BY VICTOR ADAR
Keeping on top of costs of running business, paying salaries and ensuring that money is funnelled back to savings proved difficult for players in the hospitality sector over the past two years. But with festivities now with us, stakeholders are looking at increasing their numbers at a time when the question that many people are asking is how the tourism picture will look like in the next three months or so.
Sarova Hotels, Resorts & Game Lodges Managing Director, Jaideep Vohra, who also doubles up as the chairman of the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC), is confident that hospitality sector will fly again as more and more hotels and lodges cashed in on high number of visitors particularly during the Pope’s visit. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference mid this month also signalled big opportunities for Kenya’s hospitality industry.
Mr Vohra believes the visits rate Kenya among the very best and safest place, positioning it as East Africa’s business hub. To him, it is so much of the country being placed on the map, and Pope’s visit particularly helped dilute the instability created by crime and terrorism, which in the past have lead to a massive reduction of visitors from Europe.
Having thrived in a rapidly changing environment, the 56 year-old director cites the lifting of travel bans as a smarter move that neutralises the impact of negative warnings that have made the industry suffer badly. Currently, his dedication at the national tourism outfit, KAHC, for example is paying off, boasting 215 members with a common vision to make Kenyan hospitality “globally competitive and viable.”
He feels privileged that every milestone in the country is because of the tourism sector, which is generally the second best foreign-exchange earner after tea. The sector is finding success thanks to its potential to create jobs, and boost various industries such as the retail sector, hotels, lodges, restaurants, clubs, and airlines.
“Low moments is when you carry the pan and you find that there is no business in Kenya but you have to pay salaries. But I’m very proud to say that we have managed not to layoff staff or have them take a salary cut. At Sarova, we look after 1,400 families. I would rather get something little and ensure everybody also gets,” he says.
Sarova Hotels’ staff retention rate stands at 95%. “The only employees they have lost are those who have left to join some of the new establishments being set-up,” jokes the hotelier. To ensure that the Sarova staff keep abreast with the latest trends in the industry, Vohra says the Sarova Training Centre offers very rigorous training and every year recruit interns and take them through a two-year practical course in their hotels.
Also raising expectations in a good way is their main Corporate Social Responsibility (SCR), education, where they look after schools like in Samburu, Nakuru, and Masai Mara. The other CSR that they have is tree planting where they ensure, in their small way that environment is well taken care of.
Last year, tourist arrivals in the country declined falling 15.8% to 1.9 million largely because of the travel advisories issued against Kenya by Western nations. Around April this year the situation was too bad that most revered hospitality establishments particularly in Malindi, Watamu and Diani Beach were bitten by financial crisis as the sector dipped in unimaginable losses – they laid-off workers and shut down. And as the collapsed establishments bounce back, a giant like Sarova Hotels is forging ahead.
“This year has been pretty tight, but despite all the bumps along the way, we have made it. We have managed to put our heads above the water. On our occupancy as a group, we have achieved 60% for a whole year which is good considering what the industry has gone through in the last few years,” he says.
With over 35 years of experience in the industry, he says that the Pope’s visit could not have come at a better time. Although there were cheaper options to getting accommodation, where some members of the Catholic Church were able to accommodate at least two to three visitors in their homes as others got accommodation in school dormitories and hostels, the industry players cashed in on the influx. He says the best of game plan is how the players are positioning themselves to maximise on the major events and visits.
While a trend is coming up, where companies diversify into more lucrative ventures like real estate to boost their portfolio, Sarova Hotels will maintain its focus. Mr Vohra defends the hospitality sector saying that you are in the wrong business if you deviate from the business that you understand well. “Do what you are good at. We are good at hotels and thus our focus. If you focus on other lines you tend to lose the game plan. At Sarova we do what we do best which is hospitality.”
Although he is not a hotelier by training, having learned on the job sharpened his skills – started his career at Ambassador Hotel. He later moved to the sales & marketing and procurement departments.
With the dynamic nature of the hospitality front, one of the insights he would share with anyone planning to venture into hospitality business is, simply, awareness. He says: “Know what the job is all about. It is very important to know hotels and to know what it is all about. It is not just about selling rooms, at the end of the day it is all hard work.”
Kenya, Vohra says, is a beautiful country with a lot to offer. We have the best of the beaches, the best of the cultures. “It is a great place for people to come and invest. I have the country at heart and trying to fight for the best for tourism. Because I have all the hoteliers looking upon me as the Chairman,” he says.
