Airbnb Management London: The 90-Night Rule and 6 Companies (2026)

Most people who ask about Airbnb management in London have already run
into the thing that makes London different from every American market: you cannot let a
whole home for more than 90 nights a year without planning permission. Every
decision that follows — whether to use a manager, which one, and what to pay them
— is downstream of that single number.

This guide covers what the law actually allows, five
Airbnb management companies operating in London with the fee each one
publishes, and how to judge them. Every company below was checked against its own website in
August 2026; where a company does not publish its rate, that is said rather than guessed.

The 90-night rule, and what it means for your income

In Greater London a whole residential property may be short-let for no more than 90 nights in a calendar year without planning permission. The limit comes from Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973 s.25, relaxed by the Deregulation Act 2015 s.44. The counter
1 January each year, and the condition is simple: the host must be liable for council tax at the property.

• 90 nights: the maximum a whole home may be short-let in a calendar year
  without planning permission.
• Resets 1 January: nights do not roll over, and they do not carry back.
• Single rooms are exempt: letting a single room rather than the whole home is not caught by the limit.
• Beyond the limit: planning permission for a change of use from C3 to temporary sleeping accommodation; enforcement can carry fines of up to GBP 20,000.

In plain English: London lets you run a home like a hotel for a quarter of the year, and
after that it wants you to ask. That is not a loophole to be worked around — Airbnb
itself caps London listings at 90 nights automatically unless you have permission on file.

The practical consequence is that a London property earns its keep in a compressed window,
which puts far more weight on nightly rate and far less on volume than a comparable American
listing. It is the opposite of the
rental arbitrage arithmetic that works in an uncapped US
market, and it is why
pricing matters more here than
almost anywhere else.

What good management is actually doing in a 90-night market

When the calendar is capped, the job changes. A manager is no longer trying to fill 300
nights; they are trying to make 90 nights worth more than 300 mediocre ones. That means:

• Picking the right 90 nights. Wimbledon fortnight, the Christmas market
  weeks and the summer peak are not interchangeable with a wet Tuesday in February.
• Distribution beyond one platform. A listing on
  several booking platforms competes for the same
  nights at several price points.
• Turnaround speed. With a hard cap, a night lost to a slow changeover is
  a night you cannot make back later in the year.
  A disciplined turnover is worth more in London than
  in a market where you can simply add another booking.
• Compliance paperwork. Council tax liability, borough rules and, past 90
  nights, an actual planning application.

Your borough matters as much as the rule

The 90-night limit is London-wide, but enforcement is not. It is administered borough by
borough, and the boroughs differ in how actively they look. Westminster, Kensington and
Chelsea, Camden and Tower Hamlets all publish their own short-term letting guidance and all
run enforcement teams; several operate reporting lines for neighbours. The
City of London and
Tower Hamlets both set out the position on their own planning pages.

Two practical consequences. First, a manager who works across London should be able to
tell you, without looking it up, how your specific borough behaves. Second, the leasehold
question is separate from the planning one: a great many London flats are held on leases that
forbid short letting outright, and no amount of staying under 90 nights makes that lease
clause go away. Check the lease before you check the calendar.

Best Airbnb management companies in London

Five companies below, plus One Fine BnB. Fees are quoted as each company states them;
three of the five publish a number and two do not. Two more names that appear in third-party
“best of London” lists were checked and are not included: one has a parked domain
with no site behind it, and one did not resolve at all on the day of writing. That is worth
knowing if you are working from someone else’s list.

1. One Fine BnB

One Fine BnB has been managing short-term rentals since 2010
— sixteen years — from its base in Austin, Texas, with a portfolio the company
puts at $2.3 billion in managed property value, a 92% owner
retention rate and a 4.9/5 average guest rating. One Fine BnB
reports occupancy 51% above the market average across the homes it runs.

One Fine BnB is based in the United States, and it is
worth being straight about what that means for a London property. The company’s
Partner Management model is the one built for exactly this situation: the
owner keeps their own local cleaning and on-site team, and One Fine BnB runs everything that
does not require standing in the flat — the listing, the pricing, the distribution and
the guests. That is the honest fit for a London owner who already has a cleaner they trust,
and it is the model this page recommends considering rather than a claim of British
boots on the ground.

• Full Service Management — 20% of rental revenue: the hands-off
  model, where One Fine BnB handles both the on-site and the off-site work.
• Partner Management — 10% of rental revenue: remote only. You keep
  your own cleaning and on-site team; One Fine BnB runs the listing, the pricing and the
  guests.
• A $500 one-time onboarding retainer covers setup — photography,
  listing creation, property prep. After that the company is paid only when you are.
• No long-term contracts, and no hidden fees on top of the percentage.

