When it comes to short-letting, like everything, there are pros and cons. If you’re a homeowner, you may have thought about renting out your property on sites like Airbnb and Booking.com as an extra source of income. The short-letting industry has exploded over the past few years, in fact, last year Airbnb welcomed over 8 million guests in the UK alone. Before you delve into the vast short-letting world, it may be useful to know what are the main pros and cons of hosting on Airbnb as well as the major pitfalls to avoid.

Pro - Increased earnings Short-letting is potentially very lucrative. Did you know you can earn up to 50% more than long-term letting? This is possible by modifying your nightly rate to coincide with seasonal differences, events and the pricing of other listings in the area.

Con - Bumpy income With short-letting, it’s extremely difficult to achieve 100% occupancy since guests’ stays don’t always coincide with one another. This means that some months you will earn slightly more than others. While this may be no problem for those short-letting as a way to earn extra cash, if you rely on a specific monthly income it may be something to weigh up properly.

Pro - Flexibility You have complete control over the days, weeks and months during which you rent out your property. This is ideal if you’re travelling for a couple of months or if you have a second property that you need occasional access to. All you need to do is block out the dates in your calendar!

Con - Hands-on If you’re handling everything yourself, being an Airbnb host can be very time consuming. Even when you’re not at the property greeting guests, cleaning or doing the laundry, you’ll be communicating with guests and answering any queries they have.

Pro – Great spaces attract great guests Good photography and good interior design can boost daily rates you can charge for your property by up to 20%, as well as increase occupancy rates by 22%. Having worked on many successful projects, you can see here the numbers behind the success of Airbnb hosts who opted for the Homewings interior design service.

Pitfalls

Bad photography When it comes to successfully marketing your property on Airbnb, there are lots of tips you should take onboard. The quality of your photos come top of the priority list as photos need to be sharp and showcase the space on offer. If you’re not sure you can do this yourself, hire a professional photographer.

Wrong price To get guests through the door, you need to price your property right. Too low and your income won’t be worth the effort, too high and you will have trouble getting any guests at all.

If you want to reap the rewards of short-letting your property on Airbnb but don’t want the hassle of having to do everything yourself, use short-let property management company Pass the Keys. They use a unique pricing strategy to maximise your income, and deal with everything from guest-vetting, bookings and check-in to 24/7 guest support, cleaning and laundry.

Find out how much you can earn from short-letting using an online calculator or speak to a member of their team.