Many years ago when Agness Njau worked for a hotel chain, Heritage Hotels, as a receptionist, little did she know that one day she would be an entrepreneur. She is the founder and director of Zuri Travels, a company that was registered in 2014 May to offer services such as airport transfers and hotel bookings, ticketing and visa assistant, corporate and leisure travel, and conferencing.
The move to start a travel company was not out of the blue. Ms Njau was a receptionist but would interact with people in reservations department. She would admire the way clients would visit their offices to book and had an opportunity to visit properties in Masai Mara, and Samburu.
“That’s where my passion for travel came about,” she says. “So I decided to register the company and continue doing business. Before 2018 I was just freelancing then I decided to be serious. I set up an office in 2018 January and I must say that the first year was very good. But in 2019, we were just hanging in there. It was not as busy as the other times.”
Ms Njau didn’t have working capital. Clients would pay her then she would pay the hotel, for example, and get her cut. She could plough back her commissions into the business, a move that effectively enabled the company to be where it is today.
During the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, there was a trend where companies sent workers home. Some took pay cuts. Many other tiny businesses that were unable to pay rent for office space sunk thanks to the financial setback that most companies and entrepreneurs have met.
Fortunately for Ms Njau, it was a blessing in disguise. The first two months of 2020 were quite good as she managed to take few groups to the Masai Mara, and Nairobi National Park but things literally came to a standstill when the pandemic hit. Nobody was flying in from foreign countries because of lockdowns. Thus it was good opportunity for locals as international tourists were no longer visiting the country.
“I planned a lot of tours in May, June, July, and August last year. December is our peak and we have loyal clients who every December would come to us to arrange their December package. So it wasn’t too bad. We still had ticketing and tours here and there, short tours, short family vacations,” she says.
Nobody predicted the impact of Covid-19. But the good thing is that the pandemic led to an upsurge of digital ways of doing business. With a laptop, a smartphone and internet connection, one is able to not only market to the masses but also launch a promising business. If you were to search social media platforms, you would see hundreds and thousands of new businesses that are embracing digital channels.
Ms Njau says that it requires out of the box thinking to thrive in the travel industry especially now that bookings have changed from the traditional walk in to agency, and to online with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and IG becoming the main marketing platforms in a bid to attract customers.
She had employed two people people. One handled tours, and the other, travel. When Covid-19 hit, though, there was no business and she had no choice but to tell her employees to take a backseat until things start looking up.
“I knew that businesses wouldn’t recover as soon as I would wish. I had to hang on in anticipation that there will be an end to the pandemic. Most of the colleagues in the industry closed shop but I decided to hang on and see what happens. Now it’s tough because there is rent to pay, there’s the internet, power… so the little savings that we set a side is what is sustaining us. I am hopeful but you wonder for how long will it be like this,” she says.
Stronger and resilient, she is very intentional with her moves. Her company has unique target market that includes not only individuals and families, who she says make a big percentage of her business, but also families, young people, corporates as well as non-governmental organizations. She is currently trying to woo government agencies.
Zuri’s offers for Easter are focusing on destinations such as Mombasa, Nanyuki, Laikipia, Meru, Watamu, Malindi, and Chalbi desert, which is a new child on the block located in Marsabit County. Normally, it is very expensive to visit places like Masai Mara. With a budget of Sh18, 000, Ms Njau highly recommends a standard package of two nights, three days. The amount takes care of meals, game drive, transfers to and back.
“We have not exploited this country. There is a Chalbi desert that is selling a lot. Places like Rusinga Island, Amboseli and the Mara are amazing places. We have so much here and we have some very good heritage, and I don’t think we have exploited local destinations as tour operators. And it’s cheap now. You should go to the Mara. Mara is good. It is a good experience,” she says, urging entrepreneurship-oriented individuals to spread their risks.
To get the best, she says, it is important to incorporate other lines of business. It is better spread risks by not zeroing in on one particular line of business. It is also important to build contacts and relationships to keep business flowing. Word of mouth, social media pages, repeat clients and referrals too work wonders for a business like hers. For the customers, she says, the more the merrier. Actually, the more you are, the cheaper you pay.
“It is a good industry, it is interesting, it is fun, and you discover places. You become a story teller about the places you’ve visited… and it is the content you have and how you pitch for your business that will determine your success,” she says.
