Bookings up as hotels cut rates

Some hotels at the Coast have reduced their rates by almost 50 per cent to attract more Kenyans during the ongoing school holidays.

The move has boosted the tourism industry as some hotels in the North Coast have registered an improvement in bed occupancy from below 50 per cent last month to almost 90 per cent this month.

Travellers Beach Hotel general manager Freddie Kiuru said they reduced rates to enable families have fun. “School holidays are here with us and we decided to lower our package rates to give local parents and their children the opportunity to sample tourist facilities in Mombasa,” he said.

“The special offers are meant to encourage Kenyans to go for holidays and also lessen their burdens following the spiralling inflation and high fuel costs. Tourist facilities are for both local and foreign tourists to enjoy,” the hotelier said.

He said that currently, the hotel has a bed occupancy of 72 per cent compared to below 50 per cent last month.

Sun N’ Sand Beach Resort general manager Andimilleh Makumbi said the hotel had also introduced special rates for local tourists for the school holidays.

“August is normally a good month for domestic tourism as parents from Nairobi and other parts of the country get here for holidays. We reduced our packages to offer them the chance,” he said.

Bed occupancy

The hotel’s bed occupancy, he added, had shot up from more than 60 per cent last month to 88 per cent.

Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort general manager Mohamed Hersi said the August holidays had boosted the industry, adding that the hotel’s bed occupancy had risen from 50 per cent to 65 per cent. 

The Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers’ national chairman Lucy Karume conceded that the industry had improved following the school holidays. “Some hotels in the North Coast and South Coast have improved bed occupancies as parents from Nairobi and other parts of the country are streaming for holidays in the region,” she said.