Launching 2026 · Kenya's Airbnb marketplace, built by Kenyan operators. Get early access →
Kenya's Airbnb Marketplace

Stay like a local.
Pay direct. Pay less.

Airbnb short stays, holiday rentals, hotels and hostels across Nairobi, Mombasa, Diani, Lamu, Naivasha and beyond — booked direct from real Kenyan hosts. M-Pesa native. No middleman markups. Money goes straight to the host.

✓ Direct M-Pesa payment ✓ No middleman commission ✓ Real Kenyan hosts
Tropical Airbnb interior — Diani Beach villa
Modern living room — Kenyan Airbnb
M
M-Pesa STK Push Pay direct, in seconds
Are you a host? Preview what your custom website will look like →
Click to view your custom website
Browse by category

Every kind of Airbnb short stay in Kenya.

From Airbnb-style apartments in Westlands to beach villas in Diani, boutique hotels in the Mara to budget apartments in Nakuru — find a place that fits.

🏢

Short-Stay Apartments Airbnb

Furnished apartments, studios, 1-2BR units. Per-night and weekly rates. The bread and butter of Kenya's Airbnb scene.

Browse stays →
🏝

Holiday Rentals Airbnb

Beach villas, cottages, country homes. Airbnb-style independent stays from individual Kenyan hosts.

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⛺

Hotels & Lodges

Boutique hotels, lodges and small resorts. Service-led stays with restaurants, pools and full amenities.

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Hostels & Backpackers

Dorm beds, private rooms, social common spaces. Affordable stays for solo travelers and groups.

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Trending now

Airbnb short stays our travelers love.

Hand-picked Airbnb-style apartments, holiday rentals, hotels and hostels from across Kenya.

Kenya-wide

Find a stay in your city

From the coast to the highlands — Kenya covered. Kutoka pwani hadi milima.

Nairobi
— properties
Silicon Savannah
Mombasa
— properties
The Coast 🏖️
Kisumu
— properties
Lakeside City
Nakuru
— properties
Rift Valley
Eldoret
— properties
Champions' City 🏃
Other towns
— properties
Kenya-wide
Lipa na M-Pesa

Pay the Kenyan way — M-Pesa

Pay instantly with M-Pesa STK push — or reserve now and pay later. Simple, instant, 100% Kenyan. No cards, no foreign-payment headaches.

📱
STK push to your phoneEnter your M-Pesa number, confirm the prompt, done — no USSD codes to remember.
⚡
Instant confirmation under 60 secondsPayment confirmed, receipt to your phone, host notified — in under a minute.
💚
Money goes straight to the hostPaid direct to the host's M-Pesa or Paybill — Tenari never holds your funds.
🗓️
Book now or pay laterPay instantly, or reserve and settle with the host later. Your choice.
↩️ Refunds are arranged directly between host and guest.
Booking Summary
Secure checkout
Luxury Penthouse — Kilimani
📍 Nairobi · Entire apartment
KES 9,500 / night
KES 9,500 × 2 nightsKES 19,000
Cleaning feeKES 500
Platform feeKES 0 · always free
Total
KES 19,500
…or reserve now & pay the host later
Real-time sync

Check-out here. Booked there.

When a host checks a guest out, the unit appears on shortstayskenya.com AND on their webpage. When a guest checks in, it disappears from both. Zero manual work.

→

Guest checks out

Host clicks "check out" in their TENari dashboard at end of stay.

→
✓

Auto-published

Unit appears as bookable on both sites within seconds.

shortstayskenya.com Live · Bookable
host.shortstayskenya.com Live · Bookable
→
●

Guest checks in

Unit disappears from both surfaces. Calendar locks the dates.

Where Kenyans stay

From coast to conservancy.

The places that define Kenyan hospitality.

Diani Beach

Diani Beach

Kwale County · Airbnb villas, hotels, hostels
Nairobi

Nairobi

Airbnb apartments, boutique hotels
Lamu Old Town

Lamu Island

Swahili stone houses
Naivasha

Naivasha

Lakefront cottages, lodges
Watamu

Watamu

Coral garden villas
For hosts

Your Airbnb stays. Your domain. Your direct bookings.

Every host gets their own branded webpage on Short Stays Kenya — a public website showing only their listings, with their logo, photos and pricing. Share it on WhatsApp, on Instagram, on your business card. Send guests direct.

🔒
https://karibu-villas.shortstayskenya.com
  • ✓ Your own webpage, live in under a minute
  • ✓ Real-time availability synced from your TENari dashboard
  • ✓ Guests book and pay you direct — M-Pesa straight to your till
  • ✓ Same listings auto-appear on shortstayskenya.com (umbrella reach)
  • ✓ Clickable WhatsApp + Google Maps location pill per unit
  • ✓ Optional custom domain (yourbrand.com) on Premium tier
See a live preview
🔒karibu-villas.shortstayskenya.com

Karibu Villas Diani

Diani Beach · 4 properties
Beachfront Suite
KES 8,500/night
Available
Ocean View 2BR
KES 12,000/night
Available
Garden Cottage
KES 6,200/night
Booked
Family Villa
KES 14,500/night
Available
Host onboarding

What you'll need to get started.

