{"meta":{"endpoint":"https://eahospitalitypulse.com/api/v1/cost-index.json","description":"Cost-Side Index — FX, fuel, energy and food inputs that move operator margin.","source":"Official regulator and central bank releases (EPRA, central banks, statistics bureaus).","generated":"2026-09-17T13:42:51Z","publisher":"EA Hospitality Pulse","docs":"https://eahospitalitypulse.com/api.html","methodology":"https://eahospitalitypulse.com/methodology.html","licence":"Free for reasonable use with attribution to EA Hospitality Pulse and a link to https://eahospitalitypulse.com. Do not resell or repackage as a competing data product. See https://eahospitalitypulse.com/terms.html","version":"v1"},"data":{"updated":"14 September 2026 (evening — EPRA's review announced 14 Sep RETAINED all three grades for 15 Sep – 14 Oct 2026. The pump did not move; the import cost did. Diesel landed cost ROSE 11.86% and kerosene 9.71%| while petrol FELL 7.87% and was not passed through — the petrol cut funds the diesel hold. Read the three fuel entries below as a borrowed month| not a cheap one| and note that the 8% petroleum VAT rate expires 14 Oct 2026| the same day the next review lands. Prior: 11 September 2026 (August CPI group — transport inflation runs ABOVE the restaurants-and-accommodation line in all four markets| by 6.9 to 12.7 percentage points).","note":"Owners live on margin, not arrivals. These are the inputs that move it.","items":[{"group":"Inflation — cost of delivery","flag":"🇰🇪","metric":"Transport CPI vs Restaurants & Accommodation CPI, annual","value":"Transport +15.7% · Accommodation +3.0%","change":"transport running 5.2x the hospitality line","dir":"up","period":"August 2026 (y/y)","note":"Headline CPI 6.6%. Subtracting headline from the accommodation line gives a REAL room-price change of -3.6pp — the worst of the four EA markets. Food and non-alcoholic beverages +9.0%, housing/water/electricity/gas/fuels +3.6%. Overall index 155.20 to 155.85 (+0.4% m/m). The spread is our calculation; the two divisions are published figures.","source":"KNBS, Kenya CPI and Inflation Report, August 2026, released 31 August 2026","verified":true},{"group":"Inflation — cost of delivery","flag":"🇹🇿","metric":"Transport CPI vs Restaurants & Accommodation CPI, annual","value":"Transport +13.8% · Accommodation +3.0%","change":"transport running 4.6x the hospitality line","dir":"up","period":"August 2026 (y/y)","note":"Headline 4.3%, up from 4.2% in July and the highest in the preceding twelve months on NBS's own account. Real room-price change -1.3pp. Energy, fuel and utilities +8.5%; services index +5.9%; core 4.1%; food 3.7%. Tanzania's cost base is still the most benign of the four, but it is no longer below 4%.","source":"NBS Tanzania, National CPI for August 2026, released 8 September 2026","verified":true},{"group":"Inflation — cost of delivery","flag":"🇺🇬","metric":"Transport CPI vs Restaurants & Accommodation CPI, annual","value":"Transport +9.4% · Accommodation +2.5%","change":"transport running 3.8x the hospitality line","dir":"up","period":"August 2026 (y/y)","note":"Headline 4.1% (from 4.0%), core 3.5%. The accommodation line FELL from 3.2% to 2.5% — the softest in the region. But petrol +28.5%, kerosene +31.2%, energy/fuel/utilities +14.3%. One easing worth pricing: international flights +17.0%, down from 24.1% in July. Real room-price change -1.6pp.","source":"UBOS, Consumer Price Indices and Inflation, August 2026","verified":true},{"group":"Inflation — cost of delivery","flag":"🇷🇼","metric":"Transport CPI vs Restaurants & Hotels CPI, annual (urban)","value":"Transport +24.2% · Restaurants & hotels +15.6%","change":"urban headline up every month since March","dir":"up","period":"August 2026 (y/y)","note":"Urban CPI 15.7% (14.5% July, 9.2% March); rural 16.0%; all-Rwanda 15.9%. Housing/water/electricity/gas/fuels +20.4%, food +16.3%, meat +36.7%, vegetables +24.7%. Core 11.5%; annual average 10.6%. Rwanda