JUMEIRAH EYES KENYA HOTEL MANAGEMENT DEAL
(Posted 15th October 2015)
While in Kenya for the annual Magical Kenya Travel Expo which is taking place at the seaside resort area of Diani south of Mombasa, did news emerge that Jumeirah Hotels was negotiating a management deal for a yet to be disclosed hotel.
Although it could not be established if the deal will involve a newly constructed or under construction hotel or if perhaps some owners may seek to bring in a new management company – the prospect of which might send shivers down several spines – is it clear that Jumeirah is very keen to establish a footprint in East Africa.
Nairobi has in recent years seen the influx of several branded international hotel groups, among them Kempinski, Dusit and Best Western and the imminent opening of Rezidor’s Radisson Blu in Nairobi, followed by Sheraton with a Four Point and Moevenpick, among others, is a sign of confident global operators have in Kenya.
With MICE business on the upswing, Nairobi is regularly only coming second to Cape Town in Africa for hosting major global and continental events, major oil finds in Northern Kenya and the return to normalcy of the country’s beleaguered tourism sector does the country have much going for it. Massive investments in road, rail and airport infrastructure are presently transforming Kenya into an emerging economic powerhouse for the Eastern African region and global hotel groups tend to follow this trend.
Jumeirah presently manages 23 properties in the Gulf, Europe and Asia and has reportedly more than a dozen under development. Ties between Kenya and the UAE, where Jumeirah is based, are close and the two countries are connected by air with flights operated by Kenya Airways, Emirates, Etihad and Air Arabia.
