Kempinski Hotels set to open more outlets in Africa


Kempinski Hotels, Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group, yesterday announced plans to expand its portfolio of luxury hotels in Africa.

Kempinski HotelsWith two new properties opened in Kenya in 2013, Kempinski looks to add five more hotels to its African portfolio in the next year.

The management of the hotel group will in the next one-year open new hotel in Ghana, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kempinski Hotels joins Mnaagalis Management Group, which early this week announced plans to invest Sh44.1billion to finance 15 projects in 13 African countries.

President and Chief Executive of Kempinski Hotels, Mr. Reto Wittwer told a media briefing at the new Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi, the new property developments are part of a bigger expansion strategy his company is fast- tracking in Africa.

In 2014 Wittwer said new hotels would be opened in different segments in Africa to increase room capacity by about 1000 rooms which has e bigger challenge in terms of attracting international tourists.  The new hotels to be opened next year include Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra, Ghana and the Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski in Cairo, Egypt and a newly signed 450 key hotel in the future capital of Equatorial Guinea, Oyala. The one in Egypt according to Wittwer is set to open early in the year.


Additional plans are moving forward to open hotels in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo by the end of the year.

Early this week the government hosted African Hotel Investment Forum, which attracted high profile personalities in the global hospitality industry. Recently, Kempinski Hotels opened a new luxury hotel consisting of 200 spacious rooms and suites distributed over ten floors, including two Presidential Suites on the top floor in Nairobi.

The hotel will feature three concept restaurants in addition to an all-day dining restaurant, a bar, and a cigar lounge. Over 1500 people in the next twelve months will be employed in the new facilities and the management confirms it will give local talent first priority.

By Nicholas Waitathu, The Standard

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.