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Cabinet sanctions measures to improve security in Airbnbs

President William Ruto chairs a Cabinet meeting on March 13, 2024. (PCS)

By Mary Wambui | Wednesday, March 13, 2024

The premises will be required to keep an updated register of all clients entering and leaving the premises

In response to public concerns over an alarming increase in crimes, including murder within Airbnbs, the Cabinet on Wednesday sanctioned a raft of measures geared towards enhancing security on such premises.

Going forward, all Airbnbs, lodgings, and furnished apartments will be mandated to maintain and keep CCTV footage covering all common areas.

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The footage will be required to be retrievable and handed to security agencies when the need arises.

Secondly, the premises will be required to keep an updated register of all clients entering and leaving the premises as verified by proper identification documents, alongside the timings of their entry and departure.

The records will include an accurate log of the vehicles that also enter and leave the premises.

The owners must also ensure that the premises are properly secured by a registered private security provider, who is also required to maintain a security occurrence book that details significant occurrences relating to security.

Some of the murders that have occurred on such premises that the government seeks to prevent with such regulations include the killing of Starlet Wahu on January 6. She was found murdered in an Airbnb in South B. A week later, the dismembered body parts of Rita Waeni, a student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), were found at an Airbnb in Roysambu, leading to concerns over rising cases of the killing of women in the country.

In response to the killings, the San Francisco-based company clarified that the incidents were not connected to stays booked through Airbnb.

"The properties in which these crimes took place did not have reservations booked on Airbnb for the dates reported," said the company adding that "we do not have accounts registered to the names of the accused."

The firm that requires clients to register with their correct identities while making their booking said the requirement was not adhered to in the two incidents.