How Short-Stay Booking and Payment Work Here

How does a short-stay booking work from search to check-out?

The flow has six steps, and money moves only at two of them. This is the policy the platform is built to follow as of November 2026.

1. Search. Results, map pins and the listing page show the total for the dates you chose, not only a per-night rate. The total covers nights, cleaning, extra guests, the payment processing fee and any government levy. Start from Short Stays in Uganda and Nairobi: Book and Pay Safely or go straight to the rental search.
2. Request or instant booking. Many places confirm at once. Where a host approves each request, a same-day request must be answered within 15 minutes or it is declined automatically and you are shown similar places. Later dates keep a 24-hour answer window.
3. Pay. You pay by mobile money or card. The dates are held for 15 minutes while the payment completes. If it fails or times out, the dates are released and you can try again.
4. Receive the address. Within seconds of payment you get the exact pin, directions and arrival notes, and the host's phone number.
5. Stay. You check in, and you can report any problem until 24 hours after arrival.
6. Release. The host is paid after your check-in, as explained below, and both sides can leave a review within 14 days of check-out.

When is the host paid?

Not at booking. The host's payout is calculated for 72 business hours after the check-in time. Weekend days and the country's public holidays are skipped when counting. For example, a Friday 14:00 check-in leads to a payout on the following Wednesday at 14:00.

The payout is paused automatically if you open an arrival problem, a dispute or a safety report, or if the platform suspects fraud. That pause is the reason you can raise a problem with a real chance of a fix: the money has not yet left. Hosts see the reason and the expected date. For the host side, read Host Payouts and Commission on Land & Property.

What exactly do you pay at checkout?

You pay one total that you saw before you started checkout. Checkout can never show more than that total, and any change needs you to confirm again. The price is locked in your currency (Uganda shillings or Kenya shillings) when you book.

• Nights and extra guests, as set by the host.
• Cleaning fee, capped at 25% of the nightly subtotal for stays under 7 nights, and at one night's price for longer stays.
• Payment processing fee, shown as its own line, because the payment provider charges it.
• Government levy, if one applies.
• Optional deposit, if the host asks for one: up to 20% of the booking or UGX 500,000, whichever is lower. A card deposit is held, not charged; a mobile money deposit is collected and returned within 72 business hours of check-out if there is no damage claim.

Can I pay by mobile money or card?

Yes. Checkout is built around mobile money and card payments, taken through payment providers such as Pesapal or Flutterwave. Pesapal states that Visa and Mastercard prepaid, debit and credit cards work on its platform (source 3). Which mobile money networks appear depends on the provider and your country, so use the options you see at checkout and do not assume a network is accepted before then.

If you are paying from abroad, a card is usually the simpler route; see Renting in Kampala as an Expat or Returnee for other things returnees and visitors should arrange before they land.

Why can I not pay the host directly?

Because off-platform payment is how most rental scams work. A fake host asks you to "send to my MoMo" to hold a date, then disappears. Paying outside the platform also removes your refund rights, since there is no booking to protect.

The platform therefore blocks phone numbers, emails, links and phrases such as "WhatsApp me" in chat until the booking is paid. Every booking page carries the line that Land & Property will never ask you to pay outside this site. Any host who asks for cash, a transfer or mobile money is breaking the rules: report it. Our guide How to Avoid Rental Scams in Kampala shows the warning signs.

On the legal side, Uganda's National Payment Systems Act, 2020 provides in section 6(1) that a person shall not offer a payment service without a licence from the central bank (source 1, as of November 2026). That is one more reason to pay through a regulated payment provider and not to a stranger's number.

What happens to my ID and my address details?

Before your first booking you upload a photo of your national ID or passport and take a selfie in the app. This happens once per account. The booking goes through at once, and staff check the ID afterwards, usually within 24 hours and the same day for a stay starting today. Before payment you see only a shaded circle of about 500 metres and the neighbourhood, not the house. The exact position is released after payment, to a guest with ID and selfie on file.

Who do I contact if something is wrong on arrival?

Use the report button in your booking from check-in until 24 hours after arrival (or 12:00 the next day, whichever is later). Message the host first, unless it is a safety issue or the host has not replied for 60 minutes. Attach three photos or a video taken in the app and a short note. Staff reply within 60 minutes on check-in day, around the clock. If you cannot find the place, "I can't find it" is a single tap. Full refund steps are in Short-Stay Cancellation, Refunds and Guest Protection.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Short Stays in Uganda and Nairobi
• Short-Stay Cancellation, Refunds and Guest Protection
• How to Avoid Rental Scams in Kampala
• Short Stays in Kampala: Which Area to Book
• Host Payouts and Commission on Land & Property