One of the UK’s most popular tourist cities, the Scottish capital of Edinburgh is dotted with Airbnb homes – and many owners utilise the services of a management company to make hosting easier.
A bird’s-eye view of Edinburgh (Photo: Chris Yunker via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
Given the ubiquity of Airbnb properties around the world, it’s tempting to forget that the concept grew out of the trend for casual couch surfing that began in the 1990s. Today huge numbers of home owners opening up their property to guests they’ve never met before. For Airbnb hosts, dealing with the logistics of managing a rental property can be a real challenge. In response to this, there are now a number of Airbnb management companies that offer to take this burden off your hands. If you’re an Airbnb host in Edinburgh, or are thinking of becoming one, we’ve looked into all the management companies operating in the city and picked out three of the best.
GuestReady
Founded in 2016, GuestReady have rapidly become a highly reputable name in the competitive world of Airbnb management, winning several notable awards since launching. The company’s services include setting up your listing, sending professional photographers to snap your home, optimised pricing based on deep data, meet-and-greets with guests, professional housekeeping, and maintenance. As well as their standard services, GuestReady also offer hosts their own personalised dashboard where they can access real-time insights from their property, including a multi-channel booking calendar and revenue reports.
UpperKey
UpperKey offer zero cost property management in Edinburgh and guaranteed high monthly rents for Edinburgh property owners, regardless of whether their home is occupied by guests or not. As a result, they reduce risks for hosts while providing year-round stability and maximised rental profits. UpperKey determine the rental value of your property or portfolio, before making an offer for up to 3 years of tenancy with 1 year of rent paid upfront. UpperKey then become your sole tenant, with the choice of opting for a long term or short term rental, depending on what works best for your circumstances. They also provide full host management and concierge services without fees and manage all of the administration in accordance with Airbnb rules in Edinburgh.
Evergreen Property
Based in Edinburgh, Evergreen have been managing short term let properties for over 4 years and averages a rating of over 9 (out of 10) on Booking.com and 4.8 (out of 5) on Airbnb. The company, which is an agency member of both the ASSC and Council for Letting Agents, offers bespoke packages for landlords with various levels of servicing, ranging from basic offerings through to full, hands-off packages whereby hosts hand a property’s keys over to Evergreen who take over and manage everything. Among their specific services are creating your listing, photography of your property, controlling your home’s pricing strategy, guest liaison from booking to check-out, cleaning and maintenance. Evergreen also create a multi-page property-specific welcome pack in both electric and hard copy form for all guest stays.