Occupancy rate of hotels in Kenya 2013-2023

As of 2021, the occupancy rate in hotels in Kenya was projected at 51.1 percent, slightly down from 53.2 percent in 2018. By 2023, the rate might recover to 53 percent. However, it will still be below the levels recorded in 2013 and 2014.

Kenya’s hotel landscape

In 2023, the number of hotel rooms in Kenya was projected to be 23.800 rooms. This number had risen progressively over the years under review. The revenue that was generated from hotel rooms in the country reached 617 million U.S. dollars. Furthermore, the average daily rate of hotels was forecasted to be 159 U.S. dollars in 2023.

The Kenyan hotel industry during COVID-19

As a result of COVID-19, governments put in place travel restrictions in order to slow the spread of the virus. Measures such as these affected the tourism industry's revenue. About 45 percent of tourism enterprises in Kenya projected a revenue decline surpassing 2.5 million Kenyan shillings (KSh) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 23 percent reported losses ranging from 500 thousand to 1 million KSh. During the height of the pandemic, many hotels were not operational. As of March 2020, 74 percent of hotels were operational. This dropped to only 34 percent in the following months. However, since then the hotel industry has recovered, with 100 percent of hotels being operational in 2022.