Shifting from Rigid Tenancy to High-Yield Shortlets

Our client, a resident in Rome, owns a property in London rented out to long-term residents. The consistent rental income was a welcome relief at first. Unfortunately, life had a way of making the long-term tenancy agreement an inconvenience.

When a family member’s health started to deteriorate, our client needed to travel back to London frequently. Due to the long-term agreement with residents, the client was unable to use their property every time they were in town.

Challenge:

The recent developments in the client’s personal life revealed the long-term rental agreements no longer worked and had a couple of problems.

The first was flexibility. The client needed the property to be available at certain periods. This wasn’t possible with a long-term rental agreement.

The second issue was the rental income. Although the long-term residents provided stable revenue, it wasn’t optimised for maximum returns like a short-term rental could provide.

The third challenge was property management. Although short-term letting was the answer to the property’s availability issue, with the client living in Rome, it was difficult to manage a short let from far away.

Solution:

It was obvious that the client would benefit from a short-term rental strategy. It would solve the availability issues and allow the property to earn from rental income. But there was still one issue to be solved – property management.

This was where City Relay stepped in.

When the client met us the first time, we viewed the property and immediately discussed design improvements to increase its rental appeal. City Relay’s partnership with Element One House gave the client access to well-crafted furniture that elevated the premium space.

We offered end-to-end property management services that included property design, professional photography and video (for marketing materials), guest relations and communication, booking schedules, cleaning and maintenance, etc. We also set up complimentary WiFi, car service assistance and personal check-ins to improve the guest experience. We took charge of providing luxurious amenities like fresh linen and towels, eco-friendly toiletries, etc.

Since City Relay uses a smart proprietary platform to manage properties, the client could oversee their property’s performance even from afar.

Not only that, City Relay introduced the concept of the flexible letting method – a strategy that combined the stability of long-term and higher earning potential of short-term letting. When used with dynamic pricing strategies, the client enjoyed higher rental yields.

Results:

The partnership between City Relay gave the client incredible results:

95% occupancy rate
Significant booking value worth £50,000 for approximately 190 nights
A well-designed home away from home that gained 5-star reviews

Conclusion:

By partnering with City Relay, the client transformed their property into a high-performing short-term rental. The flexible letting method, premium furnishing, luxury amenities and professional property management services allowed the client to boost their rental yields while keeping it available for family emergencies.

This further shows that City Relay’s expertise in property management could cater to the unique needs and challenges property owners face. Our tailored services transform properties to achieve high occupancy rates and significant rental income.