Can Christmas pay for itself this year?

We all know that Christmas can be an expensive time of the year. Average household spending increases at Christmas time in the UK by almost £800 according to data compiled by the Bank of England. It’s not surprising that the additional money is spent on food, alcohol, clothing, toiletries, electronics, music and DVDs – all the good things we enjoy or buy as gifts over the festive period. But what if you could earn additional money to cover these additional costs and more? This is all possible with a little bit of advance planning.  

The majority of our hosts short-let their London properties over Christmas while they stay with family or friends, take off on a well-earned holiday or if it is their second property. High demand for accommodation in London over this period, and vacation rentals, in particular, push up the nightly price. We’re forecasting this year that City Relay’s hosts will be able to earn an average of £100 per night over the holiday period. Bookings in December range from one-night visits to month-long stays, with the average length of stay being 9 nights. 

So with demand for Christmas bookings steadily building, we’ve taken a look at what you could potentially earn by short-letting your London property this December. 

What you could earn over the Christmas period 

We’ve analysed our booking data for December 2020 to identify which areas of London are most in demand for short lets over the festive period. In the table below we’ve ranked the top 5 London postcodes based on the average rate per night this December. With the average length of stay increasing to 9 this year (from 6.5 last year), we’ve determined what you could earn if you were to short let your property this Christmas.  These calculations assume one booking in December for an average length of stay, is 9 nights.

* Based on the properties we manage which are typically high-end apartments and houses suitable for couples and families.

It’s not surprising that Hammersmith and Kensington and Chelsea are proving to be popular location choices, with easy access to Heathrow Airport, transport hubs, and a plethora of sightseeing and shopping options on the doorstep for both first-time or repeat visitors to London.    

If you are interested in short-letting your London property this Christmas and beyond, we would love to hear from you. Our onboarding process is quick and easy, so there’s still time to start making money through hassle-free holiday rentals this year. Contact us today or fill out the free rent estimation form to find out how much your property could be earning for you throughout the year.