By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: Short-let earnings depend on your specific property, so calculate them yourself: multiply a realistic twelve-month average nightly rate by 365 and a defensible occupancy figure, then subtract platform commission, cleaning per changeover, linen, utilities, rates, software, insurance and management. Model the weakest month rather than the average, and assume a new listing underperforms for its first six months.
Why we will not quote a figure from a postcode
Almost every calculator in this category asks for a postcode and returns an income figure. To do that it has to assume a nightly rate and an occupancy level for a property it knows nothing about, from data you cannot see and cannot check.
We do not have a licensed per-city dataset to do that with, and we are not going to produce plausible-looking numbers and label them market data. An invented figure is worse than no figure, because you will plan around it.
What we will do is either arithmetic you can verify, or a real projection for your actual address.
The arithmetic, in order
Work in this sequence and the model stays honest.
Take a realistic average nightly rate — realistic meaning the twelve-month average including quiet months, not the August figure. Multiply by 365, then by an occupancy percentage you can defend. That is your gross.
From gross, subtract: platform commission; cleaning and laundry per changeover; linen; consumables; utilities; council tax or business rates; broadband; pricing software; management if you are not doing it yourself; a maintenance and replacement provision; and insurance. Only then subtract finance costs.
What is left is the figure worth comparing against a standard tenancy — and compare like with like, because a headline monthly rent is not net either until you take off voids, agency fees and maintenance.
The two assumptions that cause most of the error
Occupancy. Almost always assumed too high, usually by taking an established operator's figure and applying it to a listing with no reviews, no ranking history and no repeat guests. A new listing does not perform like a mature one. Model the first six months well below where you expect to settle.
Changeover frequency. Cleaning is a per-stay cost, not a per-week cost. If your average stay is three nights, a well-booked month is around ten changeovers, not four. Get this wrong and the cleaning line is out by a factor of two — which on most properties is more than the entire management fee.
Model the worst month, not the average
Nearly every short-let projection is built on a twelve-month average, and nearly every disappointment happens in a specific month.
If the weakest month covers the mortgage, the fixed costs and the servicing, the property survives a bad year. If it only works on the average, you are relying on strong months to subsidise weak ones — fine until the strong months come in soft.
This single change removes most of the optimism from a model, which is why it is rarely done by anyone selling one.
Get a real figure for your address
Send us the address and we will prepare a projection from the comparable properties actually around it, and we will include the quiet months rather than only the peak.
If the honest answer is that a standard tenancy suits your property better, that is the answer you will get. We give it more often than you might expect — a property whose numbers only work at peak is not a short-let property.
You can also run your own figures through the income calculator, which computes only from what you enter.
A method for estimating income, not a projection or a guarantee. Short-let income varies by property, location, season and how well the property is run, and it can fall as well as rise.