We are currently experiencing the so called “weather for two”, with the common enemy being, the cold, ushering in the season for those fury trench coats and heavy jackets.

As the saying goes, one man’s meat is another’s poison. As most people continue to complain about the cold weather, there is another group that are smiling all the way to the bank.

These are the hotel owners who are making a killing out of selling hot beverages.

Ziinat Ali, a hotelier in Nakuru, says that with the cold weather, she has noticed a rise in the number of orders from those who want tea.

“During the morning hours, it is very common to get most of the customers coming in for tea. However, during this cold season, I have noticed there has been an exponential increase in those who want tea. Apart from that, orders for lemon tea, black tea and ginger tea have increased,” she says.

Michael Frank agrees with Ziinat, saying how this has also helped in boosting the sales of mandazis and chapatis.

“Whenever we are experiencing cold weather, most people opt for hot beverages specifically tea, but the plus side is that they always require an escort so that is a plus for us as we also get to sell mandazis. This has really boosted our sales,” he says.

John Limbati on his part says his tea sales have increased exponentially.

“I always measure the cups of tea I sell with the thermos I have. So, I have one thermos that takes ten cups and by around 11 am the tea is usually finished. Nowadays I have noticed that there has been a demand and so we are forced to make tea twice a day,” he says.

Limbati goes on, “Even at around 5pm when we should be closing, we still get customers who would come in for a cup of tea. This has significantly impacted the profits we make,” he says.

For these hoteliers, their prayer is that this cold season continues for just a while longer so that they continue making hay before the sun shines.

Big win for hoteliers as Nakuru weather enters cold mode

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Bret Sanya