Step by Step
Kenya 2025
We did it. Ever since we started playing with the idea of living in Mombasa, there was this one thought that never left our minds. Then we rented our dream apartment – and with it, the chance to bring that little wish of ours to life.
Our apartment has three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, and a large living area. It’s just the three of us (my partner, our cat, and I), and the place is spacious. We knew from the beginning that we’d occasionally have visitors – we already had a guest room back in Kisumu. But this time, we took it one step further!
We set up a guest room that’s now available on booking.com! We made our little dream of a cozy and welcoming guest room come true and took it online. Listing a room on Booking takes time, patience, and most of all, perseverance. But we powered through and filled out all sorts of completely irrelevant fields for our homestay. We took photos, then retook and improved them five times. We thought carefully about what we wanted to offer – and what would really work for us.
We registered the listing under my partner’s name, and Booking says that 98% of new accommodations receive a booking within the first week. I wished that for us – but didn’t really believe it.
Ding ding… 15 hours after going live, the first message came in:
“You have a booking for three nights!”
We couldn’t believe it. Our very first guests would arrive the next day and stay for three nights.
My partner got all excited – the room wasn’t yet exactly how he wanted it, and yet it was already ready. Then the guests arrived, and my partner fully embraced his role as host. We quickly organized a larger sofa and added chairs and a table to the dining area.
Everything happened so fast. As soon as the first guest and his two children checked out, we received another message:
“You have a last-minute booking!”
The next guests arrived the very same day and stayed for one night.
One booking after another came in. I could hardly believe it – and at the same time, I was incredibly happy. There were some cancellations, and twice guests didn’t show up. But as soon as we reported this, new bookings came in right away.
Right now, we’re hosting two young Ukrainians who are traveling the world and planning to spend between one and three months here. Starting Sunday, more bookings are lined up – one after the other.
What really brings us joy is that we’ve had guests both from Kenya and from other countries. All three of us are enjoying this new experience and look forward to everyone who walks through our door.
Our cat, Zawadi, always gives the shoes and suitcases a good sniff and inspects each guest thoroughly. We’ve already joked that she’s like our security cat – making sure everything that enters is "clean" 😉.
So with that said, you are warmly invited to visit us in Mombasa. We look forward to welcoming you!