By Njeri Irungu
Hilton Garden Inn Hotel is a 4 star hotel located adjacent to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi apptroximately 15 kilometres from the city center. It is a franchise of the Hilton Hotel Group.
The Hotel won the overall winner at the just concluded Aviation Business Excellency Awards(ABEA) for their outstanding perfomance and service delivery in the aviation industry. The ABEA award recognises performance and services in the aviation industry which was organised by Kenya Institute of Management(KIM) and Kenya Airports Authority(KAA).
The General Manager, Mr. Lorenzo Baleri said that the awarding process for ABEA looks at four determinants: Leadership, Ethics and Business Results, Marketing Customer Focus and Quality. “People focus and human resource was a very intensive process which got all the team members involved since the determinants are very much part of the vision and mission at Hilton. Apart from customer focus, we also focus on marketing ourselves to our employees so that they can deliver the same experiences to our guests.”the GM added.
Mr. Baleri gave credit for the excellency of the hotel to the employees who he said were young and energetic. He added that they were able to stand even during the covid period and very few people were laid off during the pandemic.
The hotel has been open for five years and they have recorded a high uptake as they have customer loyalty programs and a technology enabled marketing that has helped position the hotel and the Hilton Garden Inn brand in Africa, Europe and Middle East. The hotel is an upscale hotel that is affordable for the everyday traveler.
The recent Kenya Airways pilot strike saw the hotel get more revenue as some customers were forced to extend their stays. The guests were given friendly rates as it was about an occurrence of an unfortunate situation.
Hilton Garden Inn Hotel also observes the Climate friendly mechanisms as the world gears towards Clean energy. Hilton encourages use of Light stay energy, the hotel also has a recycling plabt that is used to water the garden. The Hotel is also moving towards use of bottled water instead of plastic bottles. They also encourage conference guests to drink from the water dispensers instead of the bottled water.
Mr. Baleri hinted at an opening of a new Hilton branch in less than six months time.