About Baobabstay

What we do

Baobabstay connects travellers with hosts across the African continent, for stays of a few nights or several months. You search a destination, compare places with their photos, amenities and reviews, then book specific dates.

The platform is bilingual (French and English) and shows every listing in its own currency — CFA francs as well as euros.

Why we built it

Finding a place you can trust in Africa still too often means scattered listings, improvised payments and agreements with no safety net. International platforms, meanwhile, assume a bank card that many travellers and hosts simply don't use day to day.

We are building Baobabstay around mobile money, the payment method people actually use on the continent, and around a clear framework: a price known upfront, locked dates, and an identified host.

How it works

For a traveller:

• You choose a destination, your dates and the number of guests.
• You book: the dates are held for you, and nobody else can book them at the same time.
• You message your host from within your booking, before and during the stay.
• After the stay, you leave a review — which the next travellers will read.

For a host:

• You publish your place: photos, amenities, price, available periods.
• You track your bookings and block the dates that don't suit you.
• You get paid after the traveller checks in, to your mobile money account.

Trust, concretely

Trust isn't declared, it's built into how things actually work:

• Every account is confirmed by e-mail before it can publish or book.
• A host's identity is verified before they receive any payout.
• A review can only be left after a stay has actually ended.
• Money is collected and held by licensed payment providers, never by the platform itself.
• The host is only paid once the traveller has checked in — not at booking time.
• A listing's exact address is only revealed once the booking is confirmed.

Where we stand today

Baobabstay is a young platform, still launching. The site you are browsing is under active development: you can create an account, explore listings and publish a place, but payments are not open to the public yet — we are finalising their activation with our providers.

We'd rather say so plainly than let you find out on your own.

Who is behind Baobabstay

Baobabstay is a brand operated by ShineNows, a company registered in Germany. Full legal information is available in our legal notice.

Get in touch

A question, a remark, an issue with a booking? Write to us at support@baobabstays.com. You'll also find answers in our help center.