is the ONE market where operators have passed the shock through — real room-price change only -0.1pp — which is why Kigali is pricing out of the regional band rather than absorbing.","source":"NISR, Consumer Price Index August 2026, released 10 September 2026","verified":true},{"group":"Fuel — Kenya","flag":"🇰🇪","metric":"Super petrol (Nairobi)","value":"KSh 214.03/L","change":"unchanged for a second cycle — but landed cost FELL 7.87% to USD 874.26/m³","dir":"flat","period":"15 Sep – 14 Oct 2026","note":"THE DIRECTION REVERSED THIS CYCLE. Petrol’s landed cost fell 7.87% (USD 948.92 to USD 874.26/m³| July to August) and NONE of it reached the pump. Last cycle diesel users cross-subsidised petrol; this cycle petrol users fund the diesel and kerosene hold. Mombasa: KSh 210.87/L. The 8% VAT rate on petroleum expires 14 Oct 2026 — the same day the next review is announced. Model a step-up.","source":"EPRA, announced 14 Sep 2026, via The Kenya Times and EPRA_KE (x.com/EPRA_KE/status/2099483375656481255)","verified":true},{"group":"Fuel — Kenya","flag":"🇰🇪","metric":"Diesel (Nairobi)","value":"KSh 217.86/L","change":"unchanged — while landed cost ROSE 11.86% to USD 957.05/m³","dir":"flat","period":"15 Sep – 14 Oct 2026","note":"THE ENTRY THAT MATTERS. Diesel is the safari cost driver: game drives| transfers| generators| borehole pumps| supply runs. Its average landed cost rose 11.86% (USD 855.59 to USD 957.05/m³| July to August) and the pump price did not move a shilling. That gap is deferred| not avoided. Kenya deployed KSh 938m of Petroleum Development Levy Fund stabilisation in the 15 Aug–14 Sep cycle and KSh 945m the cycle before; no figure has yet been published for this one. Mombasa: KSh 214.58/L. Practical use: you have a KNOWN diesel cost to 14 Oct and no further — re-quote Q4 transfer supplements against 217.86 now and put a fuel-adjustment clause in anything signed before that date. Refuse a supplier fuel surcharge inside this cycle: the maximum retail price is unchanged.","source":"EPRA, announced 14 Sep 2026, via The Kenya Times; stabilisation precedent via People Daily / EPRA, Aug 2026","verified":true},{"group":"Fuel — Kenya","flag":"🇰🇪","metric":"Kerosene (Nairobi)","value":"KSh 191.38/L","change":"unchanged — while landed cost ROSE 9.71% to USD 1,003.87/m³","dir":"flat","period":"15 Sep – 14 Oct 2026","note":"Relevant to remote camps still running kerosene lighting or heating. Landed cost rose 9.71% (USD 915.01 to USD 1|003.87/m³| July to August) with no pass-through. Mombasa: KSh 188.09/L.","source":"EPRA, announced 14 Sep 2026, via The Kenya Times","verified":true},{"group":"Fuel — Kenya","flag":"🌍","metric":"Murban crude (benchmark)","value":"USD 67.99/bbl","change":"−USD 1.01 week-on-week","dir":"down","period":"week ending 2 Jul 2026","note":"The leading indicator for the next EPRA review. Murban is the crude Kenya's landed cost tracks; softening prices plus an easing geopolitical risk premium mean the August cycle is more likely to hold or fall than rise. Useful the next time a supplier tries to pass on a fuel surcharge.","source":"CBK Weekly Bulletin, 3 Jul 2026","verified":true},{"group":"Utilities","flag":"🇰🇪","metric":"Kenya electricity pass-through charges","value":"over KSh 5.00/kWh","change":"rising — fuel energy cost charge KSh 3.20/unit, forex adjustment KSh 1.48/unit","dir":"up","period":"July 2026 billing","note":"The quiet margin killer. The base tariff gets the headlines, but the monthly fuel-energy-cost and forex-adjustment charges now add more than KSh 5 to every unit, and they moved up again in July. For a property running pumps, cold rooms, laundry and air-conditioning this is a five-figure monthly swing that never shows up in a rate negotiation. Read the pass-through line on the bill, not the tariff band.","source":"EPRA monthly tariff adjustment, July 2026","verified":true},{"group":"Currency","flag":"🇰🇪","metric":"KES → USD","value":"129.30","change":"stable (129.63 prior week)","dir":"flat","period":"2 Jul 2026","note":"The single most important number for a USD-earning operator. Sustained shilling stability means a USD rate card converts predictably — but it also means you can no longer rely on currency drift to quietly absorb local cost inflation. Rate rises now have to be taken openly.","source":"Central Bank of Kenya weekly bulletin","verified":true},{"group":"Currency","flag":"🇰🇪","metric":"Kenya FX reserves","value":"USD 14,047m (6.0 months import cover)","change":"up from 5.6 months","dir":"down","period":"2 Jul 2026","note":"Cover jumped to six months, well above the four-month statutory floor. That lowers the risk of the kind of disorderly devaluation that wrecked 2023 cost bases. Good news for anyone importing linen, F&B or spares.","source":"Central Bank of Kenya weekly bulletin","verified":true},{"group":"Currency","flag":"🌍","metric":"KES → UGX","value":"28.36","change":"broadly flat","dir":"flat","period":"week avg to 2 Jul 2026","note":"Regional cross-rates matter for cross-border sourcing and for pricing regional guests.","source":"Central Bank of Kenya weekly bulletin","verified":true},{"group":"Currency","flag":"🌍","metric":"KES → TZS","value":"20.30","change":"broadly flat","dir":"flat","period":"week avg to 2 Jul 2026","note":"A stable cross-rate keeps Kenyan and Tanzanian product priced consistently against each other for regional buyers.","source":"Central Bank of Kenya weekly bulletin","verified":true},{"group":"Currency","flag":"🌍","metric":"KES → RWF","value":"11.31","change":"no movement","dir":"flat","period":"week avg to 2 Jul 2026","note":"Flat — but read it alongside Rwanda inflation below. A stable nominal cross-rate is masking a fast-rising domestic cost base in Kigali.","source":"Central Bank of Kenya weekly bulletin","verified":true},{"group":"Inflation","flag":"🇰🇪","metric":"Kenya CPI (annual)","value":"6.4%","change":"−0.3pt, second month of easing","dir":"down","period":"June 2026","note":"Easing from 6.7% in May as fuel and food moderate. But the split matters: core inflation is only 3.1% while non-core runs at 15.1% — the pressure is almost entirely energy, transport and food, exactly the lines a hotel kitchen and laundry carry. Headline relief is not margin relief.","source":"KNBS / CBK","verified":true},{"group":"Inflation","flag":"🇹🇿","metric":"Tanzania inflation (annual)","value":"4.0%","change":"−0.2pt from 4.2%","dir":"down","period":"June 2026","note":"Food inflation fell sharply to 4.1%, pulling the headline down. Transport is the outlier at +13.6% year-on-year. Tanzania and Zanzibar operators retain the region's most benign cost base — a real advantage to hold rate against.","source":"NBS Tanzania","verified":true},{"group":"Inflation","flag":"🇺🇬","metric":"Uganda inflation (annual)","value":"3.7%","change":"+0.5pt from 3.2%","dir":"up","period":"June 2026","note":"Still low in absolute terms, but the direction has turned and the driver is fuel: liquid energy fuels inflation hit 26.2% year-on-year, up from 16.6% in May, pushing passenger transport to 11.9%. For Ugandan lodges, transfer and generator costs are rising well ahead of the headline. Core firmed to 3.4%.","source":"UBOS","verified":true},{"group":"Inflation","flag":"🇷🇼","metric":"Rwanda urban inflation (annual)","value":"13.6%","change":"+0.7pt, third consecutive monthly acceleration","dir":"up","period":"June 2026","note":"The most serious cost story in the region and the one nobody is pricing. Kigali urban inflation has accelerated three months running, driven by health costs up 71.2% year-on-year, transport up 26% and housing, water, electricity and fuels up 20.5%. The twelve-month average is 9.3%. A Kigali property holding its 2025 USD rate card into 2027 is absorbing a double-digit local cost increase against a flat nominal RWF cross-rate. Rebuild the rate card rather than indexing it.","source":"NISR Rwanda","verified":true}]}}