Find flats and apartments ideal for short-term letting across the UK. List on Airbnb and Booking.com to earn nightly rates well above long-term residential rents.
Short-term lets -- properties listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, and similar platforms for stays of typically 1-30 nights -- generate gross rental incomes 2-3 times higher than equivalent assured shorthold tenancy income in most UK city and tourist locations. The premium exists because short-stay guests pay for flexibility, convenience, and a furnished home-from-home experience. They are comparing your property to hotel rates, not to HMO room rates or BTL yields. The income model is based on dynamic nightly pricing rather than fixed monthly rent. A well-positioned one-bedroom city centre apartment achieving £900 PCM as a standard AST might generate £80-£130 per night on Airbnb depending on season, local events, and demand. At 70% annual occupancy -- achievable in strong locations -- that is £2,100 to £3,200 PCM gross. The difference after cleaning costs, platform fees, and consumables still significantly exceeds the AST equivalent. Location is the dominant factor. Short-term let income is highly location-dependent. City centres within walking distance of transport hubs, tourist attractions, or business districts outperform suburban properties regardless of property quality. Coastal properties in tourist areas, national park gateway towns, and heritage cities with year-round visitor demand are the strongest performers. The worst markets for short-term lets are suburbs with no tourist or business draw, where occupancy rates rarely justify the operational overhead. The regulatory environment has tightened substantially since 2022. Scotland introduced mandatory short-term let licensing in 2024 -- all operators must hold a licence issued by the local council. England launched a short-term let registration scheme in 2025, with councils gaining powers to introduce local restrictions via planning. London retains the 90-day annual limit on Airbnb-style lettings without full planning permission. Article 4 directions in some areas require planning permission for change of use from residential to short-term let. Check your specific local authority position before investing in a short-term let property. Operational management is the most underestimated aspect of the strategy. Guest turnover, cleaning, laundry, key management (smart locks are standard), restocking consumables, responding to guest queries, and managing platform ratings all require systems. Most successful SA operators use channel management software (Hostfully, Lodgify, or Guesty) to synchronise listings across platforms, automated messaging templates, and a reliable local cleaning team. Without these systems, the operational load at high occupancy becomes unsustainable. Building a direct booking channel alongside platform listings significantly improves yield over time. Repeat guests and referral bookings avoid the 3-15% platform commission fees and give you direct relationships with your best customers. A simple direct booking website with a real-time calendar and payment processing setup pays for itself rapidly on a single booking.
In strong locations (city centres, major tourist destinations), 65-80% annual occupancy is achievable. In seasonal locations, peak-season occupancy can hit 90%+ but winter may drop below 30%, blending to 50-55% annually. Model your deal at 60% to be conservative -- if the numbers work at 60% occupancy, you have meaningful buffer against seasonal troughs, poor reviews, or platform algorithm changes. Do not rely on optimistic occupancy projections to make a deal work.
