Hot Shower Business in Nairobi? An improbable business venture you would hear about in the capital city. Kenyans have a brilliant mind for entrepreneurship. With June and July being the coldest months of the year, entrepreneurs would begin to work on taking advantage of the weather situation in Kenya and earn money.
Account for the daily stream of people that visit the capital, around 4 million. After a long day at work or doing business in town, sweating to make ends meet in one’s life, indubitably a hot shower or cold relaxing shower would be the best way to close the day and rest well in preparation for the next day.
However, due to the high cost of electricity in Nairobi, some Kenyans have opted to save the extra penny in their pockets and take a hot shower in Nairobi at the close of the business day. The Hot Shower businesses have decided to foot the bill and cater to the customer’s needs. Business for them has never been better, especially in the past month and forwards.
Typically, taking a hot shower in the capital city costs around Kshs. 50 per person, factoring in the high cost of electricity. The showers are well managed and cleaned. They provide soap and clean towels. In the spirit of good business management skills, the nitty-gritty basic laws of course apply to keep customers coming in and build a good reputation for the business.
One of the businesses is located around Charles Rubia lane and has its peak inflow of customers mostly in the evening hours. Some of them are traders, students and the workforce around the city center who want to arrive home fresh after a long day.
“For three weeks now, the number of people checking in has gone up compared to other months,”
One of the attendants, Lydia Wambui, disclosed.
“We charge Kshs. 30 for hot showers, while cold showers will cost you Kshs. 15. We provide soaps and clean towels for our customers.”
“On a good day, about 40 customers settle for hot showers. They are however limited to five minutes inside the bathrooms.”
She added.
Another hot shower business is located along Mfangano Street and has been in operation for more than a year. There is a high volume of human traffic where the business is located due to the number of matatus plying Western Kenya, Rift Valley and Kisii routes picking and dropping passengers.
“We charge Kshs. 50 for a hot shower, because of the power consumption, and people are slowly getting used to it,”
Said one of the attendants.
“Some of those who check-in for a shower say they don’t have water in the estates where they live while others are night travelers who want to freshen up before starting the day.”
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In this particular establishment, the customer’s time limit in the showers is set at 10 minutes. Services like urinals and toilets are Kshs. 10 per person.
“Sometimes I decide to bathe here then head to the estate just to sleep, I find it convenient because water is a bit of a problem where I live,”
Says Aaron Muindi.
In places like Muthurwa estate and outside the city center, customers pay Kshs. 5 for cold showers, the majority being traders and casuals around the market.