Airbnb management fees explained
What UK short-let management companies charge, what sits inside the percentage, and the costs that are usually left out of the quote you are shown.
Read the guideShort-let guides, written from the work
84 guides on running, letting and booking short-let property in the UK. No invented statistics and no case studies we cannot evidence — where we do not know something, these say so.
For landlords
Letting out a property you own
If you own a property and are working out whether short letting is worth it, what it costs, and what the law asks of you.
The furnished holiday lettings rules have gone
The furnished holiday lettings tax regime was abolished from April 2025. What actually changed for short-let landlords, and what it means for the numbers.
Read the guideShort-let licensing across the UK
Short-term let licensing and planning rules in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, London and the rest of England — and why the answer differs so much by nation.
Read the guideHow to choose a short-let management company
What to ask any short-let or Airbnb management company before you sign, and what a straight answer to each one sounds like.
Read the guideDirect bookings vs Airbnb and Booking.com
How platform commission works on short lets, what a direct booking is actually worth, and why a mix of both usually beats either alone.
Read the guideIs short letting worth it?
An honest comparison of short letting against a standard assured shorthold tenancy, including the cases where the long let is clearly the better option.
Read the guideShort-let insurance in the UK
What cover a UK short let actually needs, why standard landlord and residential policies exclude it, and how platform guarantees fit alongside a real policy.
Read the guideFire safety and compliance for short lets
Fire risk assessments, alarms, certification and furniture rules for UK short lets, and what changes when a property leaves a tenancy.
Read the guideFurnishing a short let
How to furnish a UK short let so it photographs well, survives use and gets good reviews, including the regulations that rule out some furniture entirely.
Read the guideCouncil tax or business rates for short lets
When a UK short let moves from council tax to business rates, the letting thresholds in England and Wales, and why the premium changed the maths.
Read the guideSwitching from a tenancy to short lets
What actually has to happen to convert a UK rental property from an assured shorthold tenancy to short-term letting, in the order it needs doing.
Read the guideHow to read a short-let statement
How to read a short-let management statement, what every deduction line means, and the questions to ask when one does not add up.
Read the guideHow much do Airbnb management companies charge?
UK Airbnb and short-let management fees explained: typical percentage ranges, what sits outside the fee, and the questions that make two quotes comparable.
Read the guideWhat is included in short-let management fees?
What a UK serviced accommodation management fee covers, what it does not, and how to tell full management from a listing-only service wearing the same name.
Read the guideHow much can I earn from a short let?
How to work out realistic short-let income for a UK property, the two assumptions that cause most disappointment, and why a postcode is not enough.
Read the guideDo I need planning permission for short lets?
When planning permission is required for short-term letting in the UK, how the London 90-night rule works, and what an Article 4 direction changes.
Read the guideDo you need a licence to run an Airbnb?
Which parts of the UK require a licence or registration to run a short-term let, what the application involves, and what happens if you let without one.
Read the guideDo you pay tax on Airbnb and short-let income?
How UK short-let income is taxed, what changed when the furnished holiday lettings regime was abolished, and the reliefs and thresholds worth knowing about.
Read the guideCan I rent my leasehold flat on Airbnb?
Whether a UK leasehold flat can be let on Airbnb, which clauses to look for, what happens if you let in breach, and how to ask the freeholder properly.
Read the guideWhat is Section 24 landlord tax?
What Section 24 did to mortgage interest relief for UK landlords, who it affects, and how the 2025 end of the FHL regime interacts with it.
Read the guideHow should I price a short let?
How to price a UK short let: why a fixed nightly rate loses money, how dynamic pricing works, and the settings that matter more than the rate.
Read the guideHow do I maximise occupancy and revenue?
How to raise short-let occupancy and revenue in the UK: channel mix, response time, length of stay, reviews and the quiet months that decide it.
Read the guideHow do I handle difficult guests?
Preventing and handling problem guests in a UK short let: screening, house rules that hold up, noise monitoring and damage claims.
Read the guideHow do I set up an Airbnb listing?
How to build a short-let listing that converts: photograph order, title and description, the settings most owners leave wrong, and launching well.
Read the guideHow often should a short let be cleaned?
How often a UK short let needs cleaning, what a changeover involves, mid-stay cleans, and why cleaning is charged per stay not per week.
Read the guideHow does self check-in work for short lets?
How self check-in works for UK short lets: key safes and smart locks, what good access instructions contain, and where it goes wrong.
Read the guideShould I allow pets in a short let?
Whether to allow pets in a UK short let, what it does to demand and to costs, the assistance dog position, and how to set the rules so they hold up.
Read the guideWhat is a company let agreement?
