By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: Yes, and it is generally easier than selling a tenanted property because vacant possession is available and the property keeps earning while marketed. Plan around forward bookings — stop taking new ones beyond your expected completion, sell with bookings in place, or relocate guests — and prepare statements, occupancy figures and compliance certificates if the buyer intends to keep letting.
The advantage over a tenanted sale
A short let has no tenant with security of tenure, so you are selling with vacant possession available rather than having to end a tenancy first. That widens the buyer pool considerably — an owner-occupier can buy it, which is usually where the best price is.
It also shows well. A property staged and professionally photographed for letting is already presented better than most of what a buyer is viewing.
You can keep earning while it is on the market, which is not true of a property held empty for viewings.
Forward bookings are the thing to plan around
Guests who have booked have a contract, and cancelling on them carries platform penalties, blocked dates, automated "the host cancelled" reviews and a hit to your standing — quite apart from the refunds.
There are three workable routes. Stop taking new bookings beyond your expected completion date, which costs income but removes the problem. Sell with the bookings in place, which suits a buyer who wants an operating business. Or move the guests to another property, which is only possible if you have one or a relationship with an operator who does.
Under our agreements, where a property is sold with the benefit of a letting we have arranged, management fees remain payable for the duration of that stay. That is standard, and it is worth reading before you market rather than after.
Timing it around the season
Selling into a strong forward calendar is easier if you are marketing to an investor, because a booked summer is the evidence the property performs. Selling to an owner-occupier, it is an obstacle.
Decide which buyer you are aiming at before you decide when to stop taking bookings. Those two decisions are the same decision.
A practical middle route is to keep letting normally but close the calendar roughly a quarter beyond your realistic completion date, then reopen it if the sale slips.
What a buyer will ask for
If you are selling to someone who intends to keep letting it, they will want evidence rather than assurances, and having it ready is worth money.
- Monthly statements showing gross revenue and every deduction, ideally across two full years
- Occupancy and average rate, including the quiet months rather than a peak-season figure
- The licensing and planning position for the address, in writing
- Compliance certificates — gas, electrical, fire risk assessment
- Whose platform account the listing and reviews sit on, because that determines whether the trading history transfers
Ending the management arrangement
Serve notice in the form the agreement requires and work backwards from completion, not forwards from today. Notice periods in this industry run from one month to three.
Handle keys, access codes and any devices installed by the manager as part of the handover. Devices we install remain our property and come out; that is worth scheduling rather than leaving to completion day.
And get a final statement. The last month of a sale is when reconciliations get forgotten.
General guidance on a process, not legal or tax advice. Take advice on capital gains and on the contractual position before marketing the property.