#NAIROBI SET TO GET A SECOND CROWN PLAZA HOTEL
(Posted 30th April 2018)
The first hotel ever to open inside the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport perimeter, the Lazizi Premiere, is apparently set to rebrand as a Crowne Plaza hotel, a brand owned by IHG.
Information coming from the Kenyan capital suggests that India based Sarovar Hotels, which since opening has managed the property, has lost the management contract with the owners opting for an international brand name under which to do business.
Whether this decision was informed by the opening of another internationally branded hotel almost next door, the Four Points by Sheraton – which umbrella company Starwood Hotels is now part of global hospitality giant Marriott Hotels – could not be immediately established. Hospitality sources from Kenya however believe that this may have been a major factor in switching management companies in order to compete on level terms with Sarovar outside India simply not a very well known brand.
The first Crowne Plaza Hotel, located on the Upper Hill part of Nairobi, was opened in 2010 if memory serves right and has since then almost doubled its opening capacity in terms of rooms. The addition of a second Crowne Plaza in Nairobi will strengthen the presence of IHG in Kenya, raising speculation that the company will finally make a more energetic push into the wider Eastern African region.
