Details Of Networking Event By Kenyan Airbnb Professionals

Hosts and agents of popular short vacation stays dubbed Airbnbs are inviting others in their capacity to a networking event to be held in Diani, Kwale County on Saturday, November 19.

According to a poster advert seen by Viral Tea, the event will take place at Kivuli Villas in Diani and will bring together a team of panellists drawn from short stays organizations and vacation companies.

"Are you a short-term rental host or agent? Join fellow hosts and agents, and network, have fun by the beach, learn from those who have made strides, share your story and be part of the birth of a milestone, the launch of an association.

"Together we can change the narrative of the business industry, we are better together," reads an invite by Vacation Homes by Hosts and Agents which can be accessed through its Google Form here.

A poster inviting Kenyans to a networking event organized by hosting professionals. /FILE

Those interested will part with Ksh1,000 registration and will get the following benefits:

1. Understanding the current Short Term Rental (STR) dynamics.
2. Digital Marketing insights.
3. Understanding the concept of Agency and the role of the Agent.
4. Understanding the booking platforms.
5. Understanding regulation compliance.
6. Community service.
7. Team building, beach volleyball and pool party. 

The theme for this year is Smart Networking for sustainable hosting. Viral Tea spoke to one of the hosting professionals and an excerpt of the interview is as follows:

1. For some years, the hosting business has become quite popular around the world and in Kenya. What makes it so?

1. Airbnbs have offered alternative accommodation options that meet the desires of people who want to enjoy a vacation, staycation or workcation in a more homely atmosphere, with some privacy at pocket-friendly prices
2. Something interesting we have come to learn; Depression and mental health. A number of people with depression and mental health prefer Airbnbs since they still feel at home there and also one is able to travel and live with their support pets such as animals.
3. Increased lifestyle diseases vis a vis the inaccessibility of specialized referral hospitals for treatment. In the past, we have seen Airbnbs converted into convalescent wards complete with nurses since the patients come from rural areas and specialised treatment can only be found in specific urban areas.
4. Frequent business travellers. As workers travel around the world for work, there has been a need to travel with family, however, hotels' budgets prove to be too costly to accommodate the workers’ families. Airbnbs offer pocket-friendly packages that allow families to travel together and thanks to working and studying remotely, you can travel and work from anywhere.

2. How did the covid-19 pandemic fuel/not influence the uptake of this business? (What worked during covid-19? Is it working now?)

1. The COVID pandemic was a game changer in the Airbnb sector. Most countries imposed a self-isolation policy which saw most hotels overwhelmed with the big number of incoming clients, especially around major airports. The spillover made Airbnbs more popular as these were more affordable than hotels since the 21-day requirement would have proven too costly for a budget traveller.
2. Most establishments other than Airbnbs were not able to achieve seclusion and social distancing. Airbnbs offered affordable and secure places for people who needed to be quarantined.
3. The Self-catering option offered by Airbnbs fueled their demand since it was convenient, and had lower risks of Covid-19 transmission.
4. Covid-19 also resulted in many people working and studying remotely. Airbnbs offered and continue to offer a homely setting to facilitate this.
5. Working and studying remotely is still in play for the Airbnb sector however the demand seems to have gone down as opposed to them going up; with demand falling to around 60 per cent from around 120 per cent. This is not however a deterrent since other factors are fuelling the rapid rise of Airbnbs. Most Kenyans for instance have discovered that they can go on holiday in Airbnbs of course with various Airbnb support staff such as chefs and excursionists in play. Airbnbs have become very common to holidaymakers. When one door closes definitely another opens up and that's what happened to the Airbnb industry.

3. As this business model grows, what challenges are you as hosts experiencing? Give some instances where clients/guests have had terrible experiences

Theft :

Case 1: Recently, along Thika road Airbnbs, we had a number of cases where clients would book an apartment and pose as photographers.  Later the host would get a call that the client in the house has been drugged. Upon rushing to their house they would find electronics, and household items stolen

Fraud:

Case 1: Fraudsters posing as agents:

Hosts usually circulate their photos online; some people pick the photos and sell them to clients without the hosts’ knowledge. They agree and the client wires the money to the ‘agent’.  The client goes ahead and shows up at the house and calls the host who is not aware and to their shock, someone played a game. One of our members went through this twice on the same day.

Case 2: We have people who would call, and mostly pretend to be outside the country. They would negotiate with the host and possibly agree on an amount such as Kshs200,000. They would then send you a Cheque that will bounce. Later they would call and tell you that they have actually sent Ksh300,000 because they would like you to wire say Ksh70,000 to someone in the country (and mostly its someone in need) and Ksh30,000 is your ‘’inconvenience fee’’. If one transferred the money they would end up losing their money.

