Startup Story
Veronica Wekesa is a founder & CEO of Cohost Kenya, a start-up in the hospitality, travel and tourism sector that serves the needs of both property owners and guests on vacation. She has 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry where she acquired numerous skills that have helped her in running her business. Though the business started in 2017, it was formally registered in 2020 and has since grown from 1 employee to 4 female employees. She believes in uplifting women who necessarily don't have the vocational papers to get employment, and this has been one of the underlying tenets of the business.
LoA found out more about this new business model servicing the hospitality, travel and tourism sector in Kenya from founder Veronica Wekesa.
What does your company do?
Cohost Kenya serves various stakeholders:
Property owners - we are an extra pair of hands for them and we monetize their property by leasing and running the property on their behalf. This is a service aimed primarily at those who have a second home that they only use for a few times in a year or those who want to take advantage of rental arbitrage.
Guests - we provide a clean space for them to enjoy their vacation.
“There are plenty of property owners who have second homes or travel a lot and who would like to take advantage of rental arbitrage to earn an income, but do not want to be saddled with the day to day running of the property. We provide that assistance.”
What inspired you to start your company?
My inspiration is twofold:
Airbnb is a wonderful platform for renting out vacation rentals, however there have been complaints from various guests about the delivery of service by hosts, We wanted to stand out from the crowd by providing the best possible service. In Kenya, Airbnb Plus which forms the premium arm of Airbnb has not been awarded to many homes. Why? Because Kenya is not on par. Our aim is to upgrade our standards.
There are plenty of property owners who have second homes or travel a lot and who would like to take advantage of rental arbitrage to earn an income, but do not want to be saddled with the day to day running of the property. We provide that assistance. For example, a former colleague has a house in Mombasa but lives and works in Nairobi. We assist them in property management and they earn an income.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
What makes us different is that we have standardized the process and created our own brand. So when someone books through us they are assured that the house will be safe, clean and professionally run. We have also created an ecosystem by collaborating with local businesses to provide experiences to guests at a discount, this is a win-win for the property owners, guests and ourselves because we get repeat customers and referrals. We have our 5 core values that also separate us from the rest, we emphasize on safety, professionalism, culture, sustainability and synergy.
“What makes us different is that we have standardized the process and created our own brand. So when someone books through us they are assured that the house will be safe, clean and professionally run.”
Tell us a little about your team
The team comprises of 1 operation assistant who looks out for quality control, she ensures all the properties are clean and hospitality touches have been added prior to a guest checking in. We have 3 house cleaners, they form the Turnover Team, they do property checks after a guest checks out and do the turnover prior to guests checking in.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I come from a middle income family in Kenya and both of my parents were entrepreneurs. My father was among the first people to import interior decor items from Europe to Kenya, while my mother sold clothes and jewellery. I got the entrepreneurial bug from them. In fact, most of our family members have a side hustle plus their main job. I left the financial services sector in 2017 to start a business. It was an interior designer firm that didn't work out well, so I began selling African interior decor items because I felt maybe by copying what others are doing, perhaps I would get some clients - this also failed. I was left with dead stock which I had to sell at a loss in order to recover a bit of cash. It’s important to know oneself, and I realized my strength was not selling products (I abhor inventory) but I liked service. Selling a service made logical sense and that is how Cohost Kenya was born. We started in 2017 by testing proof of the concept and registered the business in 2020. Most people thought we were crazy to register a hospitality business in 2020 during Covid-19 time, but this was the best time to do so because most property owners wanted their property to earn them an income. With stringent cleaning and hospitality measures required by the government and all the homestay sites such as Airbnb, it was the right time for us to enter the market.
“We would like to grow the brand and later franchise the business from a single city to various cities in Kenya and maybe East Africa.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
We would like to grow the brand and later franchise the business from a single city to various cities in Kenya and maybe East Africa.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Creating employment for women; I started with one female employee, and we currently have 4. We also teach financial literacy, and through those classes, one of the employees bought a sewing machine and went for sewing classes while another invested in a catering business ( they cook food for construction workers and laborers). They have employed people in their micro businesses, and this causes a ripple effect in the economy.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Test the waters first, don't jump into the deep end. We all learn to swim from the shallow end. Start small, use your friends and family as a focus group, you will get great feedback from them about your business or product. Tweak the business, then once you have proven that the concept works, scale the business. Proof of concept will be based on the sales volume achieved on an annual basis.
Finally always go through these 3 questions when facing any crises in your business or your personal life. Ask yourself:
What went wrong?
How do I fix it?
How do I make sure it never happens again?
Contact or follow Cohost Kenya
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | EMAIL info@cohostkenya.com
Why LoA loves it….
They say that successful entrepreneurs are those who spot an opportunity when others do not, and who can counter trends with an offering that fills a gap in the market. Veronica Wekesa has certainly done that with Cohost Kenya, providing property owners with a model for them to earn rental income, and also giving guests peace of mind with a quality, high standard rental offering. She has created a business model that not only has growth potential, but is also creating jobs for local women. This is a business to watch as it ramps up its offerings over the coming months and years. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa