Lonely Planet's online community, the Thorn Tree,
[20] was created in 1996. It is named for a Naivasha thorn tree (
Acacia xanthophloea) that has been used as a message board for the city of
Nairobi, Kenya since 1902.
[21] The tree still exists in the
Stanley Hotel, Nairobi. In April 2020, the forum was locked and left in read-only mode as part of Lonely Planet temporarily halting business in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2021, the Thorn Tree was shut down.
[22]