According to a survey on hotels by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) published earlier in February 2021, employment in hotels continues to recover towards pre-Covid levels.
The employment levels averaged at 60 percent in December 2020 and 57 percent in January 2021 compared with 53 percent in November and 37 percent in May 2020.
“This recovery reflects the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and increased compliance with health protocols. In addition, the rise is also attributed to increased demand for hotel services during the Christmas festivities that called for the hiring of additional staff,” the report explained.
The employment levels had declined in April and May 2020, as hotels scaled down operations due to low business on account of Covid-19 restrictions in the sector.
Hotels had either dismissed their workers, sent them on paid/unpaid leave, or worked below their full pay.
The report also revealed that hotels in Nairobi were the hardest hit during the Covid-19 period having recorded very low occupancy levels.
On average, bed occupancy has continued to recover albeit slowly, particularly in hotels in Nairobi.
The overall bed occupancy rate averaged 26 percent in December 2020 and 21 percent in January 2021 compared to 23 percent in November 2020 and 10 percent in May 2020.
Respondents attributed the decline in bed occupancy between December 2020 and January 2021, mainly to return to the cities by people who had traveled during the Christmas festivities.
“A variation in bed occupancy is noted between hotels in Nairobi and those outside Nairobi. The average bed occupancy for hotels outside Nairobi was higher at an average of 33 percent in December 2020 and 24 percent in January 2021, compared to 19 percent and 17 percent respectively for the Nairobi area,” the report revealed.
The CBK attributed the slow recovery of hotels in Nairobi to the increased number of reported cases in Nairobi relative to the rest of the country.
On a positive note, about 50 percent of hotels expect to resume normal levels of operations by end of 2021, with 59 percent of hotels in Nairobi and 40 percent of hotels out of Nairobi expecting to resume normal operations in 2021.
Only 11 percent of respondents were of the view that their business would get back to normal due to other reasons, particularly lifting of the curfew.
Nonetheless, an average of 25 percent of hotels (11 percent of hotels in Nairobi and 40 percent of hotels out of Nairobi) were uncertain on when they would attain normal levels of operations and expected this to depend on how the Covid-19 pandemic evolves.
Source: KENYAGIST.COM
