All businesses / Short-term rental management

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Start a short-term rental management: the real numbers

Running other people's holiday lets. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€1,500–€8,000

Hours / week

15–45

First income

~8 wks

Net margin

60%

Saturation

medium

Realistic ceiling

€900–€4,000+

This ceiling is not a wall

The figure above is what this earns in the shape described — you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.

What nobody usually tells you

All the upside of short lets without buying the property: you take 15-20% of someone else's revenue. The catch is that you inherit every problem at midnight, and owners leave the moment they think they could do it themselves.

The route, in five steps

  1. Charge 15-20% of gross, never a flat fee
  2. Start with two units you can reach in 20 minutes
  3. Own the cleaning rota — it is the whole service
  4. Photograph every check-out for damage disputes
  5. Grow to eight units before hiring anyone

What you'll need to buy

These are the categories every short-term rental management pays for in the first month. We break down what each one actually costs at this size on the tools page.

channel managercleaning teaminsurancekey safes

Does it hold up for you?

These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your capital, your hours and how long you can wait — put them in and see.

Run my numbers → See the tool stack