This study explored Competitive Strategy Areas used by 5 star hotels in Nairobi, Kenya. In
Kenya there were 9 classified 5 star hotels categorized as Town 5 star hotels and Vacational 5
star hotels. All Town 5 star hotels were located in Nairobi. These were 7 hotels in total. Further
Nairobi was experiencing entry of new 5 star hotels which was putting pressure on existing
hotels wishing to remain competitive.
The study interviewed managers of existing and new 5 star hotels in Nairobi. It adopted an
exploratory research design. Primary data was collected using questionnaire which also guided
one on one interviews.
The study established that 5 star hotels in Nairobi used various Competitive Strategy Areas such
as Service delivery improvement. However 5 star hotels in Nairobi considered some competitive
strategy areas such as Information Technology as facilitator for instance Cost Competitiveness
thus merging them into one. The hotels also considered other areas such as differentiating service
offered across Culture as unnecessary leading them to focus on four considered key strategy
areas.
The study concludes by outlining strategy areas that Managers of 5 star hotels operating in
Nairobi should consider should they wish to remain Competitive or gain Competitive edge. Such
strategy areas were continuous Service delivery improvement, continuous Product upgrade and
innovative Marketing.