Detty December: Nigerians Boycott Shortlet Apartments for Hotels as Booking Prices Skyrocket

Detty December in Nigeria has always been a season of movement: airports buzzing, events fully booked, and city centres filled with returning diaspora and holiday seekers.

But this year, something seems to have shifted as the once-thriving shortlet apartment sector, especially in Lagos and Abuja, is losing its shine as travelers are in utter disbelief at the prices being charged for a night stay.

In response, many are quietly returning to hotels: a surprising reversal for a season that once made shortlets the preferred option for convenience, space, and affordability.

For some, the frustration has simmered for years, but the December price surge appears to have finally snapped their patience.

Lifestyle creator @Sisi_Yemmie captured the growing disillusionment when she said shortlet managers were already lamenting poor bookings. “Their greed is too much,” she added bluntly. “I’ve gone to book hotel jejely. I’d rather book 5 rooms in a hotel than deal with shortlet drama.”

Others say it’s not just about escaping the stress: hotels are simply giving better value. @emekagadi, puzzled by the hype around shortlets, pointed out that hotels often offer free breakfast and, in some cases, free lunch. “I don’t even understand why people prefer shortlets to a hotel…,” he wrote.

For some Nigerians, previous encounters with shortlets have been bad enough to swear them off entirely. @TonyAbah01 said several of his friends now refuse to consider Airbnb or any short-term rental after bitter Lagos experiences. This December, all 11 of them are lodged comfortably in hotels.

The grievances are not isolated. They spill across timelines and group chats. @AdisaAkomolede, who assists clients in booking shortlets, lamented how hosts have hiked prices to ridiculous levels. Rates that were once competitive now go for five times the original cost. Abuja residents have also noticed the downturn.

For @KriscrisG, he revealed that many shortlet owners were abandoning the business altogether or switching to long-term leases because the market has become too overpriced to survive.

The sentiment is the same for those who simply want ease. @TuslowT put it plainly: “Shortlet get too much wahala.” And for @Humanxxx001, the avalanche of fees — cleaning charges, service charges, and “every stupid charge known to man” — makes hotels the only logical option.

Celebrities Add Their Voices

Even celebrities are not spared from the shortlet shockwave. BBNaija stars Leo DaSilva and Nina waded into the discussion with their own experiences, revealing just how unhinged the pricing has become in Lagos this festive season.

Leo shared screenshots of apartments in Victoria Island and Ikoyi, shaking his head at what he described as hosts “overdoing things.”

Many hosts, he said, were acting as though December bookings were guaranteed. But he warned them that hotels were likely to take the bulk of guests this year.

“Nothing is funnier than the prices of VI and Ikoyi apartments this December,” Leo wrote.
“Over $9000 for 11 nights for a just okay place. Hotels will get more bookings this December and you will have to reduce your prices.”

One screenshot he posted showed a staggering price of $9,350 — more than ₦13 million — for an 11-night stay.

BBNaija’s Nina shared her own shock: “THIS IS RIDICULOUS… I paid 4.2m for 13 nights for an Airbnb in Lekki. Some places have the nerve to charge 700k per night. You must be raving mad.”

For both reality stars, the verdict is the same: the frenzy around shortlets is spiralling out of control, and it is only a matter of time before landlords are forced to step back into reality.

Industry Insight: “The Market Is Slow, Not Dead” — Jennifer Ike

Inside the industry, the story is even more layered.

Real estate agent Jennifer Ike, who has spent the past five years navigating Nigeria’s shortlet ecosystem, describes this December as unlike anything she has ever seen.

“The shortlet market right now in Nigeria is slow is not dead,” she began. What she finds most striking is the unusually low demand: a situation she insists has not occurred in half a decade of her experience.

She explained that managers are carrying a great deal of pressure as they scramble to fill apartments in a market that suddenly feels deserted.

According to her, the only apartments seeing any activity are those whose hosts opened their calendars as early as November. Everything else is stuck in limbo.

She said, “The shortlet market right now in Nigeria is slow is not dead. What we are experiencing is a very low demand for shortlet apartments in December which has never happened in my 5 years being in the business. What I noticed is that there is a lot of pressures on managers, some of them are doing whatever it takes to get an apartment booked, and which is really not their fault if they cannot meet up; as the economy is not helping, the insecurity is not, some of them are personalising it, thinking it is their problem, and investors are not doing their business to help, some of them are even undermining their efforts.

“Most apartments that are booked are the ones who opened their calendar in November. So they are expecting guests to come in this December. Most apartments in Lagos are sitting empty. Even those that their apartments are booked, from now till say 20th December, are having challenges getting other days booked. Also, those that their clients have canceled bookings, that might have paid say 400k per night, are having issues, reselling the apartment.

“Aside insecurity, economy, I will blame it on the price, and greedy hosts, the price hike is not justifiable when the reason people book shortlet apartments is to get value for their money,”

Flashback to 2024

In 2024, Lagos dominated the “Detty December” period, with the city’s hospitality and leisure sectors recording unprecedented revenue.

A report by advisory firm MO Africa Company Limited, covering November 19 to December 26, showed that the influx of domestic and international visitors drove substantial earnings across hotels, shortlet apartments, nightclubs, and resorts.

Hotels generated the largest share, earning N54 billion ($36 million) from 15,000 bookings in December alone. Short-term apartment rentals contributed N21 billion ($13 million) from nearly 6,000 bookings, despite higher prices and lower demand, with an average nightly rate of N120,000 ($74.7).

Nightlife also shone brightly, with Lagos’ top 15 nightclubs pulling in a combined N4.32 billion ($2.7 million), averaging N360 million ($224,000) daily, while premium tables fetched up to N1.2 million ($746.7) per night.

Beaches and resorts recorded strong activity as well, accounting for 70% of the N4.5 billion ($2.8 million) earned from recreational services during the festive period.