Brisk business for residents of Kakamega, Vihiga counties

A home in Mbale, Vihiga County, where some of the delegates attending the 5th Annual Devolution Conference in Kakamega were hosted. PHOTO | ISAAC WALE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • And as delegates scrambled for accreditation residents were doing whatever they could to earn an extra coin from the event.

  • Kakamega Trade minister Kassim Were, however, told the Nation the town still had 1,007 rooms yet to be occupied, according to local hospitality players.
  • The list of available rooms indicated they were going from as low as Sh1,800 per night to Sh15,000, depending on the amenities available.

  • But with 6,000 people expected, some residents saw an opportunity to make money by hosting guests in their homes.

Homes, hotels and shops in Kakamega town may be some of the biggest beneficiaries of the devolution conference that started with delegates’ registration on Monday.

And as delegates scrambled for accreditation residents were doing whatever they could to earn an extra coin from the event.

In Kakamega, supermarkets, hawkers, boda boda riders and lodges were doing brisk business, even as some delegates said they could not find accommodation in the town. Kakamega Trade minister Kassim Were, however, told the Nation the town still had 1,007 rooms yet to be occupied, according to local hospitality players.

“The hotels are not full, but perhaps the seekers have lacked information on where to get them. We have addressed that by publishing information on the facilities’ locations,” he said.

BOOKINGS

Kakamega County Hoteliers Association William Owuya said hotels and lodges were Monday receiving bookings. “Let the local communities be good to the guests as a gesture of the hospitality,” said Mr Owuya.

The list of available rooms indicated they were going from as low as Sh1,800 per night to Sh15,000, depending on the amenities available.

But with 6,000 people expected, some residents saw an opportunity to make money by hosting guests in their homes. Hoteliers in Kakamega County said they can only accommodate 3,000 people.

In neighbouring Vihiga County’s Mbale town, for instance, Mr Evans Mudogo, a resident of Shamasilihi, was hoping to make up to Sh60,000 through homestays.

He is one of the 30 residents of Vihiga County whose homes will be cashing in on the shortage of hotels in Kakamega and Vihiga counties.

DELEGATES

Mr Mudogo is hosting four visitors from Murang’a County. “We have made sure that everything is okay. We are accommodating four visitors at a cost of Sh3,000 per day for each of them,” said the father of four girls.

Another home owned by Mr Mike Mujivane is hosting several delegates from Turkana County.

Vihiga County tourism director Matayo Mwenesi said the homes were approved after factors such as security, availability of water and electricity were considered.