- The Hotel has been facing several operational issues which were aggravated by the travel slump for the last more than two years due to the Pandemic.
Nairobi’s iconic Hilton Hotel has been a landmark in Nairobi, located at the heart of the central business district for the past five decades. The Hilton was officially opened by Kenya’s founding president Jomo Kenyatta and began operations in Nairobi on December 17, 1969 and continued to be a favourite property for tourists to Kenya.
The hotel has announced its decision to close down indefinitely in December 2022. The move will result in the layoff of a number of workers. The Hotel has been facing several operational issues which was aggravated by the travel slump for the last more than two years due to the Pandemic. A 40.57 percent of the share in the hotel is held by the government operated by the International Hotels Kenya Limited.
The Kenya government has been struggling to offload its ownership in three luxury hotels, including Hilton. InterContinental Hotel operated by Kenya Hotel Properties Limited where the government had a 33.83 percent stake also shut down in August 2020. A number of top hotels, such as Laico Regency and Radisson Blu in Nairobi’s Upper Hill, also closed operations amid the coronavirus induced recession. The tourism industry, the backbone of Kenyan economy, is limping back to normalcy but foreign visitor numbers are still far below pre-pandemic levels.
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A hotel spokesperson was quoted by media as saying that the decision to close the hotel on 31st December 2022 was taken after extensive discussions among the stakeholders. It was stated that Covid-19 created unprecedented challenges for the industry. The Hotel management assured that it will work with those impacted to help them find alternative employment. It will also reemploy some staff to hotels within its Hilton portfolio in Nairobi. Hilton will continue to operate its other brands in the country including Hilton Nairobi Hurlingham and Hilton Garden Inn Nairobi Airport.
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