Both percentages are charged on rental revenue only. For comparison, the
company puts the usual industry range at 25–50%. What the fee buys is
listing distribution across 50+ booking platforms — Airbnb, Vrbo,
Booking.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor, Marriott Bonvoy Homes & Villas and Kayak among them
— AI-driven dynamic pricing
that reads market trends, seasonal demand and local events,
guest screening with damage coverage,
24/7 guest support, professional photography, SEO-written
listing titles, vetted housekeeping and post-stay walkthroughs with photo documentation.

If you are weighing this against doing it yourself, the honest comparison is
what management actually costs against what
occupancy it buys back.

2. GuestReady

In its own words: “Professional Airbnb management in London from 12% commission”

Stated fee: from 12% of rental revenue; commission depends on property profile and location.

• multi-platform listing
• professional photography
• price optimisation
• guest vetting
• 24/7 guest communication
• check-in

3. Houst

In its own words: “End-to-end short-term rental management in London from 12%”

Stated fee: 12% of gross booking revenue full-time, 18% part-time.

• listing creation and optimisation
• professional photography
• dynamic pricing
• guest vetting
• 24/7 support
• check-in coordination

4. City Relay

In its own words: “London's Best Short Let Management”

Stated fee: revenue share OR guaranteed rent; no percentage published on the page.

• home staging
• professional photos
• 3D virtual tours
• guest communication
• check-in
• cleaning

5. A Place Like Home

In its own words: “We specialise in the short-term rental & holiday let of luxury properties in London's most desirable locations.”

A Place Like Home does not publish a rate on its site — the page says tailored packages; no rate published. Ask for it in writing before you sign anything.

• listing optimisation
• pricing strategy
• guest communication
• key exchange
• cleaning
• maintenance

6. Your AirHost

In its own words: “Flexible Airbnb property management services within London including corporate booking services, short term lets, medium-term and monthly reservations.”

Your AirHost does not publish a rate on its site — the page says no rate published on the page. Ask for it in writing before you sign anything.

• photography
• listing across 40+ platforms
• 24/7 check-in
• property audits
• guest communication
• insurance

What Airbnb management costs in London

Three of the six publish a percentage. The spread is narrower than in the United States,
where the company puts the usual range at 25–50%.

A lower percentage is not automatically the cheaper deal. Read what sits outside it:
cleaning charged per changeover, linen hire, photography, and whether the rate applies to
gross booking revenue or to what actually reaches you. Our
breakdown of management fees walks through the
difference, and it is the same question wherever the property is.

How to choose an Airbnb manager in London

• Ask what they do at night 91. A manager who has never handled a planning
  application, or who shrugs at the question, is telling you something.
• Ask which platforms. Airbnb alone is one demand curve; several is
  several.
• Ask what the percentage is charged on. Gross booking revenue and net
  payout are different numbers, and the gap is not small.
• Ask who owns the listing. If the account is theirs, leaving costs you
  your review history — and
  reviews are the hardest asset to rebuild.
• Ask for the contract term. A twelve-month lock-in on a 90-night market
  is a large commitment to a stranger.

Do I need planning permission to run an Airbnb in London?

Not for the first 90 nights of a calendar year, provided you are liable for council tax at
the property. Past that, yes: letting a whole home beyond 90 nights is a change of use and
requires permission, with enforcement carrying fines of up to £20,000. Letting a single
room while you live there is not caught by the limit at all.

Is Airbnb still worth it in London with the 90-night cap?

It depends entirely on what those 90 nights are worth against twelve months of an assured
shorthold tenancy. The cap does not make short-letting unprofitable; it makes it a
rate-driven business rather than a volume-driven one. If your flat is somewhere people pay a
premium to stay — near a venue, a terminus, a hospital — the compressed season
can still beat a long let. If it is not, the arithmetic gets thin fast, and it is worth
running honestly before you furnish anything. Our
business plan guide is the place to do that.

Can I use a US-based manager for a London property?

For the remote half of the job, yes — listing, pricing, distribution and guest
communication do not require anyone to be in the building. For the on-site half —
changeovers, key handling, a broken boiler at 11pm — you need someone local, whether
that is a company on this page or your own cleaner. That split is exactly what
off-site management is, and it is why
One Fine BnB’s Partner model exists.

Final thoughts

London is not a hard market to host in. It is a market with one number in it, and every
sensible decision follows from respecting that number rather than trying to route around it.
Pick a manager who can say what happens at night 91, get the fee basis in writing, and keep
your own listing account.

If your London property is one where you already have a cleaner and a key-holder and what
you actually need is the listing run properly, that is what
our management service does. Have a look at
who we are, or start with the
questions owners ask us most.