Coast hotels lower prices to boost Easter bookings

Some hotels in Mombasa have reduced prices for domestic tourists to boost Easter holiday bookings.

This comes at a time hotels at the Coast are experiencing low bookings due to recent terrorist attacks in the region.

Heritage Hotels chief executive Mohamed Hersi said during the recent Nairobi Sarit Expo that they would offer a 15 per cent discount to Kenyans wishing to stay at Voyager Hotel in Mombasa.

He said the hotel was currently offering a 20 per cent discount for local tourists for Easter Monday.

As a result of the offers, he said, Easter bookings for the hotel had leaped from 60 to 80 per cent.

“Due to the insecurity situation, bookings have been low and we had to offer discounts to encourage more locals to come and celebrate the holiday,” he said.

Mr Hersi, who is also the chairman of Mombasa and Coast Tourist Association, urged the United Nations to encourage its staff to celebrate the Easter holidays in Mombasa.

He said the UN needed to support Kenyan tourism sector as the government was addressing the terrorism problem.

“The UN staff normally book for the Easter vacation, but this time around they have kept off after an internal advisory was issued by their bosses,” he said.

Nyali International Beach Hotel revenue manager Nabeth Mabeya said the hotel was offering a discount of between 10 and 15 per cent for local tourists.

“Things were not looking good, so we had to offer locals some holiday discounts,” he said.

Travellers Beach Hotel general manager Freddie Kiuru said they had reduced the holiday package rates from Sh9,400 to Sh7,500 for locals.

“We expect the bookings to rise to between 70 and 80 per cent over the holiday,” he said.

But Serena Beach Hotel deputy general manager Edwin Chemisto said the hotel was fully booked for the Easter vacation.