Terms of Service

Effective date: 22 October 2026
Last updated: 22 October 2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms“) govern your use of Apptawn, including the website https://apptawn.com and the Apptawn mobile apps (together, the “Services“). The Services are operated by Apptawn (company registration in progress) (“Apptawn“, “we“, “us“). The company registration in Ethiopia is not completed yet. We will publish the company’s legal name, registered address and tax identification number (TIN) on this page as soon as it is completed.

By creating an account or using the Services, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy and our Refund & Cancellation Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.

In short

Listing on Apptawn is free for Hosts. Hosts pay no service fee.
Guests pay a 10% Apptawn service fee. It is shown on the payment page, just before you confirm.
Online payment is not open yet. Until it is launched, no payment is taken through Apptawn.
One cancellation rule for every stay: cancel at least 24 hours before check-in and get a 100% refund.
If a Host cancels, the Guest gets a 100% refund.
Hosts are paid within 3 business days after the Guest’s check-in.
Hosts and Guests show an ID document (Fayda national ID, Kebele ID or passport). Our team checks it by hand.
If something goes wrong, see section 10 (Disputes between Hosts and Guests).

1. Our service

Apptawn is an online marketplace for short-term accommodation in Ethiopia. It allows people who offer accommodation (“Hosts“) to publish listings, and people looking for a place to stay (“Guests“) to search, book and pay for stays.

Apptawn provides the platform, booking tools, online payment (once it is launched), messaging and customer support.
Apptawn does not own, manage or operate the properties listed, and is not a party to the rental agreement between the Host and the Guest, unless expressly stated otherwise on a listing. When a booking is confirmed, the agreement for the stay is made directly between the Host and the Guest.
Apptawn does not act as a real-estate agent, hotel operator, travel agency or insurer.

2. Eligibility and accounts

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding contract to create an account.
You must provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information (name, email, phone number) and keep it updated.
You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for all activity on your account. Tell us immediately at contact@apptawn.com if you suspect unauthorised use.
One person may hold only one account, unless we agree otherwise. Accounts may not be transferred.
Hosts must verify their identity (Fayda national ID, Kebele ID or passport) before publishing their first listing. Guests must also verify their identity with one of these documents before their first booking. The Apptawn team checks the document by hand; we do not ask for a photo of your face. An identity check confirms who a person is. It does not mean that Apptawn has inspected a property: Apptawn does not inspect properties.
You can close your account at any time (see Delete your account).

3. Listings (Hosts)

Hosts must have the legal right to rent the property and must hold any licence, permit or authorisation required (including from landlords, building owners or local authorities).
Listings must be accurate and not misleading: description, photos, location, amenities, house rules, price, fees and availability must reflect reality.
Hosts set their own prices and house rules. The same cancellation rule applies to every listing (see our Refund & Cancellation Policy).
Listing on Apptawn is free for Hosts: there is no subscription, no listing fee and no paid placement. If we ever offer paid options, their price, duration and renewal terms will be shown before you buy, they will never renew without your clear agreement, and paid placements will be labelled “Sponsored” for Guests.
Hosts are responsible for the safety, cleanliness and condition of the property, and for complying with applicable laws, including tax obligations on their rental income.
We may review, refuse, edit for formatting, suspend or remove any listing that breaches these Terms or the law.

4. Bookings

A booking is confirmed when the Host accepts the request (or immediately, for “instant booking” listings) and the payment has been successfully processed. You will receive a confirmation in your account and by email.
The total price is shown before you pay. It includes the nightly price, any cleaning or extra fees set by the Host, the Apptawn service fee and any applicable taxes. The Apptawn service fee is 10% of the booking subtotal, paid by the Guest; Hosts pay no service fee. It is shown on the payment page, just before you confirm, as “Service fee 10% included”. Prices are shown in Ethiopian birr (ETB).
Guests must respect the number of guests, check-in and check-out times and house rules stated on the listing.
Cancellations, changes and refunds are governed by our Refund & Cancellation Policy. One rule applies to every booking: free cancellation with a 100% refund up to 24 hours before check-in.

5. Payments

Online payment on Apptawn is not open yet. Until it is launched, no payment is taken through the website or the app. Once it is launched, payments will be processed by payment service providers licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia, using the payment methods commonly used locally. The methods actually available will be shown on the payment page.
Once online payment is launched, you will enter your payment details on our payment service provider’s secure page or in your mobile-wallet app. Apptawn does not see or store your full card number, PIN or banking credentials.
Once online payment is launched, Guests pay the full amount at booking. Apptawn collects the payment through its payment service providers and pays the Host the full nightly price and any fees set by the Host (Hosts pay no service fee), within 3 business days after the Guest’s check-in. During the launch period, payouts to Hosts are processed manually.
Guests must always pay through Apptawn. Asking for or making payments outside the platform is not allowed and removes the protection offered by Apptawn.
Apptawn does not collect security deposits, and Hosts may not ask for a deposit or any other payment outside Apptawn.
Refunds are made in accordance with our Refund & Cancellation Policy.

6. Guest obligations

Use the accommodation only for the agreed stay and number of guests, respect the house rules, neighbours and local laws.
Leave the property in the condition you found it. You are responsible for damage caused by you or your companions during the stay.
Provide accurate information about the booking and communicate through Apptawn messaging.

7. Host obligations

Honour confirmed bookings and provide the accommodation as described in the listing.
Provide clear check-in instructions and be reachable during the stay.
Do not discriminate against Guests and do not cancel confirmed bookings without a valid reason. A Host who cancels pays a penalty of 10% of the booking amount, deducted from the Host’s next payouts, as described in our Refund & Cancellation Policy.
Comply with all applicable laws, including safety, registration of guests where required, and tax obligations.

