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Nearly two years ago curtains came down on one of Nairobi’s most iconic hotels in what would turn out to be a huge blow to the local hospitality industry.

The outbreak of Covid-19 in the country and the strict containment measures drove out Fairmont Nofolk Hotel among other notable names in the Industry.

However, the 118-year-old hotel has now revealed that it will be resuming operations next month. In what signifies a recovery of the sector, the hotel, which is run by French hospitality giant Accor, said it is now ready to host guests and resume full operations.

Government guidelines on social distancing at the advent of the pandemic in 2020 ensured that events such as meetings were moved into the digital sphere, sucking the life out of The Norfolk and other multinational hotels such as Intercontinental, Laico Regency and Raddisson Blue Upperhill. A move that led to the loss of at least 1.1 million jobs in the hospitality sector with loss of Sh152.4 billion, in revenue.

Kenya Country General Manager Mehdi Morad said Fairmont has weathered the storm and will reopen on April 1, to welcome guests and visitors

“The hotel management and Accor regional team have worked closely together to ensure that operations resume at the hotel and its facilities,” said Mehdi.

International events

Norfolk will be looking to take advantage of the boom the sector has witnessed in recent days to get their foothold.

Michael Macharia, Chief Executive Officer of Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers (KAHC) said the planned reopening is a welcome move that will create employment. “It’s great when they reopen it portends a recovery of the sector as people get back to work,” he said.

The stakeholders in the sector are now calling on the government to continue pitching for key international events which position Kenya as a tourism destination. Aditya Mata, the general manager at PrideInn Azure said there has been an increase in bookings from within the country signalling growing prospects for locally-driven tourism.

“There are great business prospects since January and the flow is still promising as well,” he told Business Hub

The key driver of revenues for most five-star hotels in the country have been tourism, events and conferences which are slowly resuming normal operations.

Government stakeholders through Kenya Tourism Board have been driving initiatives to support the sector.

Kenya Tourism Board CEO Betty Radier said the State corporation has identified international events that can be used to position the destination brand for global

visibility to help in the sector recovery.

“We understand how crucial the events and conferences have become key economic pillars, especially in the tourism business. We will continue to leverage on them to boost our destination,” she said Radier. 

Normal operations

Already Intercontinental Hotel and Laico regency have their fate sealed and ceased operations in the country while Raddisson Blue Upperhill is considering a comeback. Kenya’s coronavirus cases have been dropping steadily amid a rise in the number of people who have been vaccinated. Most five-star hotels rely on tourism, events and conferences which are slowly resuming normal operations.

 In an earlier memo to staff dated May 27, 2020, Morad, had then said they closed the Nairobi hotel together with another outlet in the Mara because reduced business in the wake of the pandemic had made it difficult to meet employee pay demands.

The hotel’s ownership has change hands several times since the 1980s, eventually coming under the Fairmont brand which was later taken over by France’s Accor Hotels.