What a company let is, why it sits outside assured shorthold tenancy rules, when it suits a short-let owner, and what to check before agreeing one.
Read the guideGuest data and privacy in short lets
UK data protection duties for short-let hosts: what guest data you can hold and for how long, the rules on cameras and noise sensors, and what to declare.
Read the guideHandling emergencies during a stay
How to handle short-let emergencies: the failures that count as urgent, what to have in place before one happens, and when a guest has to be moved.
Read the guideWhat do Airbnb and Booking.com charge hosts?
How Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo charge hosts, why the structures are not comparable, and what platform commission does to a short-let income model.
Read the guideDo I need my lender's permission to short let?
Why a buy-to-let mortgage usually does not permit short letting, how to ask for consent, and what happens if you let without it.
Read the guideHow do I switch short-let management company?
How to move a short let between management companies: notice, forward bookings, who owns the listing and reviews, and the order that avoids a gap in income.
Read the guideHow do I handle a bad review?
What to do about a negative short-let review: when it can be removed, how to write a reply that helps, and why the response matters more than the review.
Read the guideWho pays the bills in a short let?
Who pays utilities, council tax, broadband and the TV licence in a UK short let, why consumption is higher than a tenancy, and how to control it.
Read the guideCan I sell a property that is being short let?
How to sell a UK property that is operating as a short let: forward bookings, what happens to the management agreement, and timing the sale around the season.
Read the guideWhat is a channel manager?
What a channel manager does for short lets, why multi-platform listing is impossible without one, and how it relates to a PMS and to pricing software.
Read the guideAccessibility in short lets
Accessibility in UK short lets: the legal position, what to describe honestly in a listing, and why accessible properties are chronically undersupplied.
Read the guideDo short lets need an EPC?
When a UK short let needs an Energy Performance Certificate, how the minimum energy efficiency standard applies, and why efficiency matters commercially here.
Read the guideShort lets in Scotland: the licensing rules
How short-term let licensing works in Scotland, what control areas add, what an application involves, and why this is the first check rather than the last.
Read the guideShort lets in Wales: thresholds and premiums
How Welsh short-let rules differ: the 252 and 182 day thresholds for business rates, council tax premiums of up to 300%, and the licensing position.
Read the guideShort lets in London: the 90-night rule
How the London 90-night limit works, how the platforms enforce it, which stays fall outside it, and how a London short-let plan is usually structured.
Read the guideShort lets in Northern Ireland
How short-term letting works in Northern Ireland: Tourism NI certification, what the inspection covers, and why it is a gate rather than paperwork.
Read the guideShort-let seasonality and the quiet months
Why short-let seasonality matters more than peak performance, how to fill the quiet months, and why modelling the average month hides the risk.
Read the guideHow do I manage cleaners for a short let?
How to find, brief and manage short-let cleaners: what a changeover checklist contains, cover for sickness, and why cleaning is the thing that breaks first.
Read the guideWhat should I stock in a short let?
What to stock in a UK short let: the kitchen and bathroom essentials guests expect, what gets stolen, and the small items that appear in reviews when missing.
Read the guideDeposits and damage cover for short lets
How short-let damage protection works: security deposits, platform guarantees and insurance, what each actually covers, and how to claim successfully.
Read the guideHow do I write a guest guide?
What to put in a short-let guest guide or house manual: the sections that prevent out-of-hours messages, and where to put it so guests actually read it.
Read the guideShort lets and neighbours
Running a short let without antagonising neighbours: the complaints that actually arise, what prevents them, and why it is a business risk.
Read the guideShort-let photography: what actually works
How to photograph a short let for the booking platforms: preparing the property, what to shoot, the order that converts, and when to hire a professional.
Read the guideHow does Airbnb search ranking work?
What influences short-let listing visibility on the booking platforms, which levers a host actually controls, and the myths worth ignoring.
Read the guideGas and electrical safety for short lets
Gas Safety certificates, electrical condition reports and appliance testing for UK short lets: what is required, how often, and what happens without them.
Read the guideLegionella and water safety in short lets
Why short lets carry a specific legionella risk, what a simple risk assessment covers, and the flushing routine that manages it.
Read the guideDo short lets need an HMO licence?
Whether HMO licensing applies to short-term lets, why the main residence test usually excludes them, and the local schemes that can catch a property anyway.
Read the guideFire doors and escape routes in short lets
What a fire risk assessment usually concludes about escape routes and fire doors in a short let, and the failures that matter most.
Read the guideBins and waste in a short let
How to handle waste in a UK short let: why guests get bins wrong, whether commercial waste rules apply, and the arrangements that prevent complaints.
Read the guideDo short lets need a TV licence?
When a UK short let needs a TV licence, how it turns on use rather than on owning a television, and where streaming services fit.
