Entrepreneurial Challenges Facing the Hospitality Industry in Kericho County—Kenya

Rose Munyendo Shikuri, Patricia Chepwogen Chepkwony
(Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Management Science, School of Business, University of Kabianga, Kericho, Kenya)

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to embrace effective business management strategies in the hospitality industry so as to attract more tourists to the County in line with vision 2030. The hotel entrepreneurs in Kericho town mainly operate as restaurants limiting the potential of growth in the sector because many tourists prefer three to five star hotels. The research aimed to achieve the following objectives: to find out the challenges they face in their business and determine the entrepreneurial skills of the hoteliers. To achieve these objectives, a triangulation of both descriptive and exploratory design that involved 30 hotel employees as well as 20 supervisors and 10 managers/owners was used. A self-reporting, structured questionnaire was used. Items that relate to entrepreneurial practice, skills and challenges were measured on a five point likert scale. Descriptive statistics were used to organize, describe and summarize the data on classification of the various hotels and challenges facing the hotel industry in Kericho town. Most hotels are owned by the local business people. They mainly attract domestic customers because the majority are restaurants with only one three star hotel. Most of the hotel entrepreneurs considered financial management as the most important challenge followed by problem solving and interpersonal skills. The main challenges facing the hotel industry in the County include: shortage of competent manpower, financial constraints, high competition and problems with suppliers. Further, entrepreneurial practices such as having networking skills, problem solving skills, financial management and information technology will help them mitigate those challenges. The study recommends the following: embrace networking and business links to enhance communication and sharing of marketing information for the purpose of business.

Key words: entrepreneurial challenges; entrepreneurial practices; entrepreneurial skills; tourism; hospitality

JEL code: L26