Dear Shortlet Founders… We Need to Have a Hard, Honest Conversation. There’s something happening in the shortlet space, especially in Nigeria, that we’re not talking about loudly enough. The fact that People are losing money. Apartments are sitting empty. Investors are frustrated. And some of you are quietly drowning under the weight of a business you didn’t prepare for.
I’m not saying this from a distance. I’ve been a guest. I’ve been an investor. I run units in Dubai. I’ve seen excellence, and I’ve seen chaos disguised as hospitality.
And the simple but uncomfortable truth is: many founders entered this industry with excitement, not understanding. The market didn’t fail many of you. You entered a winning industry without the tools to win. And when reality struck, it felt like an attack… but it was exposure… Let me be honest with you, I’ve stayed in shortlets in Lagos that made me wonder if the host ever slept there themselves. There was a time I paid close to 200k per night and had to literally keep begging the host to upgrade the WiFi because he said his budget was 15k for ten days. Fifteen thousand naira… after collecting hundreds of thousands per night on a longer stay? C’mon
Another time, we waited almost six hours for water. Six hours. In a city where you’re paying top-tier rates. I’ve walked into apartments that looked like heaven on the listing, only to realize the pictures were edited beyond recognition. The rugs were so dirty I genuinely thought they were outdoor mats. The bedsheets were brown. Not cream. Brown from lots of dirt. I remember one host even told us we couldn’t use AC because the generator couldn’t carry it. Yet they charged about $110 per night. It was supposed to be a week-long stay, but i couldn’t even stay for three days. And they refused a refund. This is not hospitality. This is disrespect.
But before you think I’m attacking everybody, let me balance it. There are founders in Nigeria doing an incredible job. I’ve stayed with some incredible hosts in Nigeria. Excellent People who think ahead. Who anticipate your needs. Who understands that hospitality is not about sofas and curtains, but about care… presence… intentionality. And it’s no surprise that their calendars stay full while others stay empty.
The difference is not money. It’s mindset. Some of you are founders by idea, but not by execution. And that’s okay. Nobody is gifted in everything. But pride will keep your apartment empty. Wisdom will push you to partner with people who manage better than you do. Some of you would be profitable today if you simply handed your unit to someone who knows how to run hospitality like a real business, not a side hustle.
Because this industry is not vibes. It’s numbers.
Let’s start with the foundation: DATA. Nobody told you that Lagos alone has almost 8,000 – 12,000 shortlets competing for the same set of guests. Nobody told you that average occupancy is 38–45%. Nobody told you that the market is more demanding than the pictures you post. Many of you don’t even know your Numbers
And this one is the foundation of everything collapsing.. If you enter a crowded market without understanding the numbers, you’re not building a business… you’re gambling. You should not be in the market if you cannot answer these questions:
- What is your APR?
- What is your break-even point?
- What is your ADR?
- What is your RevPAR?
- What is your average occupancy for the last 6 months?
- What are your price elasticity metrics?
- How many units compete with you within a 1km radius?
- What amenities are standard vs premium in your category?
- What is your cost per occupancy night?
Then there’s Pricing… Some founders are pricing emotionally. Some are pricing competitively. But very few are pricing intelligently. And intelligence is what makes a business sustainable. Most of you even jumped in because you saw others making money. But you never stopped to ask: Why were they making money? And am I built for this level of excellence? Some of you charge ₦200k to ₦400k per night for apartments that don’t reflect anything close to luxury. Luxury is not marble floors and LED strips. Luxury is peace. Cleanliness. Reliability. A sense of being valued.
If your price is louder and higher than your value, guests will walk past your listing every single day.
And there’s the service part of it…This is where many are losing painfully. I’ve stayed in Lagos shortlets where we begged for WiFi… where water didn’t run for hours… where dust greeted us at the door… where AC couldn’t come on because the generator “cannot carry it.”
Yet the listing looked like heaven on Airbnb. Photoshopped excellence. Charged 100-300usd per night. And so many Real-life disappointments. You cannot build a sustainable business on edited promises.
Here’s another truth many don’t want to admit: Some of you shouldn’t be operating alone. You have ideas… but not execution. And execution is where profit is born. There are operators in Lagos and Abuja who are fully booked because they have: Structure. Systems. Cleaners who show up. Pricing that makes sense. Service that feels like home.
Partner with people who are strong where you’re weak. This is not a downgrade but wisdom.
And let’s talk strategy. Shortlets aren’t just pretty apartments. They’re mathematics and strongly about yield management. If a 2-day booking blocks a 14-day guest, and you don’t know how to navigate that conflict, you’ll keep losing money without understanding why.
Great operators don’t “wait” for bookings. They design systems that attract the right ones.
Here’s the good news: you can still win. The industry is not dying anytime soon. It’s maturing. And mature markets only reward those who are structured, much more than those who are loud.
- Know your numbers.
- Price based on value, not vibes.
- Deliver service at a global standard, not a Nigerian standard.
- Partner where you’re weak.
- Stop overestimating your luxury.
- Focus on long stays, corporate stays, and diaspora clusters.
- Improve your listing quality; honesty sells better than Photoshop.
- Build brand trust. Consistency keeps you fully booked.
The shortlet business is not going anywhere. But the old way of running it is dying fast. This is your chance to rise, or to repeat the same mistakes and watch investors pull out, one by one. If you fix the foundation… Your bookings will follow. Your investors will trust you again. Your apartments will stop sitting empty. And the market will finally reward your effort.
By Stephen Akorede