Ever wondered why some landlords earn more than others on similar properties?

Here are the basic rules for success:

Review prices daily to boost your ranking with regular tweaks.
Price for the market, understanding short term influences such as season, events and weather.
Airbnb algorithm likes frequent photo updates.
Create compelling descriptions & avoid pointless words like "stunning" or "perfect".
Expand your visibility across multiple platforms.
Get recognised for exceptional hosting with Superhost Status.
Make your property Airbnb Guest Favorite.
Take great care with Cancellation policy.
Take meticulous care with presentation and maintenance of the property to impress guests upon arrival.

Tick 8 boxes? Good job! But there's one more crucial rule. Click here to find out!

Learn more

LettsGetSmart:
Maximising income; combining short let summers with long let strength.

Short-let and Airbnb property management in London requires personal care and dedication, not booking algorithms and automated chat lines. Then switch to longer lets on the low periods.

A dedicated and personal property management service that offers you a better return on your property portfolio.

How it works

Meet our team

The rules in detail:

This seems to show activity. Active properties get better promotion most of the time, although the various channels do change their algorithms to try to outwit even the best landlords.
But only the tenant and the landlord see the details of payments made. It is not like a shop offering a discount, which everyone can see online or in a shop window; a deal once done is no longer visible. Therefore occasional low prices do not influence other rates. Empty nights are WASTED ASSETS. We do not like any occupancy rates less than 90% and prefer to see 95%.
You can add a few items of local colour, even a little humour goes well with potential guests. Guests get bored of seeing the same wide angle room photos. Try to arrest their interest.
Thoughtless adjectives which carry no meaning at all. If toy want to add text to photos put something out of the ordinary; point out some special feature.
Booking.com; Airbnb; VRBO; Expedia and various specialist channels. However direct bookings are worth much more than channel reservations as they do not suffer channel fees of at least 20% much of the time. Unfortunately most private landlords cannot get direct bookings very easily. Volume managers such as Lettsgetsmart do get these bookings via their own websites and via their emailing lists and return guests.
This does take time to earn and the accolade is easily lost.
Lettsgetsmart will always try to ensure that their properties benefit from this award, which will elevate the property up higher in the channel rankings.
Booking.com often allows very easy cancellation terms for upcoming guests, who will sometimes book several properties and then cancel the ones they do not want. These policies must be very regularly reviewed and changed depending on demand; in principle keep low cancellation options in the busier periods.
Guests must NOT be disappointed; this leads to very bad reviews and therefore bad future bookings. Lettsgetsmart are very smart at ensuring that properties look their best, have small touches that excite and inspire and are remembered.

What is the ONE VITAL EXTRA INGREDIENT FOR SUCCESS?

It is a 24 hour and 7 day a week responsibility. That does not mean all day work; it simply means that the manager has to be on hand to communicate at all times. That keeps guests happy and returning.

This is a cottage industry not a volume management business.

The management that does not work well is the big volume/multi property short let management companies, which have different ‘groups’ for maintenance, guest relations, bookings etc. That is a recipe for failure.

That is why Lettsgetsmart lead London short let business with their Franchise Management system:

Each property has its own dedicated 24/7 wholly responsible manager chosen from our highly qualified and experienced team. They in turn have assistants to support them.
These managers operate as sole traders under financial control of Lettsgetsmart which has three great benefits:
The landlord always knows who to contact
They are usually under the VAT threshold, so there is a 20% saving in fees v (almost) all other professional managers
Income is always securely controlled by Lettsgetsmart, as members of Client Money Protect.

Short Term Property Management in London.jpg

Lettsgetsmart Services:

We are guided by the rules outlined above. The detailed responsibilities are:

Arranging and managing short-term rentals of the Property via Airbnb and other similar marketplaces.

Arranging and managing longer rentals including holiday lets and Assured Shorthold Tenancies

Arranging cleaning and, where necessary, maintenance of the property in condition for the reception of guest.

Answering enquiries and negotiating rentals to approved tenants

Arranging key exchanges and guest arrivals

Optimising rental rates

Managing all bookings in place of the Owner

How letting your property with LettsGetSmart works

We match your property with one of our experienced Managers.

You are matched with one of Lettsgetsmart Personal Property Managers, based on location, experience, references from other landlords and your conversations direct with them.

Our owners want a manager who knows their property and their needs in detail; they don’t want production line management, with no one in charge.

Your manager controls the bookings as directed by you, the landlord.

That Manager, supported by their appointed back-up, usually one of our other Managers, is then in sole charge 24/7 of the property. The Manager deals with all aspects of bookings, guest communication, landlord communication, maintenance and other issues.

Your income payments are secured by LettsGetSmart.

LettsGetSmart controls all income receipts and payments safely and securely.
Rental income is paid directly to you by the guests or paid into your account at the end of each month.

Why it works

A complete and personal service.

Short let management is a cottage industry, not susceptible to economies of scale.

The best managers are always those who know the properties and speak direct to landlords and guests alike.

Our big volume competitors do the opposite. They tend to have one group of executives doing bookings, another does maintenance, another answers landlords complaints etc.

That does not work. That is why so many of them have gone out of business and that includes before the pandemic.

Trusted and secure.

Because it gives you the landlord comfort and security if you have direct access to your manager on the phone instead of contacting a chat line and being told that ‘maintenance team will take this on’ or the ‘bookings group will service that issue’ etc.

Cost effective fees.

All our managers run their own businesses as sole traders or companies.
They manage 20 or less properties, some of which are seasonal and some full year lettings.

We charge their management fees direct to you and in general will remain under the VAT threshold, which results in a direct 20% saving in fees compared with other management companies.

Our fees average about 15% of rental income (varying based on the length of stay; longer lets 12% up to 22% for occasional very short lets).

Learn more about our fees

How Much More Could Your Property Be Earning You?

Our Team

Our team of Property Managers offer the best in service, support and care of your property, whilst maximising your returns.

Elena Romanova

“Occupancy and income immediately improved when Ellie took over management. She has been a very good manager for us.” SB, Director of property management company with 4 properties in Hammersmith managed by Ellie.

Ellie has been managing short let London properties and the related logistics for 9 years including the last 4 years for Lettsgetsmart. She has a BA in Economics from the The University of Varna. She has lived in London since 2010.

Plamena Zhirova

“We have been very happy with the attention to detail, guest and booking management provided by Plamena since she took on our property”. Owner of 2 bed Brixton apartment.

Plamena has a BA in Economics from The International Business School of Bulgaria, Sofia. She has been managing short let properties in London for 6 years.
Plamena is an accomplished photographer, which is useful for Lettsgetsmart (@zirovaphotography).

Get in touch

Our Partners

“The professionalism of the team has given us the confidence that our property is taken care of and that our investment property is being managed to a very high standard.”

— Chanya Wichitchan

more testimonials

Get in touch.

Our office is in west London but we cover all of London so feel free to contact us today.