Case 3: A ‘client’ will call a host and request them to organize their pick-up at the Airport. Upon arrival at the airport, the client proceeds to say they are stuck at Immigration and require some cash, if the host sends the cash, the client switches off their phone and the host loses their money. It’s a new way they are using to defraud unknowing hosts.

Case 4: Normally hosts have daily, weekly and long stay rates. Usually, the latter is highly discounted. A client checks in and requests a monthly rate, then instead of paying upfront, they say they will pay in instalments. The first down payment is done promptly, the second probably the same and after that late payment starts. They fail to pay the third week, a host bears with them, they get to the 4^th week, the client still does not pay, and the host gets agitated and starts to demand their cash. One early morning or late night, the client vanishes the host gets blocked by the client and they lose their cash.

Lack of honesty and Integrity

Unfortunately, we have hosts who send photos that are not of the house that they are advertising or offering to the client. So the client gets to the house and what they were promised is not available.

There have also been cases of clients experiencing poor customer service and not-so-clean or up-to-standard services eg mattress condition, mosquito-infested rooms that do not have mosquito nets or repellants etc.

Hosting professionals during a past networking event. /FILE

Some hosts especially those who have Airbnb’s far from where they reside usually depend on guards or cleaners of the particular Apartment to check in clients and monitor the houses. Sadly some of the guards/cleaners have taken advantage of that and will check in clients without the host’s knowledge, get paid clean the house and move on like no client ever checked in.

Hosts and Agents' relationship

There is no standard of practice or regulation on how much agents should mark up or how much commission they should be paid after getting a client on behalf of the host. This has led to some friction between some agents and hosts.

1. Pricing
2. Regulation

All Airbnb ought to be regulated by Tourism Regulatory Authority. However, most are not and they attribute this to the high annual fee of Ksh26,000 and licensing requirements, e.g. Insurance.

4. How will you who are in the legit business ensure that you mitigate your businesses against fraudsters and other scammers?

Compliance

All Airbnb hosts and agents need to register with the appropriate authorities. This helps in manning a database and in case of anything one can be tracked.

Legislation

A time has come for Airbnbs to be recognized by the government. For such a long time it has been a quiet sector with no clear guidelines from the government and most particularly parliament. There is confusion as to whether Airbnbs fall under the Ministry of Tourism (since the licensing of units is done by the Tourism Regulatory Authority) or under the Ministry of Lands (since Airbnbs agents are licensed by the real estate regulatory authority.)It would be prudent if the air is cleared on who is in charge of the Airbnb sector in Kenya.

5. How do you plan to weed out those who are spoiling the business from among/within yourselves?

As an Association we intend to work with the authorities to ensure all Airbnb hosts and agents are licensed and certified after the vetting process.

We shall create an online database that enlists all licensed and certified hosts and agents.

We intend to bring hosts and agents together and agree on standards of practice that we shall use to promote service excellence as well as protect and promote short-term rentals as ideal options for staying, working and vacationing. As an association we shall then have an area representative who will be doing routine checks to ensure what will be agreed upon is upheld

For clients, the association shall encourage all hosts to have a check-in list that incorporates a booking form to confirm particulars of the clients and ensure payment is done upfront or there is a written agreement on the payment terms.

6. As a business that is largely unregulated and has weak/no structures, what's the way forward for ensuring hosting services maintain excellence while still serving the customers/guests?

Regulation and arbitration

The Association will ensure we have self-regulation policies as well as a code of ethics that will promote service excellence.

The Association will also have a dispute and resolution team that will be in charge of handling grievances between hosts, agents and clients, amicably.

There shall also be a suggestion/ feedback forum with clients to listen to their experiences and areas of improvement.

There shall be introduced the first short-term rental Awards (competition) where hosts and agents will identify those that are doing exemplary. This will motivate the rest of the participants to keep doing their best.

The association shall hold negotiation talks with relevant authorities on creating a conducive and favourable environment that will promote sustainable hosting.

Training and Capacity Building

The association shall organize for development training for members eg customer service, and how to take good quality photos for your housing unit.

Pricing and profitability are important to ensure sustainable hosting. Most hosts see their friends doing it or hear it’s a good business and invest in the sector blindly. Just like any other investment, bookkeeping and profit making is important therefore the association shall invite experts within and without the industry to shed more light on money matters, investments and profitability

Financial development

The association intends to start the first hosts and agents SACCO that will see members come together, pool resources and invest as well as get financial support with favourable rates that will see members expand and grow.

Networking forums:

The association will provide a networking forum for all stakeholders such as the upcoming Diani event, on Nov 19th that seeks to bring hosts and agents across the county to learn from each other, share experiences, uplift each other and listen to experts who have made strides.

The association aims to introduce exchange programs and collaborations with associations beyond Kenya, e.g sending hosts and agents to Uganda and exchanging ideas, learning from them as well

Hosting professionals during a past networking event. /FILE