Explorer Builds Coliving Space For Travellers, Digital Nomads In Diani

Nothing prepares you for the heavenly tranquility in Diani. The small town, neatly tucked in the southern part of Kenya's coastline, is like a rare image plucked out of a bestselling photobook.

You will find the whitest sand on the beach here, sharply contrasted by turquoise blue waters. And when the waves start their slow suspenseful dance you'll find yourself staring at nothing and something and never wanting to leave.

These globally recognised white sandy beaches are among the many things Duncan Malcom, the Director and co-founder of Skippers fell in love with Diani when he visited the place for the first time three years ago.

Beyond the beaches, Diani had and still has so much to offer. From water sports to nature trails, a vibrant community of locals and tourists, nice weather and much more.

Prior to visiting Diani, Malcom had been travelling through Europe and the world by boat, experiencing life as a nomad, but Diani was about to change all that.

He ended up building Skippers, a Coliving hospitality spot for solo travellers and digital nomads. Coliving is a new real estate concept that originally targeted affordable residential housing.

Just like co-working spaces, Coliving houses bring together several biologically unrelated people with shared values under one roof.

It could be a three-bedroom apartment unit, housing three unrelated, young professionals each with their rooms and shared common spaces.

Coliving was introduced to make housing more affordable, especially for young just out of college professionals. It also fosters a sense of community while making exclusive and expensive neighbourhoods more accessible to the young demographic.

In some concepts, Coliving eliminates traditional renting arrangements such as long-term leases and even furniture ownership as tenants can access different furnished apartments managed by one entity.

The concept is now gaining popularity in the hospitality sector, targeting a growing demographic of solo travelers and digital nomads.

According to data by Booking.com, Solo travel is booming and in 2024, 59 per cent of travellers are planning to explore the world solo. Though solo travel was initially a preserve of the young and those without families, data shows that parents too are joining the fun and 58 per centare planning to travel childless in 2024.

More Data by Solo Traveler, a platform that shares information on solo travelling shows that most people travel alone because they want to see the world and they do not want to wait for others. Some say they like the feeling of freedom and others want to meet new people through travel.

Malcom is one of the few who have managed to implement Coliving successfully here in Kenya, catering to this growing demographic of travelers.

caught up with him and he shared his journey, plus insightful pointers on navigating the dynamic and competitive hospitality sector.

Here's his story:

Growing up, my parents had a Bed and Breakfast, which gave me a glimpse into what it's like to run a hospitality business. We also travelled a lot and I always dreamt of a career in hospitality.

I, however, ended up in tech and Ive worked in that field for almost 20 years. When I graduated from university, I joined my cousin in building an IT company together for a while. I then expanded my practice to different tech sectors, generally building tech products.

Though I've been in IT for almost two decades, Skippers isnt my first foray in hospitality. While I was a student, I worked in Turkey for Sunsail/TUI, but the closest I came to my dream career was in France where I worked briefly as a resort manager for a popular ski company.

My IT career gave me the flexibility to work and travel at the same time and about three years ago, I came to Diani for the first time. I had been travelling around Europe and exploring the world on a boat with my partner. Around this time, the pandemic's impact was still fresh.

One frustrating issue was the lack of human contact, especially during lockdown. Unlike hospitality, where you deal with people directly, in tech, the focus is in delivering services. Even then, before the pandemic there were opportunities to interact with people when working on projects but all this went away after the pandemic hit. Covid was perhaps the push I needed to finally get into hospitality. Coming to Diani gave me the drive to get things started.