Inflation-Beating Conferencing with Brackenhurst Conference and Retreat Centre

For businesses of all sizes, the economic challenges are real. Event organisers have told us they are feeling the pinch from venue, accommodation and transport providers. These challenges are faced the world over and Kenya is no exception. The annual inflation rate accelerated to 9.2% in February this year with the increase in fuel prices having a knock-on effect to the cost of power and basic goods. A 2022 CWT report estimated the cost-per-attendee for meetings and events to be “25% higher than in 2019, with this set to rise by another 7% in 2023.”

Brackenhurst Conference and Retreat Centre’s unique approach to conferencing, enables us to provide Conferencing with Brackenhurstfor our clients. Key factors contributing to our competitive pricing include:

1. Quick recovery – despite the challenges of the pandemic, Brackenhurst Conference and Retreat Centre remained open and did not lay off any of our employees. Unlike other venues, we were able to maintain our facilities and begin operating face-to-face meetings, retreats and conferences without incurring any additional overheads. We were able to quickly become fully operational without passing on the costs to our clients.
2. Variety – We offer a wide range of options for venue and accommodation, with capacity to handle conferences ranging from under 10 to 250 people, with multiple large groups comfortably hosted simultaneously in indoor and outdoor venues. Our accommodation offering ranges from private self-contained cottages to dorms, ensuring that we can provide a conferencing solution for almost any budget.
3. Partnerships – Our campus is home to a diverse family of organisations, including the Conference and Retreat Centre, Woodland Star School, Muna Tree Café, The Centre for Ecosystem Restoration Kenya (CER-K), and Forest Foods. These partnerships enable Brackenhurst Conference and Retreat Centre to leverage cost savings unavailable to other conferencing centres, for example, producing some of the food for Muna Tree Cafe and our conference on-site dining.
4. Sustainability – We have been passionate about protecting the environment since our first conservation project, the restoration of the indigenous forest began in 2000. Since then we have been working on various sustainability initiatives that also deliver cost savings. These include installing solar water heaters in our rooms to reduce electricity consumption, treating and bottling our own water in reusable glass bottles, growing all of our firewood on a sustainably managed timber plantation, and designing rooms with translucent roofing to incorporate more ambient light and reduce the need for electric lighting. We are also planning to install a 85 KW solar system to reduce our reliance on the Kenya Power and Lighting Company and decrease fuel consumption from our generator.
5. Location – Our proximity to Nairobi (only 20km northwest) means that we do not have to incur the increasing costs of city living. Our employees all live locally, as do many of our suppliers and they, therefore, avoid the expensive transport costs into the city centre. This same distance from Nairobi is also much sought after by our guests, who enjoy the opportunity to bask in the nature and peace that surrounds us.

Brackenhurst Conference and Retreat Centre continue to offer discounts based on group size and number of nights booked. When you book your conference or retreat at Brackenhurst, you become part of our extended family. We appreciate all our customers and especially those who choose to visit us repeatedly.

So what are you waiting for? Contact us to learn more about Brackenhurst and book your next conference or retreat: bookings@brackenhurst.com | +254 748 199 552