here. What is worrying is that there is a bit too much happening too soon. There are more and more hotels coming up and more beds with not enough heads at this time. We look at all angles and possibilities where the government will help us to enrich that. We have things like Magical Kenya happening where they enhance the advertising and the marketing of the country and tell people to come to our city. You can wake up with a giraffe eating off of your plate! It is not the product; it is actually the experience that people are after. I do see big changes and it will continue to grow, but the competition will get even fiercer”, says Shaileen Shah.

“It is contemporary. It is evolving. No longer are people putting together just buildings. They are actually thinking about what kind of stone or tile or furniture to use. If they are serving a certain type of food, what kind of plate will it be served on? We now live in a world where storytelling is the best part of marketing. It is the most appealing part. If a story evolves out of a product or how it came together or what the story is that continues this product, that is where we are. We talk about our properties with great pride because there is a story behind them”, she adds.

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