Under 30 minutes from sign-up to your first listing live — if you have everything ready.

01

Business details

Your business or trading name (will appear as your webpage), contact phone (WhatsApp), email, and physical location of your properties.

02

Property photos

5-10 high-quality photos per unit: interior shots (bedrooms, living, kitchen, bathroom) and exterior (entrance, view, pool/garden). We provide guidance on shot list and lighting.

03

Unit descriptions

Per-unit: name, type, sleeps how many, bedrooms, beds, bathrooms, key amenities (Wi-Fi, AC, kitchen, parking, pool), house rules.

04

Pricing

Nightly rate (KES), weekend pricing, weekly discount, cleaning fee, minimum nights. Adjust per season — TENari handles dynamic pricing automatically once you set rules.

05

M-Pesa Daraja credentials

Your paybill or till number, Daraja consumer key + secret. Don't have them yet? We help you apply during onboarding (~2-3 weeks for Safaricom approval). Listings show "Contact direct" until activated.

06

Location pin per unit

Google Maps coordinates or pinned location for each property. Guests get a clickable location pill on your webpage that opens directly in their maps app.

07

House rules & cancellation policy

Check-in/check-out times, smoking, pets, parties, additional guests. Pick from preset cancellation policies or write your own. We make it clear to guests at booking.

08

Branding (optional)

Your logo and primary color for your webpage. Defaults to TENari branding if you skip — you can add yours anytime.

WhatsApp magic

Vacancy broadcast in one tap

When a guest checks out, Short Stays Kenya auto-composes a vacancy message with your photos, available dates, price, and a direct booking link. Share to 2 WhatsApp groups in one tap — reach hundreds of guests instantly.

🔔
Auto-triggered on checkout
The moment a guest checks out, your vacancy message is ready to share — no manual work.
📸
Photos + booking link included
Your best photos, the price, and a direct link guests can book from (M-Pesa or pay later).
👥
Share to 2 groups of your choice
Property groups, referral networks, estate groups — wherever your future guests are.
Powered by TENari

List once. Earn more. Stop paying Airbnb 15%.

TENari is the property management system behind Short Stays Kenya. Manage your bookings, payments, statutory compliance and reporting in one place — and get free distribution on shortstayskenya.com as part of your subscription.

Preview your site
FAQ

Questions, answered honestly.

If something's not clear, talk to us on WhatsApp.

When do you actually launch? +
2026. We're onboarding the first wave of Kenyan hosts now — boutique hotels, hostels, short-stay (Airbnb-style) operators, and individual holiday-rental hosts across Nairobi, the coast, and the Rift Valley. Get on the waitlist to be notified when your first listings go live.
How is this different from Airbnb or Booking.com? +
Three real differences: (1) We don't take 15-20% from hosts — they keep their pricing and we charge a subscription instead. (2) Payments go direct from guest to host via M-Pesa STK push. We never hold your money. (3) We're built specifically for the Kenyan market — Swahili, KES, EAT, M-Pesa, WhatsApp, statutory compliance. Not a foreign tool with a Kenya skin.
How do payments work? Where does my money go? +
When you book, an M-Pesa STK push prompt arrives on your phone for the host's till number. Funds go directly to the host — Short Stays Kenya never touches the money. The host gets paid in seconds. You get an M-Pesa receipt as confirmation.
I'm a property owner — how do I get listed? +
Sign up for TENari (our property management system). Pick the plan that matches your property type. Configure your M-Pesa Daraja credentials. Choose your webpage. Publish your units. They appear immediately on your webpage AND on the shortstayskenya.com umbrella. Total time: under 30 minutes if you have your Daraja credentials ready.
What if I don't have M-Pesa Daraja credentials yet? +
You'll need a Safaricom Daraja merchant account (paybill or till number) to accept direct payments. Application takes 2-3 weeks via Safaricom — we help you with it. In the meantime, listings show "Contact host directly" and you take bookings via WhatsApp + manual M-Pesa. Once Daraja is approved, online bookings activate automatically.
How do I add photos to my webpage? +
For the first wave of hosts (now through mid-2026), photos are sent to us via WhatsApp during onboarding — 5-10 photos per unit, ideally 1200px wide or larger. We review for quality, lightly edit if needed, and upload them to your webpage within 24 hours. Once your listings are live, the same photos appear automatically on the shortstayskenya.com umbrella. Later this year, TENari dashboard will get a self-service photo uploader so you can drag-drop photos and have them appear instantly on both surfaces — no waiting for us.
What does it cost to list? +
TENari subscription pricing depends on your plan and tier. Public listings on shortstayskenya.com are included in every subscription — no separate fee, no per-booking commission. Tiers range from IRON (small operators) to PLATINUM_PLUS (large multi-property). Talk to us on WhatsApp for current pricing.
Karibu

Kenya's home for short stays

Join thousands of hosts and guests making the most of Kenya's growing short-stay market. Lipa M-Pesa, pata nyumba, furahia.

Find a Stay Now List Your Property

No registration fees · Kenya-wide listings

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