Here's an at-a-glance guide to the differences between letting your property on a long or short basis. There are several types of short let but here we compare the Airbnb-type that we help owners and capitalise on.
| Long Let | Airbnb-Type Short Let | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is Letting | Landlord | Host |
| Who is Staying | Tenant | Guest |
| Online advertising | Estate Agent and /or property aggregator website (such as Rightmove and Zoopla). | Short let booking website such as Airbnb. |
| Rent Model | Based on a fixed rate regardless of the number of tenants. | Based on the number of guests staying. |
| Profitability | Lower than Short Let. | Higher than Long Let. |
| Parties to Contract | Landlord and Tenant | Host, booking website and Guest |
| Occupancy | Permanent / continuous | Temporary / multiple |
| Flexibility | None | Short letting can be paused / stopped. For example if you wish to accommodate friends and family visits or if you decide to sell the property. |
| Fees & Costs | Estate agent fee | Airbnb / booking website fee (Total Guest Management) |
| Financial Risk | Credit checking assures low default risk but if the contrary, it can take at least 2 months before eviction process can start. Deposit is usually 1 month's rent. | As payment is charged by the booking Website to the guest in advance, there is no risk of non payment of the rent. The risk of damage is mitigated by the guests not wanting to receive bad reviews and therefore, preventing themselves from letting other properties. |
| Level of Effort | There are none other than remedial in the tenant has issues with proper functioning of facilities. | Booking, Reputation Management, Cleaning, Maintenance |
| Conclusion | Long lets provide the comfort of fixed income, are generally hassle free but are less profitable over all. | Short lets require a lot more work both physically and administratively to generate a sustained high net income. |
“I was a bit nervous transitioning from long to short letting having recently decorated the property to a high standard - I didn’t fancy the extra wear tear with all those guests checking in and out!
It turns out that’s a commonly exaggerated perception. Anyway, I know Total Guest Management’s guest screening process and the deep cleaning after each guest checkout equivalent to that you get with the end-of-long-let-tenancy mitigates any risk.”