The straight answer
Anyone who gives you one number for this is guessing, or selling. A well-chosen, well-presented short let can out-earn the same property’s long-term rent, sometimes comfortably. The wrong property, priced badly and run half-heartedly, can earn less than a tenancy and take far more effort to do it.
What we can give you is the honest version: the five things that actually decide short-let income, the sums that turn a headline figure into money you keep, and the red flags that tell you an estimate was written to win your instruction rather than to inform you.
The five things that drive short-let income
Location and demand. Not “is the area nice”, but who travels there, in what numbers, at what times of year, and what they will pay. Coastal towns, national parks, cities with hospitals and universities, and anywhere with year-round contractor work all have demand, but it behaves differently in each. Two villages ten minutes apart can perform very differently.
Sleeping capacity and layout. Nightly rates scale with how many people can stay comfortably, which is not the same as bedroom count. A two-bed that sleeps six with a sofa bed competes in a different bracket from a two-bed that sleeps three. Parking, outdoor space and a bath versus shower all move the number more than owners expect.
Presentation. Guests choose with their eyes. The photographs, the first three images especially, decide your click-through rate before price is even considered. A tired listing does not earn the market rate for its postcode; it earns the rate its photos deserve.
Seasonality. Most UK markets have a shape: strong summers, decent shoulders, quiet Januaries. Income is made or lost in how well the peak is priced and how cleverly the quiet months are filled, whether with weekenders, contractors or longer winter stays.
How it is run. Pricing that responds to demand, fast replies to enquiries, reviews that keep coming, calendars that open at the right time. Two identical properties can be thousands of pounds apart on this alone. It is the part most owners underestimate, and the part a management company is for.
The maths is nightly rate times booked nights
Every short-let income figure comes down to two numbers multiplied together: the average nightly rate you actually achieve, and the number of nights that actually get booked.
Be careful with occupancy percentages. “65% occupancy” sounds meaningful, but it hides the shape of the year. A coastal cottage might run nearly full from June to September and near-empty in January, and still average 55%. A city apartment near a hospital might sit at a steady 70% all year at a lower rate. Same average, completely different businesses.
When you assess a property, think in booked nights per month by season, not in one annual percentage. It keeps you honest about the quiet months, which is exactly where inflated estimates fall apart.
Gross is not what you keep
The number most listings, calculators and salespeople quote is gross booking revenue. Before you compare that with a tenancy, subtract:
- Platform commission, which varies by booking site and fee model
- Cleaning and laundry, partly covered by guest cleaning fees, rarely fully
- Utilities, broadband and a TV licence, because guests expect all of them
- Consumables and replacements: toiletries, tea and coffee, linen wear, the wine glass that breaks every month
- Specialist insurance, because standard landlord or home policies usually do not cover paying guests
- Maintenance and wear, which runs higher than a tenancy because more people pass through
- Management fees, if you use a manager; we set out what management costs in the UK separately
- Council tax or business rates, mortgage interest and, eventually, tax on the profit
None of this makes short lets a bad idea. It makes gross-to-gross comparisons a bad idea.
A worked example, with made-up numbers on purpose
These figures are invented to show the method. They are not a forecast, not an average and not a promise; your property will differ, possibly a lot.
| Line | Illustrative year |
|---|---|
| Average achieved nightly rate | £115 |
| Booked nights (busy summer, quiet January) | 190 |
| Gross booking revenue | £21,850 |
| Platform commission | about £650 |
| Cleaning and laundry not covered by guest fees | about £1,300 |
| Utilities, broadband, TV licence | about £2,400 |
| Consumables and replacements | about £600 |
| Specialist insurance | about £600 |
| Maintenance and wear | about £1,200 |
| Full management at a typical market rate | about £3,900 |
| Left before mortgage, rates and income tax | about £11,200 |
Copy the sums, not the numbers. The point is the gap between the £21,850 headline and what is actually left, and how quickly that gap grows if the nightly rate or booked nights were optimistic to begin with. This is why every estimate should show its assumptions. If someone quotes you an annual figure without them, ask where each line came from.
Why online calculators only get you so far
Instant Airbnb calculators pull averages from listings near your postcode. That is genuinely useful for a first sense of the market, and genuinely misleading as a prediction for your property, because an average of nearby listings cannot see:
- the condition and style of your specific property
- whether your photos will compete at the top of the market or the bottom
- parking, outdoor space, views, hot tubs and the other premium-makers
- how well those comparable listings are actually run
- whether the “comparables” are even comparable
Use calculators for a ballpark. Do not buy furniture based on one.
How we build a valuation you can trust
When we value a property, we look at comparable listings that are genuinely comparable, what they achieve by season, where your property would sit against them on capacity and presentation, what it will cost to run, and whether the whole thing is worth doing at all. You see the assumptions behind every figure, and the valuation includes a suitability view, not just a revenue range.
Sometimes the honest answer is that short-letting is not right for the property, and we say so before you spend anything. That is the point of doing it this way.
A note from Leo: I have sat with owners who were handed a best-case annual figure to win their instruction, then spent a year wondering why the payouts never matched it. A valuation should be something you can hold the company to, which is why ours show the workings. I would rather lose an instruction than inflate a number.
If you want the numbers for your own property rather than a method, get a free Airbnb valuation. It costs nothing, and you keep the honest answer either way.
Frequently asked questions
Will an Airbnb earn more than a long-term let?
Sometimes, and sometimes not once you compare what you keep rather than what you gross. The answer depends on demand, seasonality, running costs and how the property is managed. We compare the two routes properly in Airbnb vs long-term letting.
What occupancy rate should I expect?
There is no honest single number. Occupancy depends on the market, the season, the price and the listing itself, and an annual average hides more than it reveals. Judge any estimate by whether it shows booked nights by season, not a flattering yearly percentage.
Is the income guaranteed?
No. Income under a management arrangement depends on real bookings and is never guaranteed, and you should be sceptical of anyone who says otherwise. Separately, for selected properties that pass stricter checks, we may offer a fixed rent under a company let agreement, where we rent the property and carry the booking risk ourselves. It is a different contract, it is not risk-free and it is not available for every property.
Do I pay tax on Airbnb income?
Yes. Short-let profits are taxable, and the furnished holiday lettings tax regime that used to give holiday lets favourable treatment was abolished from April 2025, so short-let income is now taxed like other property income. Speak to an accountant about your own position.
