Airbnbs increase pressure on hotels as Kenyans search for cheaper facilities

Mainstream hotels are being given a run for their money by Airbnbs. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The pressure of Airbnbs on major establishments in the country hit a new high last year after hotel bed occupancy in the coastal hinterlands and Maasailand more than doubled as Kenyans sought cheaper facilities to enjoy the beach and national parks.

The latest government data show the two areas that attract a big number of tourists witnessed the highest growth in bed occupancy last year.

Bed-night occupancy in facilities in the coastal hinterland – the land that is not on the beachfront- increased to 165,800 last year from 62,300, a twofold jump.

On their part, occupancy in Masailand also doubled to 727,300 from 362,300 in 2021.

“This was mainly due to the increased number of visitor arrivals as well as increased visits to national parks and game reserves,” the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) stated.

The number of visitors to national parks and game reserves also rose by 69.1 percent to 2.54 million from 1.5 million in 2021, just 14.5 percent shy from 2019-visits and highlighting the resumption of global travel and interest in visiting attraction sites by locals.

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Visitors to Tsavo West, Lake Nakuru, Maasai Mara and Impala Sanctuary more than doubled to 62.6, 185.1, 249.9 and 235.0 thousand in 2022, from 28.6, 79.6, 119.5 and 117.4 thousand in 2021 respectively.

The increase in coastal hinterland comes amid rising listing of lodging spaces on platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo as people continue to turn their extra bedrooms and entire homes into homestays for travellers, with some even buying apartments for the purpose of renting them out.

The pandemic period had cut holiday visits to the majority of these areas due to restrictions on movement and reduced travel and spending by Kenyans and foreigners.

Coastal hinterland surpassed 2019 levels – considered the best year for the tourism sector- at 112,000-bed night occupancy to 165,800 in 2022.

This, and the Central zone also exceeded pre-pandemic records growing from 947,900 occupancy to 1.03 million last year.

Data from vacation rental research firm AirDNA shows the number of rentals in Mombasa was 3,865 in the quarter that ended March this year with an average daily rate of $50 (Sh6,843), from 2,832 rentals in the same period in 2022.

In Kwale County with destinations such as Diani, the number of listings was 1,555 at an occupancy rate of 58 percent and $100 (Sh13,687) average daily rate, from 1,321 in a similar quarter in 2022,

Even though not at the beachfront, most of these holiday homes are located near the beach, and host services such as swimming pools, and gyms, some have chefs, drivers, housekeepers, and security guards, just like in hotels.

Airbnb has been popular among travellers seeking affordable accommodation, convenient location and household amenities, with the thriving business of holiday homes seen threatening the mainstream hotel industry.

However, the statistics bureau data shows the coastal beach remained the most preferred destination for tourists, with hotel bed nights at 2.24 million, rising by 19.3 percent from 1.97 million in 2021, which majority being domestic tourists.

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The number of hotel bed-nights occupied in Nairobi high class rose by 29.2 per cent to 1.30 million from 1.01 million in 2021.

Western was the only zone that recorded a decline in bed occupancy with an 11.9 percent drop to 338,100.

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