| dc.description.abstract | Tourist hotel industry has been affected by the changes of environmental factors that
have taken place. One major factor whose change has heavily affected this industry is the
global security and safety. These changes have reduced the number of tourists visiting
Kenya and thus increasing competition for the few tourists by the hotels.
This study set out to document the environmental factor-changes that have affected
tourist hotels, the strategic responses of tourist hotels to those changes and the constraints
they have faced in their effort to respond to the changes in the environment. This was
guided by the following objectives: First, to find out the changes of the environmental
factors which have affected tourist hotels. Second, to determine the strategic responses
that have been applied by the tourist hotels to those changes. Third, to establish the
constraints these hotels have faced as they respond to those changes.
Primary data was collected using open ended and closed ended questionnaire for a census
of 21 hotels. The data was there after analysed using descriptive statistics which involved
use of tables, mean scores, and percentages.
The study found out that most of the hotels are not owned in a chain of a group of hotels
and they get most of their clients from Europe and America. Thus all the travel advisories
against citizens from these regions have heavily hit tourist hotels. Hotels said their
business is fluctuating and unpredictable and most had changed their long-term planning.
The analysis revealed that several environmental factors have changed both positively
and negatively. It showed that firms have tried to respond to the negative factor changes
to ensure their survival and success. They have done this by using strategies like
shrinking selectively, restructuring, marketing and cost management strategies.
It was also established that hotels have experienced both internal and external constraints
as they respond to those changes. One of the major internal constraints is lack of finances
and major external constraints include rigid government policies and competition among
others. To succeed therefore hotels will need to understand the environmental changes
that have taken place, craft the right strategies and overcome the constraints they face. | en |
