Skip to main content

Hosts & charter operators

Share your piece of Kwetu. Keep more of what you earn.

Kwetu is the home-grown marketplace for villas, cottages, fishing boats, and sunset cruises on the Kenyan coast. Lower fees than Airbnb and Booking.com, direct relationships with your guests, and real support from people who live here too.

Free to list

KES 0

Flat host fee

8%

Paid in

24 hrs

Supports

M-Pesa

Why host with us

Built for the Kwetu coast, run by people who live here. Lower fees and tools that actually work for Kenyan hosts.

Migrate in under two minutes

Paste any URL — Airbnb, Booking.com, FishingBooker, or your own website — and our AI imports the whole listing.

Keep more of what you earn

Pick 8% flat commission per booking, or switch to a flat monthly subscription and keep 100% of every stay.

Own the guest relationship

You get the guest's real name, phone number, and email from the moment they book.

Built for the Kwetu coast

Tide-aware charters, seasonal marlin runs, dhow sunset sails — the platform knows the rhythms of the Kenyan coast.

Two ways to pay

Commission, subscription, or mix and match

Each listing can be on its own plan. Keep low-volume listings on commission, move high-volume listings to a flat monthly fee — whatever earns you more.

Pay-as-you-earn

8%per booking

Fraction of Airbnb’s blended 14–16% and Booking.com’s 15–18%. Flat host service fee, deducted from the accommodation total only.

  • No fixed cost — pay only when you earn
  • Best for a handful of bookings a month
  • No commitment — switch plans any time
  • Payout next day via M-Pesa or bank transfer

Flat monthly subscription

Launch promo

KES 5,000/mo

First listing. Each extra listing KES 2,500/mo. Pay annually and get 12 months for the price of 10.

  • Zero commission — keep 100% of each booking
  • No guest-side service fee — more bookings
  • Predictable cost for high-volume listings
  • 2 free months for new subscribers during our launch promo

Break-even is roughly KES 750,000/year in bookings per listing. Above that, subscription saves you money. Switch back to commission any time.

You pick the plan per listing — inside the dashboard on Billing.

See how much you’d earn

Same booking volume, different platforms. Drag the sliders to match your own property.

See what you’d keep

Adjust the sliders to your situation and compare against the big platforms.

Based on 8% commission
KSh 15,000
KSh 3,000KSh 300,000
18
1 night30 nights
Monthly gross
KSh 270,000
Before platform commission, taxes and cleaning fees.
Kwetu
8% commission
You
Monthly payout
KSh 248,400
Annual payout
KSh 2,980,800
Airbnb
15% commission
Monthly payout
KSh 229,500
Annual payout
KSh 2,754,000
Booking.com
16% commission
Monthly payout
KSh 226,800
Annual payout
KSh 2,721,600
Extra in your pocket every year
vs AirbnbKSh 226,800
vs Booking.comKSh 259,200
AI-powered

Paste a URL — we do the rest

Already listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, FishingBooker, or your own website? Drop in the link and our AI reads the page, pulls every detail and photo, and lets you approve each field before it’s saved.

The AI saves a draft — nothing publishes without your say-so.

Import an existing listing
https://airbnb.com/rooms/|
Fetching page
Parsing title & description
Extracting 24 photos
Detecting amenities
Drafting listing — ready to review

How it works

Most hosts go from URL to live listing in a single afternoon.

01

Paste a URL — we do the rest

Drop in any listing link. Our AI reads the page, pulls every detail and photo, and lets you approve each field before it's saved.

02

We verify ownership

A quick human check confirms you own or manage the listing. Most hosts are approved within 24 hours.

03

Set your price and calendar

Choose nightly or trip pricing, add seasonal rates, pick commission or subscription, and sync your existing calendar.

04

Welcome your first guest

Bookings come in, guests pay securely, and your payout lands in M-Pesa or your bank the day after check-in.

What you get

Calendar sync & availability

Two-way iCal sync keeps Airbnb, Booking.com and Kwetu in step. Block dates once, applied everywhere.

Direct guest messaging

Chat with guests before and after booking. Full name, email and phone from the start.

Multi-listing dashboard

Manage villas, cottages, boats and charters from one place. Per-listing billing, per-listing pricing.

Next-day payouts

Payouts the day after check-in via M-Pesa, KES bank transfer or international wire. Not 30 days later.

Secure guest payments

Guests pay by card, M-Pesa or bank transfer. We handle disputes, refunds and chargebacks so you don't have to.

Real Kwetu support

WhatsApp a human on the coast — not a chatbot in another continent. We answer evenings and weekends.

Frequently asked questions

What does it cost to list?+

Listing is free. You choose how we charge you: a flat 8% host service fee on confirmed bookings, or a flat monthly subscription (KES 5,000/month for your first listing, KES 2,500/month for each additional one). Mix and match per listing. No sign-up charge, no cost to import.

Which plan should I pick — commission or subscription?+

Commission (8%) is best if you take a handful of bookings a month. The flat monthly subscription is best if a single listing grosses roughly KES 750,000/year or more in bookings — above that, you pay less on subscription than on commission. You can switch plans any time per listing, and new subscribers get two free months during our launch promo.

How does the AI import actually work?+

Paste the URL of your existing listing — Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, FishingBooker, Google Sites, Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, anything. Our AI fetches the page, reads the content, and generates a draft listing with description, amenities, pricing hints, location, and all the photos.

What if the AI gets something wrong?+

The AI saves as a draft — it doesn't publish anything automatically. After the import, you land on the edit page for each listing where you can fix the name, description, tick the right amenities, pin your exact location on the map, upload extra photos, set pricing, and add trip packages or house rules.

How does this compare to Airbnb or Booking.com?+

Airbnb's blended commission is typically 14–16% split between host and guest; Booking.com commonly charges 15–18% to the host. We charge 8% total to the host — or 0% on subscription — and nothing hidden from the guest. Most of our hosts earn 8–12% more per booking on the same nightly rate.

Do I have to be exclusive?+

No. Keep your Airbnb, Booking.com or FishingBooker listing as long as you want — calendar sync keeps everything in one place.

Who are the guests?+

A mix of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kilifi weekenders, East African expats, European beach-and-safari travellers, and sport-fishing tourists.

What properties or boats can I list?+

Villas, apartments, cottages, bandas, bungalows, penthouses, guest houses, sport-fishing boats, dhows, catamarans, sunset cruise boats, diving boats — if it's on or near the Kwetu coast and you own or legally manage it, you can list it.

How do I get paid?+

M-Pesa, Kenyan bank transfer (KES), or international wire (USD/EUR). Payouts are released the day after check-in — not 30 days later like some platforms.

Is there a minimum commitment?+

None. Pause, unlist or delete your listing any time from your dashboard. You're in control.

Your coast. Your guests. Your listing, your way.

Set up takes ten minutes. Your first booking could be by the weekend. Join the hosts already earning more and working less.