Homestays

Homestay is a unique hospitality system in which a visitor stays with a family and as such become a member of the family. It aims at equipping a visitor with the knowledge of the hosts’ way of life such as the agricultural system, folk arts, sculptures sports and cuisine.

A homestay is not a hotel, motel nor a typical B & B. It is a non commercialized, private residence with paying guests who enjoy staying in the comfort and security of a family home. Further, these guests will stay in the family home for an extended period of time. Home stay is a home owner-occupied private residence where the primary aim is residence, and the secondary purpose is providing accommodation to a few paying guests. It is safe, affordable housing for visitors looking to experience and learn the host’s lifestyle. 

A home stay is typically located in a residential area where the Home stay host welcomes one or more guests to share their home. The home owner may have one or more rooms to rent. It is usually a very relaxed type of accommodation, keeping the majority of space for the hosts family.

Background Information

Until recently when the revolutionary concept of homestays’ ownership was introduced in Kenya, relatively few people have ventured into the business. It has become clear that there is need to add a variety and flexibility to the homestays product. While many people are attracted to the idea, majority are still sceptical and are reluctant to commit themselves to profiling for fear of being overburdened by regulatory requirements.

The prime objective of homestay product profiling remains, nurturing the idea for facilitation and development of acceptable standards coupled with packaging for promotion and marketing purposes. The homestays niche product will further enhance the envisaged increase in bed capacity countrywide as well as enable tourists plan their holiday trips to various regions of the Country.

Since this the first edition, it might not have been comprehensive in capturing all the existing homestays within the regions due to lack of information and accessibility. Similarly, although focus is on homestays, some establishment’s operating under various names ranging from guest houses, resorts or farmsteads providing accommodation, bed and breakfast in a countryside environment within homes or village are essentially homestays.

Homestays thus are a unique hospitality system under home owner-occupied private residence, where the primary aim is residence, and the secondary purpose is providing accommodation to a few paying guests. The tourist stays with the family as a member of the family. The homes become a safe, affordable housing for visitors looking forward to experiencing and enjoying the host’s cultural lifestyle. A homestay is typically located in a residential area within a village, community or urban environment. The home owner may have one or more rooms to rent. It is usually a very relaxed type of accommodation, keeping the majority of space for the Hosts family.

In in our profiling, attempt is made to compile identified operational Homestays suitable for accreditation and implementation of approved standards guideline. The profiling is intended to capture at least 100 homestays for every 47 counties organized into major tourist circuits. The Kenya Homestay 2014 data base contains existing homestays product information detailing physical location of the establishments and adjacent natural attractions that are of interest to tourist and critical for their sustainability. The homestays information highlights the homestays’ name and the owner, the location and the contacts followed by the pictorial view of the home type and its room count and number of beds in accordance in demonstration of the sub sector’s contribution towards increasing bed capacity envisaged under the Vision 2030.