Celebrating Excellence: Natasha Grace Mwangi and Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport's Award Winning Leadership

Leadership means showing up, not just directing. Natasha Grace Mwangi participates directly in the cake mixing tradition at Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport

Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport operates 172 rooms around the clock, serving international transit passengers and corporate clients. In 2025, the property won Africa's Leading Airport Hotel and Kenya's Leading Airport Hotel at the World Travel Awards, Best Airport Hotel from International Property Awards, and Best Airport Hotel in Kenya by CEO Destinations.

General Manager Natasha Grace Mwangi received Best General Manager in Kenya by CEO Destinations. Her achievement proves a critical lesson for every leader managing 24/7 operations: visibility beats strategy.

At a media luncheon on November 21, 2025, Natasha shared the three principles that drove consecutive wins: visible leadership, revenue discipline, and culture balance.

The 8 Year Career Path

Natasha joined Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport as part of the pre opening team in 2017. She started as Front Office Manager, a role she held for four years while mastering guest relations and operational fundamentals. In 2021, she became Room Division Manager, overseeing multiple departments for two years. By 2023, she was promoted to Hotel Manager, where she supervised all hotel operations for one year before ascending to General Manager in 2024.

Her unconventional foundation sets her apart. After completing high school, she studied in London where she initially pursued criminal justice. Hospitality started as a part time job to meet the 20 hour work limit for international students. After her first year, she enrolled in a double major combining hospitality management and criminal justice. The psychology component from her criminal justice studies gives her an edge when managing diverse personalities daily.

The 100 Greetings System: Leadership by 9:30 AM

Most general managers start their day in offices reviewing reports and responding to emails. Natasha starts differently. She arrives at 8:15 AM with a singular focus: 100 personal guest greetings before her 9:30 AM meeting.

Her morning begins in The Marketplace restaurant during the breakfast rush, where she targets 50 greetings among the highest concentration of guests. She then moves to the front desk to check departures, understanding that farewells matter as much as welcomes. Next, she visits the crew lounge where airline staff rest between flights, followed by the business lounge on the first floor where corporate guests work remotely.

By 9:30 AM, she has touched every guest facing space. More importantly, she knows which departments are understaffed, which guest has a brewing complaint, and where service is breaking down. The 100 greetings function as an accountability metric. If she cannot reach that number, operations are signaling issues somewhere in the system.

The 9:30 AM morning brief begins with prayer, a non negotiable practice for every meeting in the building. The session covers daily highlights and lowlights, guest satisfaction scores, occupancy projections, and challenges ahead. Each department head leaves with clarity on priorities and a shared understanding of the day's focus.

After the brief, Natasha continues her walk through back of house operations. She visits the kitchen, laundry, and purchasing departments. She makes a point to know who is heading each section that day so when problems surface, she knows exactly who to call. By 2:30 PM, she has covered every operational area without sitting at her desk.

This approach catches problems before they become crises. Staff see their leader shoulder to shoulder with them during peak pressure. Guests feel valued when the GM personally greets them rather than remaining hidden in an office.

Revenue Discipline: 12 Consecutive Months of Budget Targets

In 2025, Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport met budgets every single month. The achievement stems from treating revenue as a collective responsibility across the entire building rather than isolating it as a finance department metric.

The revenue philosophy centers on daily occupancy targets discussed every morning during the brief. The team does not passively accept whatever bookings arrive. Instead, they actively work to fill every room, thinking creatively about how to attract and retain guests.

The Fuel to Fly buffet demonstrates this approach in action. Available daily from 12 noon to 3 PM at The Marketplace restaurant, the buffet costs KSh 3,500 including a soft drink. The menu changes every day based on fresh ingredients available that morning, creating a chef's choice model that reduces waste while maintaining variety. The buffet features multiple cuisine corners including Indian, Kenyan, and Continental options, ensuring every dietary preference and nationality gets representation.

On the fifth floor, Tazama Rooftop Bar and Grill operates from midday to 1 AM, serving dishes from across Africa. The menu includes kuku wa kupaka from Kenya's coast, chakalaka from South Africa, and cuisine from Egypt. The restaurant runs a loyalty program called Tazama Dine and Earn specifically targeting corporate lunch clients. The structure is simple: dine four times, get the fifth lunch complimentary. This converts occasional diners into regular clients who schedule their business lunches at the property.

