As more young people adopt short-stay hosting as a side hustle or full-time venture, their stories reveal the reality behind the growing Airbnb economy.
As unemployment grows and the cost of living climbs, young Kenyans are rethinking how they earn.
While some turn to short stay rentals as a full time source of income, others juggle it alongside regular jobs as an extra stream of cash, especially during the holiday seasons.
What many of them have in common is the simple starting point. They begin with what they already have, including their own homes. According to research by platforms such as AirROI, short stay rentals in Kenya have grown rapidly in recent years. The data-analytics platform that collects and analyses publicly available Airbnb short-term rental data reveals that there are between 3,700 and 4,000 Airbnb/short stay properties in Nairobi alone.
As more young people adopt short-stay hosting as a side hustle or full-time venture, their stories reveal the reality behind the growing Airbnb economy.
Norah Masibo, 27, a host from Bamburi in Mombasa County, says the need for financial independence pushed her to start renting out her bedsitter, a move that eventually grew into multiple fully furnished units she no longer lives in.
The rise of short-term rentals, propelled by platforms such as Airbnb, has revolutionised the hospitality industry and transformed the way people travel.
“I began with my bedsitter, just a bed and a few essentials. Whenever bookings came, I was forced to move out immediately and stayed with friends because I couldn’t afford another place. I would shift from house to house for weeks, but I kept going because all I wanted was financial independence,” says Norah.
She says that once she listed her space, she realised guests expected more than the basics, and that motivated her to slowly add amenities she did not have when she first started.
Ms Masibo says that during peak seasons at the coast, she can earn up to Sh150,000 in profit, with November consistently standing out as one of her best-performing months since she began hosting. She notes that although hosting initially meant allowing strangers into her personal living space, it also came with unexpected advantages.
Some guests would leave behind unused groceries, helping her cut costs while she still lived in the same unit.
She adds that perishables are usually shared with her housekeepers, while non-perishable items remain for the next guest, ensuring they have a comfortable start when they check in, before buying their own.
“When I started, that was still my house, so whatever the guests left behind became mine. I used to lock one closet with my things and leave another for guests. Now that I have housekeepers, perishables are shared with them, and non-perishables like sugar or coffee stay for the next guest. It creates a cycle because every guest leaves something that helps the next one settle in,” says Norah.
Martha Munyeki, another youth who now runs Triple E M Suites, a company managing short-stay rentals across the country, says she first ventured into the business simply as a way to survive.
Martha, who previously lived in Mombasa, says she quit her job to pursue freelance work. When opportunities dwindled due to the rise of artificial intelligence, she turned to renting out her space, a period she describes as both challenging and interesting.
Unexpected perks
She recalls the early days of hosting, saying, “When it comes to international guests, some stay much longer, the longest I’ve hosted was two to three months. I had no family or close friends in Mombasa to crash with, so whenever I had a booking, I would pack up and travel to Nairobi to stay with my sisters and only return when the guest left. Luckily, my first two guests were long-term, which made managing it a bit easier.”
Just like Ms Masibo, she explains that hosting sometimes comes with unexpected perks, recalling her first client who was very particular about cutlery and went ahead to buy an exquisite set, only to leave it behind when traveling back.
She says that the food and personal items left behind by guests were helpful when she was sharing her space. Sometimes, these items would be shared between her and her caretakers.
The entry point for young hosts into the business varies significantly. While Norah and Martha made the high-stakes personal sacrifice of repeatedly vacating their homes for income at the beginning, others approached the market with a more calculated, investment-based strategy.
Duncan Kweyu, who does this as a part-time venture, said he did not start with a house he lived in, but combined efforts with friends to rent a house and furnish it to list as a short-stay rental at the coast. The approach of renting a new apartment, however, introduces complex regulatory and legal friction.
Duncan reveals that his team also started from scratch with a rental space. But this required critical negotiation with the landlord to sublet.
"With regards to the premises for the Airbnb, it's actually a rental space where we've agreed with the landlord to allow us to sublet because most of these establishments do not advocate for this as such," says Duncan.
While hosts like Norah, Martha, and Duncan found ways to mitigate the personal sacrifice and reap big in the business, they say they have had to adapt to dealing with hurdles that define the true cost of success in this competitive market.
Duncan explains that although the rewards outweigh the challenges, he once faced a major setback when subtenants stole high-value items, including a TV, fridge, and microwave.
‘Crazy week’
“It was a crazy week, and the client was just a referral, yet they ended up taking a few items. Your property—cups, plates, anything—can be at risk. It’s a challenge, but we try to implement security measures,” says Duncan, explaining he did not sublet through the app, which he describes as very strict.
Despite taking precautions, Norah confirms that dealing with unruly guests and property damage is a normal part of the business. She recalls the worst incident as a guest breaking the glass sliding door of her unit.
Reflecting on her early days of sharing her space, she admits that safety was secondary to her primary goal.
"My mind was just on making money... and financial independence. It didn't matter. As long as my things were kept safe, the rest was just like, money is what matters here," says Norah.
Despite not having unruly guests, Martha says she struggles with booking cancellations, which she says adds a layer of operational risk to her business.
Short-term rentals have been around for decades, often morphing and taking different forms over time.
Unlike platforms that handle these matters automatically, Martha, who manages short-stay rentals for others, deals directly with the friction caused by late cancellations.
Her company requires a 50 per cent non-refundable deposit to reserve a unit, effectively blocking off potential business. When clients cancel close to the check-in date, Martha is forced into a strategic dilemma.
"You don't want to frustrate the clients with the refund because, based on the cancellation policy, the 50 per cent deposit is non-refundable... but also refunding the client that deposit means you've lost business because if the unit was open for the bookings, you could have gotten another booking,” says Martha, explaining her dilemma.
Martha goes on to add that at times, some guests have very particular needs and will rate certain apartments poorly, thereby affecting the room’s overall rating and outlook.
Now, with their systems established and their lessons learned, these young entrepreneurs are looking ahead, not just at surviving, but at professionalising their operations.
Operating environment
Duncan believes the business may yet achieve some growth if only the government would work on systems to improve the operating environment for all hosts.
More critically, he calls upon the county government to address basic infrastructure failings that severely impact profitability.
“Simple things, like water in Mombasa, are a real challenge—trust me. We can’t get clean water regularly, so you have to pay extra to provide it, which eats into your profit margins,” says Duncan.
While Norah asserts this is the best path to expanding her income stream and achieving financial independence, Martha undescores the importance of understanding guests' needs in a short stay house.
She adds that the future of the short-stay rental market in Kenya is characterised by growing demand despite increasing competition. She acknowledges that while there are “a lot of Airbnbs in the market currently,” the business will continue to grow because the “demand is increasing as well.”
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