Fairmont Mt Kenya Safari Club Reopens After Two Years

The Nanyuki-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has re-opened its doors after two years of closure induced by the covid 19 pandemic. The hotel which shut down in 2020 will introduce new services for its customers, and will keenly focus on conservation especially the restoration of forest cover surrounding the mountain.

“We are looking forward to a very good season, people have never been eager to the hotel, the hotel business is still profitable and we are now channeling more energy towards conservation,” Mehdi Morad, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Country General Manager said.

This is the third Fairmount facility to reopen after the Fairmount Mara Safari club and the Fairmount the Norfolk in Nairobi.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented level of disruption to the hotel industry. A combination of local lockdowns and travel restrictions temporarily closed some hotels. This saw many operators reduce their labor costs by reducing working hours and staff.

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For instance, the Fairmount Mt Kenya safari club laid off its 148 workers and some were deployed in its other subsidiaries.

The hotel industry recorded an improvement of 30.4 percent in the third quarter of 2020 following the easing of government restrictions and resumption of most economic activities since July 2020 when covid hit hard on the sector.

However, the positive outlook was short-lived, and prospects were shuttered when the country witnessed the third wave in April 2021. This prompted new containment measures such as lockdown of five counties, extension of curfew hours, and closure of bars, with hotels operating take-away services only.

Luxury hotels such as Serena Hotels, Weston, Enashipai Resort and Spa, Ole-Sereni Hotels, DusitD2 Nairobi, Sopa Lodges, White Rhino Hotel in Nyeri, and Maiyan hotel in Nanyuki suspended operations following a reduction in the number of guests at the facilities.