ONE FESTIVAL GONE DOES THE NEXT ONE COME ACROSS THE HORIZON
(Posted 15th February 2015
The hospitality industry worldwide, and of course here in Uganda too, does simply not rest or take a break for facilities in hotels need to remain occupied and busy and revenues must continue to come in lest the business is allowed to fail.
Valentine’s Night is now barely over and a quick call to Ronald Safari and his team confirmed that the night shift at the Sheraton Kampala is in full swing to clear the Lion Centre garden party venue – Uganda’s single all country station Bob FM 92.7 co-sponsored the event – as well as the Paradise Grill to be sure that when breakfast is served in the morning, the hotel appears spanking clean.
Across the region did some mindboggling offers sell like hotcakes, as Valentine appears to be more and more about the money one can spend and the gifts one can lavish on a partner.
In Nairobi it was the Villa Rosa Kempinski which took Valentine to a new level when the hotel advertised their Presidential Suite, with a bag load of value additions and goodies included, at 2.34 million Kenya Shillings – AND IT SOLD. In Uganda the most expensive advertised deal still came in at 1.8 million Uganda Shillings, for the Presidential Suite at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, and it too was sold within the hour of the advert going up on the social media, as were all the business and junior suites, all coming with dinner, flowers, Spa and more, aimed to impress.
With Valentine 2015 done and dusted has Kampala now set its sights on the 4th Connoisseur Festival, which will be hosted again at the Sheraton Kampala Lion Centre and Gardens, while reliable sources from across the hotel industry in Uganda confirm that they are already in full swing to prepare for the upcoming Easter holidays, preparing packages for the safari lodges and of course special meals and events in the city hotels.
The proceeds of the event will all go to the Kampala Music School, which has once again put a programme together, showcasing South African and other wines, cheeses from Uganda and Kenya and offer musical performances to showcase how far Kampala’s leading music academy has come in recent years. The Kampala Symphony Orchestra will be at the centre of such musical delights as will string quartets and solos by saxophonists.
Kampala, in the words of a regular visitor from the much more fancied Nairobi, ‘has come of age; and indeed have food, music, performing art and other festivals, initially slow in coming, gathered momentum and become landmarks in the social calendar of the city.
Many of these events take place at the Sheraton’s Lion Centre and Gardens but the city’s other leading hotel, the Kampala Serena, is equally busy with regular shows. Those are either held in their gardens, open air weather permitting or in huge party tents or in the main amphitheatre of their conference centre. The latter is the place which plays host to fashion shows, jazz festivals and even major product launches which too are now turned into festival like happenings.
Be it for charity or for outright commercial reasons, the marketing teams of Kampala’s leading hotels are for sure taking nothing for granted and are out and about, talking to Uganda’s leading corporates and NGO’s how to help them showcase their products or help put functions together to help raise funds.
The red dresses of Valentine’s night will go back into the wardrobe for now but other frocks will no doubt be readied for the next round of Kampala’s hospitality bashes and this is as usual the place to watch to learn what is coming up and where it is happening.
More information about the country can be sources on a regular basis via www.theeye.co.ug or by clicking on www.guide2uganda.com where up to date information is available on What’s On in Kampala.