8. Prohibited conduct

You must not:

post false, misleading, illegal, offensive or discriminatory content;
commit or attempt fraud, scams or money laundering, or request payments outside Apptawn;
use another person’s account or identity;
harass, threaten or harm other users;
copy, scrape or misuse the Services or their content, or interfere with their security or operation.

9. Reviews

Only Guests whose stay has ended can review a listing, and Hosts can review Guests after the stay. Reviews must be honest, based on a real stay and must not contain offensive content or personal data. We do not write, buy or edit reviews. We may remove reviews that breach these Terms.

10. Disputes between Hosts and Guests

Talk first. If something goes wrong with a booking, the Host and the Guest should first try to solve it together using Apptawn messages. Apptawn is not a party to the rental agreement between Host and Guest, but we help both sides reach a fair outcome.
How to report. Call or send an SMS to +251 91 197 6657, or email contact@apptawn.com. Our support team is available every day from 8:00 to 18:00 East Africa Time (EAT). You will receive a case number.
Deadlines. Guests must report a problem at check-in within 24 hours of the check-in time, and any other problem within 24 hours of discovering it. Hosts must report damage or unusual cleaning costs within 72 hours of check-out. If internet access is cut in your area, you can always report by phone or SMS, and these deadlines are paused for the duration of the outage. We may accept a late report if you show that you could not report earlier.
Evidence. Please send photos or videos (dated if possible), the messages you exchanged, and any receipts or quotes. Reports based on false or altered evidence will be rejected and may lead to account suspension.
The other side’s answer. We share the report with the other party. A Host must respond within 2 hours for an access problem and within 12 hours for other problems at check-in or during the stay. A Guest must respond to a damage claim within 48 hours. Outside support hours, these periods start at 8:00 EAT.
Our decision. If no agreement is reached, Apptawn decides within 2 business days for Guest problems and within 3 business days for damage claims, after reviewing the evidence from both sides. We consider whether the problem is real and serious, how much of the stay it affected, who is responsible, and whether the amount requested is reasonable. Normal wear and tear is never charged to Guests. We explain every decision in writing.
Refunds to Guests. A refund can be full or partial and never exceeds the amount the Guest paid for the booking. If a Host cancels, the Guest receives a 100% refund, including the Apptawn service fee, and the Host pays the cancellation penalty described in our Refund & Cancellation Policy. Apptawn pays any payment-processing fees on refunds.
Host payouts. If a case is opened before a payout, the payout for that booking is put on hold until our decision, for no more than 7 business days after the normal payout date. If a Guest is refunded after the Host was paid, the refunded amount is deducted from the Host’s next payouts. Before any deduction, we tell the Host the amount and the reason in writing.
Damage. The Guest is responsible for damage caused by them, their visitors or their pets. If the Guest accepts a claim or Apptawn decides the claim is justified, the Guest must pay the amount through Apptawn. Apptawn does not insure Hosts or pay for damage itself. If a Guest refuses to pay a justified amount, we may suspend their account, and the Host keeps the right to take legal action. Apptawn does not hold security deposits.
Late check-out. A Guest who stays after check-out time must pay the extra nights at the listing’s nightly price. Hosts must not change locks, cut utilities or remove a Guest’s belongings, and should contact Apptawn and, if needed, the local authorities.
Appeal. You may appeal a decision once, within 7 days, by replying to your case. A different team member will review it and answer within 5 business days.
Your legal rights. This process does not limit any rights you have under applicable law. After our process, either party may bring the matter before the competent courts.

11. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or close an account, cancel a booking or remove content if a user breaches these Terms or the law, puts other users at risk, or if required by law. Where reasonable, we will tell you why and give you an opportunity to respond. If we suspend or close an account or cancel a booking, Guests receive a full refund for stays that have not taken place, and Hosts receive payouts for stays already completed, unless the money is subject to a fraud investigation or a legal order. Before deducting a penalty or a refund from a Host’s payouts, we tell the Host the amount and the reason in writing, and the Host can contest it within 7 days.

12. Liability

Apptawn acts as an intermediary. Hosts are solely responsible for their listings and properties, and Guests for their behaviour during stays.
To the extent permitted by law, Apptawn is not liable for the condition, safety or legality of listed properties, for the acts or omissions of Hosts or Guests, or for indirect or consequential losses (such as loss of profit or lost opportunities).
To the extent permitted by law, our total liability to you in connection with a booking is limited to the amount of the Apptawn service fee paid for that booking.
This limit never applies to money we collect or hold on your behalf: refunds owed to Guests and payouts owed to Hosts are always paid in full.
Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, including for fraud or gross negligence.
We aim to keep the Services available and secure, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation.

13. Intellectual property

The Apptawn name, logo, website, apps and their content (excluding user content) belong to Apptawn or its licensors. By posting content (photos, descriptions, reviews), you confirm you have the right to do so and grant Apptawn a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display and use it to operate and promote the Services. This licence ends when you delete the content, except reviews, which stay on Apptawn in anonymised form.

14. Changes to the Services and to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the new version on this page with a new “Last updated” date and, for significant changes, notify you by email at least 15 days before they take effect. Bookings already confirmed remain governed by the Terms in force when they were made.

15. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. If you have a complaint, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it amicably. If no solution is found, disputes will be submitted to the competent courts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, unless mandatory law provides otherwise.

16. Contact

Apptawn (company registration in progress)
Email: contact@apptawn.com
Phone: +251 91 197 6657
Support hours: every day, 8:00–18:00 East Africa Time (EAT)
We aim to reply within one business day.