Kisumu cries out for more hotels

Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city, is in dire need of accommodation facilities to suit the current business traveller. The rapidly expanding city boasts of a number of hotels, but most of them can hardly match the influx of business travellers to the lake region. While the Imperial and Sunset hotels have held sway for many years, time is ripe for new players in the hospitality industry.

New players in the sector state that with the city becoming the next frontier for real estate development in Kenya, investors putting up such facilities will see a return on their investments within the shortest time possible.

According to Masolia Okinda, the sales and marketing manager for the new 32-room Sovereign Hotel in Milimani, the hospitality industry in Kisumu has been neglected as other sectors of the economy continue to grow.

“Investors have not yet exploited the large potential in the hospitality sector.

Near airport

For instance, there should be a five-star establishment on the western shores of the lake near the airport,” says Okinda.

Okinda says that with such a facility, Kisumu wouldl attract numerous water-based sports and utilise the region’s largest asset, Lake Victoria. Some smaller outfits such as Impala Eco Lodge provide boat riding facilities in the lake.

He adds that sometimes, it takes a leap of faith to come up with unique establishments, citing the example of Sovereign Hotel’s owner who had to sell his home to raise funds for the hotel’s construction.

“The owner went on to live in a rented facility since he believed in the idea of setting up the boutique hotel. It is always operating at near full capacity most of the time, an indicator of the potential in the sector,” says Okinda.

High-end

He says Kisumu is the regional hub for the entire western Kenya region and as such ought to lead in high-end accommodation facilities. Many businesses in nearby Vihiga, Kakamega, Busia and Siaya use Kisumu as their main transit point. It is also the de facto base for tour excursions to western Kenya that boasts of sites like Kisumu Impala Sanctuary, Kakamega Forest, Kit Mikayi, Ndere Island National Park and Ruma National Park. Visitors to nearby countries such as Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda also use Kisumu as the main transport hub.

A spot check also revealed that a number of non-governmental organisations have set base in Kisumu, furthering the need for adequate accommodation.

Okinda states that the town’s fortunes are bound to change with the upgrading of Kisumu airport to international standards. Regional low cost airline Jambojet is among local aviation companies that are benefiting from the airport’s infrastructure upgrade. Already, the road leading to and from the airport is also being upgraded to a dual carriageway.

In recent past, real estate developers have descended on the lakeside town and set up shop in the nearby Riat Hills that are turning out to be Kisumu’s most sought-after address. Developers such as Home Afrika, the company behind Migaa development in Kiambu, are angling for a slice of Kisumu’s real estate pie through Lakeview Heights.

According to Elli Ongoma, the marketing consultant for Victoria Gardens, such developments provide incentives for investors interested in the hospitality industry. Prospective home owners, he says, will need proper accommodation as they view the various real estate developments being rolled out around Kisumu.

“Kisumu’s environs have large swathes of unused land that is a boon to potential developers. In Kenya, land is the principal development asset and access to it is viewed as a vital cog in the real estate development wheel,” says Ongoma.

Ongoma says new developments will bring with them a service related industry that will provide employment to the many youths in the region.