When small traders went home disappointed

The three days US President Barack Obama was in town were some of the finest the city has had in a long time. Even before Airforce One touched down on Kenyan soil, the city’s air was already filled with joy and optimism. But Obama’s visit also brought gloom and loss.

Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers Chief Executive Officer Mike Macharia was upbeat about Obama’s visit and even scoffed at those who suggested that the city’s hotels would be overwhelmed. “This summit is welcome news for the country and the tourism industry. We should not worry about accommodation because there are a lot of hotels within the city that offer first-class services,” he said.

Obama was in Nairobi to attend the 6th Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) which attracted a battery of billionaires who would spend their millions in some of the top-notch hotels in town.

Five star hotels in Nairobi gained millions where the small kiosks counted losses. A week before Obama landed, several five star hotels, including Crown Plaza, Holiday Inn, Tribe, Norfork, Hilton, Laico, Serena and Safari Park said they had been fully booked for the duration of Obama’s stay. The script was the same with Sankara and Kempinsky which were fully booked. A section of the media has reported that Obama picked up a bill of Sh1.5 million at Kempinsky where he stayed during the visit.

Unfortunately, even as the five-star hotels reaped big, small hotels on the other side town counted losses following the historic visit. For these hotels, Obama’s visit was more of curse than a blessing. The billions brought in by the Americans and other entrepreneurs did not spill over to the small restaurants and pubs.

Poor business

Patrick Muya is the Nairobi Region Chairman for Pubs, Entertainment, Restaurants Association of Kenya (PERAK). Many of these can be found on the other side of Nairobi’s Moi Avenue. For these pubs and restaurants, there was nothing to write home about, according to Mr Muya.

“It was very bad for us. You see, before the visit there was a lot of hype on how security was going to be tightened and roads closed. So people decided to stay at home,” said Muya.

The restaurants were empty.

Ann (not her real name), a waitress in one of the restaurants in town, is paid daily for work done. “I work even on weekends, and I get paid for every day that I work. But we stayed out of work for the two days Obama was in town. You can imagine how I lost,” she said.

Indeed, the effect was characteristic of many small businesses that operate in town as people stayed away from the city. Joseph Maina operates a small shop which deals in computers and accessories. To him, money is made when the shop is opened. But on this day, he closed shop and stayed at home. “I know people are happy Obama came, but his coming was somehow like curse to me,” Maina says with a light touch. “I lost some thousands on that weekend,” he adds.

Also, due to the lockdown that followed Obama’s visit with matatus not being allowed to use certain roads, the Chairman of the Matatu Welfare Association, Dickson Mbugua, said the operators lost between Sh80 and Sh100 million for the three days Obama was in Nairobi. It is not clear how the matatu owners came up with this figure. Waiyaki Way, Thika Road, Limuru road were closed during the US president’s visit.