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Harriet James @harriet86jim

Tell us about your journey into hospitality

I’ve been in Kenya for the last three years. I began my hotel management career in 2003 after studying hotel management at Louise Preston School of Business, Singapore in 2002.

I started my career in 2005 with Aman Resorts, India for six years a front office manager then I got an opportunity to go to Tanzania in 2012 for two years to oversee the opening of a safari lodge in Lake Manyara National park and again did the same in Ghana, where we opened the first safari lodge in West Africa.

From Ghana, I went back to India for another project at Jim Cobert National park.

I came to Kenya in 2017 and I have had a wonderful three years being the general manager of The Grand Royal Swiss Hotel. 

How was it like coming to Kenya for the first time?

When I got the opportunity to come to Africa, many of my colleagues, including my family told me that it’s too far and the general perception was that it’s going to be tough, but I had made up my mind to explore this place.

Challenges are everywhere and it’s just how we handle them. What I experienced and what I was told and read was completely different and when my family came to visit, they also had a wonderful experience, which changed their perception of the continent. 

What is unique about this hotel?

The hotel has 125 rooms with standard rooms, deluxe, royal suites, executive suites and one presidential suit.

It has the largest conference facility in the western region and one of the rooms can take upto 1,200 capacity and two board rooms, which can take up to 200 capacity.

We hosted the African Youth Chess Championship in 2018, which was a 250 pax event from across Africa an 11 days event.

Last year, we hosted a county assembly forum in the fourth legislative assembly with 4,000 guests and multiple United Nations and World Health Organisation events. 

How vital is the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE)  industry in Kisumu?

Predominantly the western region is wholly supported by MICE business, Kisumu being the third largest city in the country. Unfortunately the leisure market has not been well placed as it’s supposed to be.

Kisumu is getting a lot of businesses in terms of conferences and events from the neighbouring lake region towns from 14 counties particularly having an international airport.

We want to diversify this segment to the leisure market too. We are also working on having an association that can give the face to this region infront of the Kenya Tourism Board for leisure.

There are a lot of activities that can be created with the lake being the premium attraction for the region. How are you adapting to accommodate the leisure market

People are really keen on rates and we have tried as much as possible to drop our charges.

Also, we have more connectivity in terms of more airlines coming into play and connecting more regions to Kisumu.

The products too should align and give guests the best experience and value for their money.

 How has the pandemic changed how you do business?

Business is not the same as before. Big hotels like ours have a huge staff leading to huge expenditures, but we are trying hard to accommodate all the needs and wants of the clients, and not compromise on the standards.

The pandemic has brought about a quest for all of us to come up with innovative ways of doing things so that we all survive.