By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: Full short-let management in the UK typically costs 12% to 25% of booking revenue, with most established companies charging high teens to low twenties for a single property; listing-only and co-hosting services run 8% to 15%. Before comparing quotes, check whether the fee is on gross or net revenue and whether cleaning, setup and software sit outside it.
The short answer
Full short-let management in the UK generally runs somewhere between 12% and 25% of booking revenue, with most established companies sitting in the high teens to low twenties for a single property. Co-hosting and listing-only arrangements sit lower, usually 8% to 15%, because they do less.
Our own published card runs from 22% down to 14% for landlords and 14% down to 9.5% for investors and rent-to-rent operators, moving on commitment length and portfolio size. The whole grid is on the management page rather than quoted on request.
Why the range is so wide
Because the percentage is charged on different things and covers different things, so two companies quoting the same number can be quoting very different deals.
- Gross or net? A fee on gross booking revenue is charged before platform commission comes out. A fee on net is charged after. On the same property the gross figure looks higher and may cost you less.
- Is cleaning inside or outside? This is the single largest variable. On a property doing short stays, cleaning is often larger than the management fee itself.
- Setup or onboarding fee? One-off, and frequently omitted from a headline quote.
- Software or technology charge? Monthly, small, easy to overlook.
- What is the minimum term, and what does leaving cost? A low rate with a twelve-month lock-in is a different product from a higher rate you can leave in a month.
What sits outside our fee, in full
We would rather put this here than have you find it on a first statement. The management fee buys the management; the property still has running costs.
- Cleaning and laundry — arranged and paid by us after every stay, recharged at cost
- Linen — supplied through our provider, charged at cost
- Platform commission and card processing — what Airbnb and Booking.com take, passed through at cost
- Direct-booking commission — 5% on bookings through our own channels instead of a platform's roughly 15%
- Setup — from £570 per property, scaling with bedroom count
- Pricing software — £15 a month, mandatory
How to compare two quotes properly
Put both on the same basis before comparing anything. Take a realistic annual gross figure for your property. Apply each company's percentage. Then add every fixed cost each one charges across twelve months — setup, software, and any per-clean or per-changeover charge. The lower percentage does not always win, and on a busy property it frequently loses.
Then ask both the same question: what would I have paid you last year on this property? A company managing real properties can answer it from a statement. One that cannot is telling you something about the size of its portfolio.
The income calculator does this arithmetic on your own figures rather than guessing them from a postcode.
Is a lower percentage better?
Not reliably. A 12% fee that excludes cleaning, charges per changeover and adds a monthly technology fee can cost more across a year than an 18% fee with fewer separate lines — and it makes your income much harder to predict.
What matters more is whether the whole cost structure is written down before you sign, and whether the monthly statement itemises every deduction so you can check it. Our statement guide sets out what a proper one shows.