There has been a tragic spate of grisly murders of young women recently.
Government has rightly cracked down on short-term rental accommodation by requiring all owners to register with the Tourism Regulatory Authority.
This will not necessarily solve the problem - someone can still rent a property with a false identity - but it will at least increase accountability.
However there seems to be a widespread but mistaken perception, including with some civil servants , that the problem is with Airbnb, the global online booking agency for accommodation. In fact, as with Uber, Airbnb tracks both users and providers who are given public ratings. So Airbnb already undertakes some of the work that will be done by the TRA.
Furthermore, neither the killers nor the property owners in South B or Roysambu, the sites of the latest killings, were registered with Airbnb, nor were the properties rented out through Airbnb.
International tourists often use Airbnb to find places to stay. The recent fiasco over visas has already made it more difficult for tourists to visit Kenya. Government should not make matters worse by singling out Airbnb for responsibility for these recent nasty murders.
Quote of the day: "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
Dolly Parton
The American singer-songwriter was born on January 19, 1946
