Renewed hope for Kenya’s hospitality industry during Christmas

Renewed hope for the hospitality industry in kenya, as the Christmas season offers stakeholders a means to offset the impact of the pandemic. The Sawela Lodge is located in Nairobi’s northwest, and has become an increasingly popular holiday destination in Naivasha.

Some of the hotels have had almost all of their rooms booked up ahead of the New Year.

''As we prepare for the festive period, we have put in place measures which will actually safeguard all out guests staying with us against the COVID-19 pandemic, we have also been certified by public health. And I must say we are doing pretty well in terms of the measures we put in place", George Ndung'u, team leader at Sawela Lodge said.

Although the hospitality sector looks good during the yuletide, Kenya is still seeing a spike in cases, reporting 94,768 confirmed cases as of Wednesday. The East African nation has recorded 1,647 deaths according to Johns Hopkins University.

''Compared to other years, this year from the time we reopened, from the COVID-19, business has been booming for some time, we've actually been operating at occupancy level of more than 65 percent, surprisingly as well for the meeting rooms, they are all fully booked", Ndung'u added.

At the Sawela Lodge, an official said guest rooms are well maintained to ensure they meet required health standards amid the coronavirus.