African Safari Club is targeting the singles travel market following the refurbishment of one of its Kenya hotels.
Director of sales, marketing and business development Daniel Sykes said the Vasco da Gama Hotel near Mombasa had reopened and is again in the Kenya Beaches and Safaris brochure following the refurbishment, which has brought it from a three star to a four and a half star property.
In doing so, 40 rooms have been converted – allowing pairs of single travellers to have separate bedrooms, bathrooms and balconies while sharing a lobby – while the remaining 18 are entirely self-contained and aimed at solo singletons. None of the rooms incur a singles supplement.
Sykes said: “There is a growing singles market and by doing this we can cater for it and grow into it. As far as I know it will make it the only hotel catering exclusively for singles in Kenya.
“Having a spread in the brochure dedicated to the hotel will also make it easy for the travel agent to sell as normally single room prices are hidden at the bottom of the brochure along with the supplements.
“At the moment our singles market is virtually non-existent but following the changes to the Vasco da Gama hotel, we can now have as many as 100 a week.”
He added the operator doesn’t charge supplements for single travellers on its safaris either, although there is no guarantee they won’t be sharing their accommodation.
Sykes said: “We think all of this will appeal and Kenya is a traveller’s market as if you go there you go on safari which we think is right up the single customer’s street.”