Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management

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End date: 2019Has files: Yes

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    Brand Personality and Destination Brand Competitiveness; A mediated symbiotic relationship, a study of Kenya's tourism industry
    (RS Publication, 2017-09) Rop, Wendy; Ogutu, Martin; Bichage, Methuselah
    Although branding has been acknowledged as a fundamental element of destination brand competitiveness, and there is agreement that effective branding promotes development and growth of an industry, the organisation of branding in Kenya as a destination is not well understood. This paper examines the relationship between brand personality and destination brand competitiveness by investigating tourism firms perceive Kenya's brand personality and how brand personality impacts on destination brand competitiveness. An exploratory approach was adopted to explore this issue using three Kenyan, county destinations; Nairobi County, Nakuru County and Kisumu County. The findings of this research suggest that the manner in which tourism organisations translate the personalities into the brand poetics will influence the overall destinations brand. In particular the study supports previous research findings that the role of destination brand is essential if destination marketing authorities are to operate in synergy with other stakeholders because they are the providers of goods and services that represent the country effectively.
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    4. Measuring efficiency and benchmarking classified two-five star hotels in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya
    (KENYATTA UNIVERSITY, 2012-04) Mburugu, Keren; Muchai, Diana Mukwate; Gesage, , Methuselah B.
    The Government of Kenya recognizes the role played by hotels and restaurants in terms of wealth creation, contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its multiplier effect that acts as a stimulus to the growth of other sectors such as transport, entertainment, agriculture, trade and industry. There are a limited number of detailed studies into performance measurement practices in the hospitality industry in particular. Most of the previous studies in the hotel industry have used traditional financial ratio analysis such as return on equity or return on assets. Few studies have used Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for the hotel sector. The purpose of this study was to measure the relative efficiency of the hotels in Nairobi and the Coast region· using Data Envelopment Analysis. The objectives of this study were; to measure the efficiency level of 2-5 hotels, to profile the hotels based on their performance, to analyze their efficiency distribution and to identify the determinants of efficiency differences. The study was a longitudinal survey in which data are collected for each variable for two or more distinct periods; 2007, 2008 and 2009 being three such distinct periods. The study was carried out in Nairobi and Mombasa and was limited to two-five star hotels. The study sample consisted of 36 hotels. Data for 2007 to 2009 collected through interviews. The results revealed many hotels were in private independent ownership particularly in the three star rating. International chains owned most of the five star hotels. The hotels generated most of their revenue from room sales. There was a general decline in revenue from rooms in 2008 attributed to the post election violence. Technical inefficiencies of the hotels were mainly due to the pure technical inefficiencies rather than the scale inefficiencies. These hotels were ineffective in converting inputs to outputs. The results further revealed that four and five star hotels had declining efficiency scores from 2007 to 2009. In 2007 22 % of the hotels were operating under decreasing returns to scale while 8.3% operated under increasing returns to scale. In 2008, 19.4% of the hotels operated under increasing returns to scale while 13.8% operated under the decreasing returns to scale. In 2009 33% of the hotels operated under the increasing returns to scale whereas 19.4% operated under increasing returns to scale. There were no significant differences in the efficiency scores for two and three star hotels as one set and four and five star hotels as a second set. There were equally no significant differences in the efficiency scores for the hotels found in Nairobi and Mombasa and also between chain and independent owned hotels. Generally, there was no significant difference in the efficiency scores between the different hotel sizes. The main determinant of efficiency was the location of the hotels. The study recommends that the hotel managers address their hotel's internal weaknesses in their day to day hotel operations if they are to be more efficient. One of the conclusions of this study is that all the hotels studied had declining efficiency scores from 2007 to 2009. A policy implication for the managers of the inefficient hotels is that they should borrow the best practices of their efficient peers if they have to raise their hotel's performance. Another policy implication for investors is that one can invest confidently in Nairobi since the efficiency of the hotels in this region is likely to be higher compared to those in Mombasa.
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    The cost of livestock lost to lions and other wildlife species in the Amboseli ecosystem, Kenya
    (Springer, 2017-06-09) Muriuki, Margaret; Ipara, Hellen I.; Kiringe, John Warui
    Though retaliatory lion (Panthera leo) killing as a result of livestock predation in the Maasai group ranches between the Tsavo NPs and Amboseli is remarkably high, other wildlife species are known to kill livestock. Surprisingly, lions suffer the most from retaliatory killing by the Maasai community for killing livestock. The extent of livestock predation by lions in comparison to other species is unknown. This study was carried out in the Olgulului group ranch (OGR) located adjacent to Amboseli National Park in June 2009. The cost of livestock killed by each of these species including lion, hyena (Crocuta crocuta), cheetah (Acynonyx jubatus), leopard (Panthera pardus), olive baboon (Papio cynocephalus), black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas), and African elephant (Loxodonta africana) was analyzed. Questionnaires, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews with officials from OGR, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), and compensation scheme organizations were the methods used to collect information. Cluster and systematic sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 199 respondents from OGR. Lions were blamed for 40.5% (US$ 374,603) of the value of livestock lost to wildlife. The costs of livestock lost to hyenas and lions were not significantly different (q = 0.24, p = 0.968). Although hyenas killed more livestock compared to lions, the economic damage between the two was not significantly different because lions attacked cattle which had high economic value. Conservation of lions will be increasingly difficult if the current levels of predation are not reduced to economically and socially acceptable levels.
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    Assessing the Relationship Between Brand Message and Guests’ Choice in the Sarova Hotel Chain in Nairobi
    (Hotel and Tourism Management, 2019-12) Mwalimu, Zipporah; Macharia, Stephen; Kibe, Judy
    Hotels and restaurants in Kenya aim to distinguish their brand image and differentiate their product or service from competitors by implementing particular brand approaches. The effectiveness of hotel branding among the Sarova hotels in Kenya is key to competiveness of the hotel business according to the previous findings which announced that the Sarova Hotel had vibrant clientele from both local and international markets. Effective branding has persisted during the years and still attracts visitors. The objective of the study was to assess the relationship between brand message and guests’ choice in the Sarova hotel chain in Nairobi. The target population were the guests residing at the Sarova group of hotels in Nairobi for one week on leisure vacation. Out of 380 guests living in the hotels, the sample size was 191 guests. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Findings reveal that a successful brand messaging strategy for the Sarova hotel chain in Nairobi perceives the design of a coherent communication strategy in the process of destination brand management as one of critical forces of its competitiveness.
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    Compensation in service recovery and customer loyalty in the hospitality industry in Kenya
    (research gate, 2015-09) Wanjau, Kenneth Lawrence; Mung’atu, Joseph; Gichira, Robert; Wamuyu, Stephen Njuguna
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    Relationship Between Food Insecurity, Social Support, and Vegetable Intake Among Resettled African Refugees in Queensland, Australia
    (Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2015) Gichunge, Catherine Gichunge,; Harris, Neil Harris,; Tubei, Sarah Tubei,; Somerset, Shawn Somerset,; Lee, Patricia Lee
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