How flexible letting can maximise your income
Industry Insights

How flexible letting can maximise your income

Written by City Relay

Balancing short, medium, and long-term lets to maximise profit can be difficult. Each type has benefits and drawbacks, but at City Relay, we believe that a combination is the best approach.

Short-term lets are great for achieving higher nightly rates, but they can lag behind when demand shrinks in colder months or once the 90 day short-term let limit has been reached. On the other hand, long-term lets sacrifice higher short-term returns but provide a steady income. Mid-term contracts bridge the gap between the two, but they’re not the optimal solution on their own.

Why combine all three?

Trends show a cultural shift in the way that we live, work and consume. Finding products and services that cater to us, as opposed to the other way around, is becoming a basic requirement.

In fact, the term flexibility has become a bit of a buzzword when talking about practices, study and even payment solutions. The property rental market looks to be headed in the same direction, and flexible letting means you’re not limited in what you offer. The model responds to evolving market demands, blending letting options to offer measurable benefits.

At City Relay, we’ve seen a big increase in the average length of stay for short-term lets compared to pre-pandemic levels. In some months, the average length of stay increased by more than two weeks. We’ve also seen flexible living reflected in a notable rise in last-minute bookings. Now more than ever, renters are responding to ever-changing environments, creating a greater need for flexible solutions.

In providing residents with the flexibility they need, the occupancy rates at City Relay are almost double that of the rest of the London market. And, thanks to smart technology, we’re able to adapt rent rates to best reflect optimal occupancy all year round, further maximising ROI.

Our research shows that both short and long-term lets are changing. A short-term contract now covers contracts lasting 28 days to six months, while some long-term lets run month-to-month, rather than on a fixed-term basis. Our estimates suggest that mid-term lets provide around 15% more yield than traditional 12-month contracts, and it’s all down to the need for flexibility. So, a flexible approach means you can reap the benefits of each type of letting while discarding their disadvantages.

Is this a lot of work?

Flexible letting is proactive by nature, so forward planning and strategy are vital to your success. The effective diversification of your listings and in-depth research are also required, so you need to choose your property management partners carefully and that’s where we come in.

At City Relay, we’re committed to helping landlords make the most of their investment properties by combining industry and London expertise with smart technology and a consistent, first-class services.

Our goal is to help investors say goodbye to lengthy, time-consuming admin while providing a premier service.  Our proprietary, industry-leading technology provides real-time information on your portfolio, giving you total visibility of information about the property. It also lets you review detailed calculations of your finances and monitor your properties’ performance. We make sure you have easy access to the information you need, whenever you need it.

Our effectiveness is further underlined by our Trustscore of 4.9/5 from 700+ Trustpilot reviews.

If you’re interested in learning more, get a free rental estimate now and we will be in touch shortly!

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