Meetings · Journal
Can we actually run a board meeting in the Serengeti?
Yes, in a bush lodge meeting room of about 80–120. Sleeping capacity is higher — 150 double / 75 single at most Kenya and Tanzania bush lodges. A 200-delegate exhibition still belongs in Nairobi, Addis or Mauritius.
What we tell planners
Safari lodges in the Serengeti, Mara or Ngorongoro can host a real working session, not only a board of twelve. Most Kenya and Tanzania bush properties have around 77 rooms (150 guests sharing, 75 on single occupancy). Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, Meliá Serengeti Lodge and Serengeti Explorer by Elewana can each sleep 150 on a sharing basis. Meeting rooms are the tighter constraint: Four Seasons Serengeti’s indoor spaces total 253 m² (classroom 40 / reception 50 on the official chart); Meliá and Explorer are typically 80–120. Wifi is good enough for a deck — not always for live global broadcast. We write that in the proposal so IT does not discover it in Seronera.
If the working group exceeds 80–120, we split the session or move plenary to Arusha or Nairobi even when the beds still fit. A full three-day slide-heavy agenda, exhibition or 200-delegate conference belongs where banquet and AV teams already exist: Nairobi, Arusha, Kigali, Kampala, Addis Ababa, or a Mauritius resort — city and beach inventory runs to 300+ rooms. Kenya is the most efficient ‘meeting then bush’ country because Wilson Airport sits twenty minutes from the hotel.
Leadership retreats of 8–24 can still sit in a Mara conservancy, on a Zanzibar or Seychelles coast, at Kuriftu Bishoftu, or in a Mauritius villa wing. Intimate tented camps remain 8–24. Park Hyatt Stone Town can hold a characterful board; a six-tent seasonal camp cannot pretend to be Four Seasons Serengeti.
What to brief next
- — Bush lodges: 150 double / 75 single sleeping; meeting rooms 80–120.
- — Above those numbers, split the group or use city and beach hotels (300+ rooms).
- — Intimate tented camps stay 8–24; exhibition-scale still Nairobi, Addis or Mauritius.