In 2025, the hotel reopened Tazama with a completely redesigned menu and refreshed space. The transformation represents the "think outside the box" mentality Natasha brings to every aspect of operations. As she describes her philosophy, "It's just not a plate in front of you, but how you lift the plate."

The property also transformed its social media presence over two years. Where the hotel once posted minimally, it now maintains highly active community engagement. The shift required the entire team to think differently about marketing, moving from treating social media as an afterthought to integrating it into the culture of celebration and recognition.

Culture Balance: Why Teams Stay 8 Years

Recognition at Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport happens in two distinct ways. Publicly, the hotel celebrates team wins on social media where guests, industry peers, and potential employees can see the culture. Privately, individual recognition happens in person during one on one conversations between managers and team members.

Natasha's own 8 year journey from front office manager to general manager proves the internal promotion system works. But Culture Balance extends beyond career advancement and performance management.

The hotel brings speakers for sessions focused on mental health, work life balance, home challenges, and personal wellbeing. Critically, these sessions are separate from work performance discussions. They create space where teams can discuss questions like "How are you doing? How is home? How is culture? How are you feeling today?" without those conversations being tied to evaluations or job security.

The Festive Tradition: Cake Mixing Ceremony

The November 21st cake mixing ceremony represents the hotel's commitment to Culture Balance in action. The festive tradition brings the general manager, executive chef, and staff together for a cultural ritual separate from daily service standards. Natasha participated directly in the mixing, wearing the festive headband and apron alongside her culinary team. The vacuum packed mixture will age for one month before being baked, allowing flavors to develop properly.

The 2025 Scorecard

When asked about the three specific achievements from 2025 she is most proud of, Natasha highlighted four measurable results that demonstrate the impact of her leadership model.

On the financial front, the hotel met budgets every single month through collective responsibility across all departments. This consistency matters in an industry where seasonal fluctuations typically create variance. Operationally, the property ran consistently high occupancies throughout the year, evidence that the "don't leave business on the table" philosophy translated into actual bookings.

The guest experience improved with the Tazama reopening, which delivered a new menu, refreshed design, and elevated dining atmosphere. The transformation attracted both new guests and repeat visitors who wanted to experience the changes. Finally, the marketing evolution showed up in measurable social media metrics. Where the hotel's online presence was minimal two years ago, it now drives community engagement and booking inquiries.

Leadership Under Pressure

When asked what it takes to win consecutive awards over four years, Natasha's answer centered on resilience and speed of recovery. Hard work matters, she explained, but the differentiating factor is how quickly you can recover from setbacks.

Dealing with different personalities daily means learning not to take things personally. Moving past difficult days faster builds stronger leadership. The work demands flexibility and mental strength because in 24/7 airport hotel operations, you stay until the last guest is served. Hours are not normal. Schedules are not predictable.

The Best General Manager recognition from CEO Destinations came as a surprise. As she describes it, hospitality often feels like typical work: you come in, you work, you go home. The rhythm becomes normal even when the hours and pressure would seem extraordinary to outsiders.

Her father, now late, shaped this resilient mindset. He groomed her to be strong, speak up, make decisions, and understand that recovery from setbacks matters as much as avoiding them. Those lessons now guide how she leads 172 rooms and the teams that keep them operating around the clock.

About Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport

Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport operates 172 rooms within the security perimeter of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The property serves international transit passengers who need quick overnight stays between connecting flights and corporate clients who require meeting space near the airport.

Facilities include The Marketplace all day dining restaurant on the ground floor, Tazama Rooftop Bar and Grill on the fifth floor, and conference facilities named Kilimanjaro 1 and 2 and Mount Kenya 1 and 2. Additional amenities include Olakira Luxe Spa with two treatment rooms, a fitness center, a rooftop heated pool, and dedicated crew and business lounges on the first floor.

In 2025, the hotel collected four major awards. It won Africa's Leading Airport Hotel and Kenya's Leading Airport Hotel at the World Travel Awards, received Best Airport Hotel from International Property Awards, and earned Best Airport Hotel in Kenya from CEO Destinations. The consecutive four year winning streak at the World Travel Awards demonstrates sustained excellence rather than a single exceptional year.

What's one leadership practice from Natasha Grace Mwangi you'll implement? Share in the comments.