Read the guideShort let vs buy-to-let: which is better?
An honest comparison of short letting and buy-to-let in the UK: income, workload, risk, tax after the FHL abolition, and when the tenancy plainly wins.
Read the guideHow do I build direct bookings?
How to build direct bookings for a short let: where they realistically come from, what infrastructure is needed, and what they are genuinely worth.
Read the guideCan I use my own short let?
How owner use works in a managed short let: blocking dates, what it costs in lost bookings, and the practical rules that keep it from causing problems.
Read the guideWhat our own properties actually earn
Measured monthly income across UnityStays' own managed properties — 23 property-months and 414 let nights of real data, not estimates or projections.
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For investors
Buying, sourcing and operating
If you are buying, sourcing or operating for return, rather than letting out somewhere you already own.
Rent to rent for short lets, explained properly
How rent-to-rent serviced accommodation works in the UK, what each side is really taking on, and the questions that decide a deal.
Read the guideProperty sourcing for short lets
How to find and assess UK property for serviced accommodation, what makes a location work for short stays, and how to tell a sourced deal from a sales pitch.
Read the guideHow to assess a short-let deal
A working method for assessing serviced accommodation numbers: the costs projections leave out, and the two assumptions that cause most disappointment.
Read the guideWhat serviced accommodation actually is
What serviced accommodation means in UK property, how it differs from holiday lets and standard tenancies, and who the demand actually comes from.
Read the guideBuilding a short-let portfolio
What changes when a short-let operation grows past one property: cost structure, systems, staffing, concentration risk and the points where it usually breaks.
Read the guideHow to start a serviced accommodation business
A realistic sequence for starting a UK serviced accommodation business: permissions first, then numbers, then property, then compliance, then launch.
Read the guideHow is serviced accommodation financed?
How UK lenders treat serviced accommodation: why standard buy-to-let usually will not work, what holiday-let products require, and what lenders assess.
Read the guideCompany or personal ownership for short lets?
How personal and company ownership differ for UK short lets after the FHL abolition, what incorporating costs, and what to ask an accountant.
Read the guideRent-to-rent deal checklist
A practical checklist for assessing a UK rent-to-rent serviced accommodation deal: the consents, the numbers, the contract and the exit.
Read the guideFlats or houses for short lets?
How flats and houses compare for UK short letting: running costs, guest mix, the leasehold problem, and which suits contractor and leisure demand.
Read the guideADR, RevPAR and occupancy explained
What ADR, occupancy and RevPAR mean for short lets, how they interact, and why optimising occupancy alone is the most common and expensive mistake.
Read the guideShort let vs HMO: which model suits a property?
How short letting and HMOs compare for UK investors: income shape, licensing burden, capital cost, management intensity and exit.
Read the guideIs the short-let market saturated?
Whether UK short-let supply has outrun demand, how to test a specific market rather than the national one, and where undersupply genuinely persists.
Read the guideHoliday let or serviced accommodation?
The difference between a holiday let and serviced accommodation in the UK: who books, when, how long they stay, and what it changes about costs and risk.
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For guests
Booking a stay
If you are booking a stay — for yourself, for a crew, or for someone relocating.
Serviced apartments vs hotels
An honest comparison for UK work travel: the stay length where the economics flip, and the trips where a hotel is simply better.
Read the guideContractor accommodation in the UK
How to find and book accommodation for UK contract and project work, what to check before committing a crew, and why nightly platform pricing suits it badly.
Read the guideBooking accommodation for a team
A practical guide for office managers, PAs and project coordinators booking UK accommodation for teams, including what to confirm and what goes wrong.
Read the guideRelocation and interim accommodation
How interim and relocation accommodation works in the UK, how long people typically need it for, and what to look for when the stay is measured in months.
Read the guideWhat to expect in a serviced apartment
What is normally included in a UK serviced apartment, how check-in and cleaning work, and the questions worth asking before you book.
Read the guideA visitor's guide to York
When to visit York, which neighbourhood suits your stay, park and ride, the walls walk, how racedays move prices, and what matters on stays of a week or more.
Read the guideA buyer's guide to corporate accommodation
Buying corporate accommodation in the UK: what to compare beyond nightly rate, invoicing terms, duty of care, and the questions that matter.
Read the guideWhat to expect on a stay of a month or more
What changes on a UK serviced apartment stay of a month or longer: cleaning, bills, deliveries, what to bring, and what to agree before you arrive.
Read the guideHow to choose a serviced apartment
How to choose a UK serviced apartment: what photographs hide, which questions to ask before booking, and the details that decide whether a stay works.
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Next step
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We will prepare a projection for your address, including the quieter months, before you commit to anything.