By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: Choose a short-let manager by asking seven questions: the full rate card and what sits outside it, the notice period and what happens to forward bookings, who covers guest damage, whether statements itemise every deduction, what the quietest month looks like, whether you can speak to an existing owner, and who keeps the listing and its reviews.
1. What is the fee, and what is not inside it?
Ask for the full rate card, not a headline percentage. Ask specifically about setup fees, software fees and cleaning, because those are where the difference between two quotes usually hides.
A company that will not put the whole cost structure in writing before you sign is telling you something.
2. What is the notice period?
A rolling agreement costs a little more and lets you leave. A long tie-in should buy you a lower rate — if it does not, ask why you are being asked to commit.
Also ask what happens to bookings already taken if you give notice. That answer varies a lot and it matters.
3. Who pays when a guest damages something?
Ask what cover is in place, who makes the claim, and what happens if a claim fails. Deposits, platform guarantees and damage cover are three different things and companies use the terms loosely.
The useful follow-up: what was the last damage claim you handled, and how did it end?
4. What does the monthly statement look like?
Ask to see a real one with the figures removed. Every deduction should be itemised. If the statement shows a single net number with no breakdown, you cannot check anything.
This is also where you find out whether cleaning is charged per turnover, whether platform commission is shown, and whether the fee is on gross or net.
5. What does the quiet month look like?
Any projection that only shows peak season is not a projection. Ask specifically for the lowest month, not the average.
A company that will not show you a bad month either does not have the data or does not want you to see it. Both are worth knowing.
6. Can I speak to an owner you already manage for?
A company managing real properties can arrange this. One that cannot is telling you something about the size or age of its portfolio.
If they can, ask that owner one question in particular: what surprised you in the first six months?
7. Who holds the listing, and who keeps the reviews?
Reviews attach to an account, not to a property. If a company lists your home on its own Airbnb profile, the review history it builds up over two years stays with that company when you leave. If it lists on an account in your name, it goes with you.
Neither arrangement is wrong, and there are practical reasons for both. But it changes what leaving costs, and it is almost never mentioned unprompted. Ask.
Our own answers, in order
It would be a poor guide that asked six questions and dodged them. Here is where we land on each, including the parts that are not flattering.
1. The fee. The full rate card is published, not quoted on request: 22% down to 14% of gross booking revenue depending on commitment length and portfolio size. Outside it sit a one-off setup fee from £570, £15 a month for pricing software, and the running costs of the let — cleaning, laundry, linen, platform commission and card processing. We pay those and recharge them at cost. Cleaning is outside the fee, not inside it. Anyone telling you their fee covers cleaning is either absorbing a real cost or not counting it.
2. Notice. Flexible runs month to month with one month's written notice and no minimum. The six-month rate has a six-month minimum and two months' notice. The twelve-month rate has a twelve-month minimum and three months' notice. Longer commitment buys a lower rate — that is the whole trade. Bookings already confirmed for dates after you leave still carry the fee, which is standard but worth knowing.
3. Damage. Platform cover, the guest deposit and any separate damage policy are three different things, and we treat them that way. Claims are made by us, and where a claim fails the cost is discussed rather than quietly deducted. You also need your own buildings and contents cover suitable for short letting, with £1m public liability — that is a condition of the agreement, not an upsell.
4. The statement. One a month, electronic, showing gross booking revenue and every deduction line by line. Payment reaches your account by the 10th of the following month. If a statement ever shows a single net figure with no breakdown, that is a fault, not a format.
5. The quiet month. We will show you the low month in any projection we prepare, because a twelve-month average hides the thing that actually decides whether short letting suits you. If your mortgage needs a specific number every month regardless of season, we will say so.
6. Speaking to an owner. Yes, and it is worth doing. We are a small portfolio rather than a national operator, and that cuts both ways — more attention per property, fewer properties to point at. We would rather you heard that from an owner than from us.