Kenyan Property Owners Turn Idle Space Into New Revenue Stream
Written on
Kenya’s property market is seeing growing interest in “space as a service,” allowing owners to generate additional income from underused rooms, apartments, rooftops and event spaces. Book Mahali says its platform now connects more than 500 listings across seven Kenyan cities with short-term users.
Kenyan property owners are increasingly exploring “space as a service” as a way to generate additional income from underutilised real estate. Instead of relying solely on conventional long-term leases, owners can make unused periods or spaces available for short-term bookings.
The model covers a broad range of properties, including event halls, studios, furnished apartments, rooftops, gardens, meeting rooms and distinctive residential spaces used for photography and video production. The focus is less on the type of property and more on whether the space can offer a compelling experience and be accessed easily by customers.
Book Mahali is helping facilitate this model in Kenya. The platform currently operates across seven cities with more than 500 listings, connecting property owners with photographers, event organisers, corporate teams and creatives looking for short-term venues.
For property owners, the platform reduces some of the administrative burden associated with short-term rentals by providing discovery, booking and transaction infrastructure. Owners can list their spaces, manage availability and earn from periods that might otherwise generate no income.
The trend comes as Kenya’s property market faces pressure to improve returns from existing assets. With capital appreciation not guaranteed and financing costs remaining important considerations for investors, increasing the productive use of existing properties could provide another avenue for yield diversification.
The emergence of space-as-a-service therefore represents a shift from viewing property purely as a passive asset toward treating it as a flexible income-generating platform.
Read the full story at Kenyan Wall Street(opens in new tab)