How people from Hobyo, living abroad and at home, came together to build the hotel they wished they'd had when they came back to visit.
Many people who grew up in Hobyo had moved abroad, to the UK, the US and across Europe. When they came back to visit, they had nowhere to stay: the homes they once lived in were no longer theirs, and the town had no hotel of the standard they were used to. Other visitors to Hobyo faced the same problem.
So they decided to solve it themselves. People from Hobyo, abroad and at home, came together around one plan: a hotel with proper standards, so that anyone coming to town would never have to worry about where to stay.
With the plan agreed, they bought land near the airport: a plot of 200 by 90 metres, close for anyone flying in and with room to grow. The same year, they began bringing in the equipment and materials to build.
Construction began in 2022 and went stage by stage: foundations and walls, then the roof, water and power, then the rooms and dining room. Water tanks and a generator were part of the plan from the start, so guests never go without light or water.
In 2025 the doors opened to the first guests: visitors who, for the first time, could come to Hobyo knowing exactly where they would stay.
Today 28 rooms are open. The hotel welcomes people from Hobyo coming home from abroad, families visiting for weddings and holidays, traders, NGO teams and government staff. Organisations keep rooms by the month or the year.
The work isn't finished. 38 more rooms are being added to the 28 already open, so even more visitors can come to Hobyo without worrying about where to stay.