A luxury property stewardship consultancy partnering with boutique hotels, villas, private estates and heritage properties across East Africa. We help owners protect long-term value, embed regenerative systems and operate with the quiet exactness of the finest hotels.
A diagnostic of condition, operations and sustainability. The starting point of every engagement.
Operating standards and quarterly oversight for independent hotels under fifty keys.
Discreet oversight of absentee homes and family estates — maintenance, gardens, vendors, guest readiness.
The quiet differentiator: water, waste, energy and sourcing systems that reduce footprint and cost.
Culturally sensitive stewardship for heritage and coastal properties — Stone Town, Lamu, the Swahili coast.
Three quiet examples of what a North & Ivory engagement looks like over twelve months. Properties anonymised. Numbers real.
A 22-key heritage boutique hotel where guest scores, housekeeping consistency and resource use had drifted. We rebuilt SOPs, embedded a regenerative system and held a quarterly cadence with the owner.
An absentee-owned family estate with eight bedrooms, two cottages and a small vineyard. We carried out a full stewardship audit, then took on quarterly oversight and vendor coordination on behalf of the owner.
A privately owned heritage house being restored to host a small number of guests each year. Our audit produced a preservation-led twelve-month plan, an artisan vendor shortlist and a salt-air maintenance protocol.
We hold long-term relationships with a small, intentional list of clients. Independent advice, written scopes, and quarterly conversations that protect long-term value.
About the studioLong-term relationships, named stewards, and the kind of confidentiality our clients build their lives around.
A written plan, a quarterly conversation, and decisions that protect long-term value over short-term gloss.
We leave every property measurably lighter on resources than we found it. It is the only way we know to work.
East African by design. Built on Swahili coastal hospitality, modern hotel craft, and a deep love of place.
Transparent pricing, no obligation. Most of our clients begin on Signature and tailor from there.
A full property survey, operational review and twelve-month stewardship plan. The way every relationship begins.
Ongoing stewardship: a named lead steward, quarterly on-property reviews, monthly reports and a direct line for the owner.
Full advisory and operational oversight for owners of multiple properties, family estates or boutique hospitality groups.
A two-to-five day on-property intensive that embeds the stewardship standard into housekeeping, front-of-house and ownership teams. Drawn from luxury hospitality practice and tuned for East African properties.
We deliberately keep our coverage tight, so a steward can be on-site within a day or two of any call — and so every property receives the same standard of care.
Not on the list? Speak to usWe hire slowly and deliberately. Each role below sits inside the practice today or is the next to join us — chosen so that every engagement remains personally led and never out-grown.
Owns the standards, SOPs and quarterly cadence behind every boutique hotel and lodge engagement.
Holds the relationship with absentee owners — preventive maintenance, gardens, vendors and guest readiness.
Designs and embeds the regenerative systems that lower footprint and operating cost on every engagement.
Artisan-led care, salt-air protocols and culturally sensitive design for heritage properties on the coast.
Holds the monthly reports, governance cadence and the direct line each owner has into the studio.
Runs the Stewardship Audit process and oversees renovation or pre-opening transitions where required.
“North & Ivory are the quietest, most thorough people we have worked with. Our boutique hotel finally feels like one organism rather than a hundred problems.”
“We bought a family estate we adore and barely visit. Their monthly report is the only piece of mail we read end to end.”
“They re-shaped our housekeeping, water and waste systems in a single audit. Three months later we are running quieter, kinder and more profitable.”
“Founded by Eva Wasonga, creator of Stawi Zanzibar and Tarawanda House in Stone Town, North & Ivory brings lived hospitality experience, regenerative thinking and refined East African property care into one discreet stewardship practice.”
Tell us a little about your place — we’ll respond personally with a tailored audit proposal within one working day.
Long-form reading on the rituals of stewardship — what we are learning from boutique hotels, family estates and heritage houses across East Africa. Delivered gently, never more than monthly.
Made with Emergent
