How Much Can You Earn From Airbnb in London? A Landlord's Income Guide for 2026

The short answer

A well-managed one-bedroom flat earns 20–40% more net income as a short-let than as a standard long let. Across the areas Airhosts manages, one-bed nightly rates run from £155 to £285 a night, against long-let rents of £1,300 to £2,900 a month.

The exact figure comes down to three numbers you control or influence: your nightly rate, your occupancy, and your running costs. This guide walks through each, with a worked example so you can run the same sums on your own property.

The three numbers that decide your income

1. Nightly rate — what your area supports

A one-bedroom flat in Yeading earns around £155 a night. The same flat in Kensington earns around £285. The spread comes from demand: proximity to Heathrow, the business districts and the tourist centres all push a rate up.

Your rate is set by your area and your property's standard, not by ambition. A two-bed, or a flat with parking or a balcony, earns more than a basic one-bed in the same postcode.

2. Occupancy — how many nights you actually book

A well-run short-let books around 21 nights a month on average, a 70% occupancy rate. Season, events and how well the listing is managed all move this number.

This is where self-managed landlords lose the most money. A listing that is slow to reply to enquiries, carries average photos, or is priced badly books 12–15 nights a month instead of 21. That gap is the difference between a strong return and a disappointing one.

3. Running costs — what comes out before you are paid

Short-lets carry costs a long let does not: management and platform fees, professional cleaning between every stay, and replenished linen and consumables. We break the fee down in full in the Airbnb management fees guide. On top of that sit the running costs a short-let landlord carries between guests — utilities, council tax, broadband and insurance, roughly £800 a month for a one-bed. On a long let the tenant pays the utilities, so the landlord's equivalent costs are closer to a tenth of the rent.

A worked example

Take a central London one-bed that commands £225 a night and books 21 nights a month.

• Gross bookings: £225 × 21 = £4,725.
• After management, platform and cleaning costs, then about £800 of running costs, the landlord clears roughly £2,460 a month.
• The same flat on a long let at £2,200 a month nets around £1,980 after the costs a long-let landlord carries.

The short-let is about £480 a month better, a 24% uplift and at the conservative end of the 20–40% range we typically see. Run the same sums on a £285-a-night Kensington one-bed and the gap widens further.

What moves the number

• Area. Central and Heathrow-corridor postcodes hold the highest rates and the most consistent occupancy.
• Property type. A furnished two-bed with parking outperforms an unfurnished one-bed.
• Season. Summer and the run-up to Christmas are strong; January and February are softer. Good management smooths the peaks rather than chasing them.
• Management quality. This is the single largest variable. A professionally managed listing books more nights and holds a higher rate than a self-managed one.

The 90-night rule

If the property is your primary residence, the Greater London Authority Act 1991 limits short-lets to 90 nights a calendar year without planning permission. The cap does not apply to secondary or investment properties, which is what most of our landlords let. If you plan to let your own home, work the limit into your sums first.

Why management moves the number more than anything else

The 20–40% figure assumes the property is managed properly: priced to the market, photographed well, cleaned between every stay, and with someone answering enquiries quickly. That is the difference between 21 booked nights a month and 14.

Airhosts handles the listing, pricing, guest communication, cleaning and compliance end to end, for a management fee of 15% (Full-Time) or 18% (Flexible), calculated on net revenue after platform fees. Most landlords we work with find the net result is higher than self-managing, because occupancy and rate move further than the fee costs.

If you want to know what your specific property would earn, get a free income estimate from Airhosts. We run the numbers for your postcode and show you the long-let comparison in writing.