In many African cities, owning property used to mean you either relied on long-term tenants who might not pay on time, or left your house empty while living abroad and worried about its upkeep.
For years, families living abroad put their hearts into homes back home, but those properties often didn’t pay off financially. Tenants sometimes stopped paying, maintenance was neglected, and the stress rarely seemed worth it.
The Airbnb model quietly changed everything. Short-term rental platforms have reshaped how families think about property. Homes are no longer passive assets waiting for tenants. They are dynamic, flexible, income-generating, and personally usable. The model has given owners control, transparency and mobility. For travellers, it has replaced the awkwardness of staying with relatives or the cost of impersonal hotels with something closer to independence.
In Zimbabwe, this change is easy to see. In Mount Pleasant, Harare, the Nheta family noticed the shift early on. “When we wanted to buy our first house, my husband was like, ‘ Oh, this money that we have, let’s buy 10 houses, the high-density ones,” says Judith Nheta.
“I said, no, no, no, I’m done with that. There’s a huge shift in Africa. If you have money, invest now, not tomorrow. People in the diaspora are seeing a big business gap. Bring your money and invest.” Instead of spreading their capital across several low-density houses, the family invested in a high-quality property in Mount Pleasant, one of Harare’s top suburbs.
The result is a modern, carefully finished home on Pendenis Road that now operates as a short-term rental, but still feels unmistakably like a family home.
Owning property in Zimbabwe takes more than just good design. Water shortages and power cuts are common, and they affect guests’ experiences.
The Nheta family tackled these challenges directly. Their home uses a 6.2kW solar power system and has a borehole, so there’s always water even if the city supply stops. Guests arrive knowing they will not have to navigate load shedding schedules or water tanks; that stability matters.
For a long time, property owners living abroad depended on long-term rentals. Judith Nheta remembers the problems: damage to the property and unpaid rent. She describes a pattern many landlords know: “For the first three or four months, tenants pay rent on time. By the sixth month, they might say, ‘I don’t have enough rent.’” Maintenance was another problem. “People can go months without paying rent, and don’t repair things as small as broken door handles.”
Switching to Airbnb changed things. Since we started, there’s been no damage. Guests come and go, and I haven’t had any complaints.
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Short stays make guests more responsible because reviews matter. People take care of the space. Best of all, the family can block out dates when they want to come home. “If you’re living in diaspora, you can simply block the days your family will be home, making your stay comfortable.”
The house is both a business and a home. Harare’s Airbnb market is getting bigger, but not every listing stands out. Some compete only on price, others only on location. The Nheta property stands out because of the experience it offers.
The house is just ten minutes from the airport, which is great for international guests. “Everyone is happy when we say it’s only a ten-minute drive,” Gamu explains.
But what really stands out is how the place feels. In a video interview with Zimbabwean YouTuber Kelvin Birioti, a family from Israel who stayed at the house shared their thoughts. “Well, we’ve loved every second of it. It’s very comfortable. It feels like it’s a home away from home. We’re here with our little son as well, so it’s very important to us to feel comfortable.”
That phrase, ‘home away from home,’ sums up how Airbnb has changed property in Africa.
Gamu has seen big changes in Zimbabwe’s property market. The UK and Zimbabwe are different, but in the last six to twelve months, the market here has grown quickly. More people from the diaspora are coming back and looking for places to stay. Short-term rentals meet that need. They offer flexibility without long-term commitment.
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For property owners, short-term rentals offer something long-term rentals often don’t: control. For the Nhetas, it’s about more than just making money. “It’s not about money. We can’t leave the properties idle, so it’s better to generate some income. But the most important thing is inheritance,” Judith says.
Airbnb may have transformed property economics. But for families like the Nhetas, it has also reshaped what home means, a place that generates value today, holds meaning for tomorrow, and strengthens generational ties. In Mount Pleasant, that careful balance between opportunity and legacy stands as a lesson for Zimbabwe’s evolving property market: maintaining a sense of belonging and future vision may be the real competitive advantage.
