Nakuru hotels record low bookings ahead of August 9 polls
The Ole Ken Hotel in Nakuru City. Many hotels have recorded low bookings ahead of August 9, General Election.
As August 9, 2022, General Election approaches, it is now emerging that it is no longer a boon business for the hotel industry in the region.
The campaigns have affected the business and players in the hospitality industry in the region say their bookings are low.
"Unlike in the run-up to the 2017 General Election, a time like this, we had been fully booked. However, this time around, the bookings are poor," said an official at The Ole Ken Hotel in Nakuru City.
He said the hotel has a 40-bed occupancy and was not fully booked.
"We were expecting a heavy booking as the elections approach but we are now relying on Non-Governmental Organisations holding their meetings as the government has scaled down its spending on conferences that are normally held at the beginning of the financial year," said the official.
At the Waterbuck Hotel with over 80 beds occupancy, an official said they had more vacant rooms.
"We are not overbooked ahead of the elections, we still have enough rooms for our guests," said the official.
At the East Mark Hotel, an official said the hotel had more rooms for visitors.
Other hotels in Nakuru City which are hoping to cash in on elections include Sarova Woodlands, Kunste Hotel, Midlands, Stem Hotel, Merica Hotel, Empolos Hotel, Hill Court and Bontana among others.
The chairman of Nakuru County Tourism Association David Mwangi said unlike, unlike in the 2017 polls when a lot of money was in circulation, this time around the cash flow has dropped.
"In 2017, I was a manager at one of the hotels in Nakuru and I saw how it benefited from campaign money. Many rich business people from Central travelled to Nakuru in large numbers to secure the interest of their candidate President Uhuru Kenyatta. In this year's elections, most of them are torn between Azimio and Kenya Kwanza and this has reduced the level of movements and money circulation which has subsequently led to the low booking of hotels," Mr Mwangi said.
He said the state machinery has not been deployed in the region as was the case during the 2017 polls.
According to Mr Mwangi, in 2019, the bed occupancy was about 70 per cent and when the Covid-19 pandemic slowed down last year, it improved to about 80 per cent.
“Since Nakuru was elevated to city status, the bed occupancy for most of the hotels as at the beginning of this year has been oscillating between 80 per cent and 100 per cent and some of the hotels grew their revenue base from Sh4.5million to Sh8million a month,” he said.
