7 Airbnb Arbitrage Statistics in
The United Kingdom
You Must
Know
Quick Airbnb Arbitrage Statistics and Facts - The United Kingdom
- The average rent in the The United Kingdom is £1,329 and the average Airbnb host income is £1,890 per month. Therefore, the gap between the long-term and short-term rent is £561.
- Startup cost: It costs around £2,820 to start an Airbnb listing. The major costs are to furnish bedrooms and living room.
- The city with the most number of Airbnb Listings in The United Kingdom is London with 55,484. The average occupancy rate of an Airbnb listing in The United Kingdom is 62%.
- A typical listing charges £102 per night excluding service charge and cleaning fees.
Airbnb Arbitrage is a business activity which one makes profit from difference between Airbnb revenue and rent price one pay for the property.
One can start an Airbnb business without owning property and starting a 1-bedroom Airbnb costs 2,820 in The United Kingdom.
As of 13th November, 2024, 389,580 properties are on Airbnb and available for booking. The major city is London with 55,484 listings.
How profitable is Airbnb Arbitrage in The United Kingdom?
Let's use the average numbers to see what it's like to do Airbnb Arbitrage. Average rent price in The United Kingdom is £1,329 per month and average Airbnb listings’ monthly revenue is £1,890. This give £561 profit before cleaning costs and other expenses.
The startup cost
This is the cost you need to spent in the beginning to start the Airbnb. It is furnishing cost plus the deposit for renting (typically between 1-2 months of rent price). In The United Kingdom, the average 1-bedroom costs £2,820 to furnish a property like the image below. See the detailed breakdown of the startup cost.
One-time cost
One-time cost is more like a sunk cost. The cost that you won't be able to get back. The true cost of starting an Airbnb unit. Your furnitures will depreciate but you still own them, and you can re-sell or use it for another Airbnb Arbitrage at the end of your rental contract. You should get back major portion of your deposit as well. Generally speaking, about 30% of startup cost won't be returned to you.
With this, your breakeven point looks like below.
Airbnb Arbitrage Breakeven Analysis
Monthly Rent
£1,329
Monthly Expense
£132
One-time Cost
£846
Monthly Profit
£561
Best cities in The United Kingdom to do Airbnb Arbitrage
Here are the 3 cities with the most number of Airbnb listings. See the full list of 312 cities here.
London
- Arbitrage Price: £12 /mo
- Average Rent Price: £2,837 /mo
- Average Airbnb Revenue: £2,849 /mo
- Number of listings: 55,484
- Occupancy: 74%
- Nightly Rate: £136
Cornwall
- Arbitrage Price: £1,050 /mo
- Average Rent Price: £1,186 /mo
- Average Airbnb Revenue: £2,236 /mo
- Number of listings: 13,305
- Occupancy: 62%
- Nightly Rate: £121
Westminster
- Arbitrage Price: £-733 /mo
- Average Rent Price: £5,589 /mo
- Average Airbnb Revenue: £4,856 /mo
- Number of listings: 7,681
- Occupancy: 79%
- Nightly Rate: £217
Acquire your first property
Acquiring the first property may sound challenging, but your first landlord may accept your offer too. Most landlords are not too keen on short-term rentals. Their three main concerns are complaints from their neighbors, excessive wear and tear, and unable to collect monies from you.
The best way is to meet the landlords face to face and talk with them. Many landlords are open to this. Building the trust is the key.
Here are a few pointers to convince the landlord for your first property.
- Offer 5-10% higher rental fee
- Offer a higher amount of deposit
- Pay a few months' rent in advance
- Provide a monthly report on property damages
- Use noise monitoring software to quickly address situations in which neighbors may feel uncomfortable
- Sign up for short-term rental insurance
If you are in the US, then try out a software called Airvana. On their website, you can find properties for rent that the landlords have already approved for rental arbitrage. Airvana use Airbtics data to power their market intelligence side.
Furnish your property
If this is your first property, start lean, and invest in better items as you make more money. For a 1-bedroom apartment, you can furnish a basic listing under $2,000. Providing a kitchen isn’t a must.
For an Airbnb property, you need to choose your theme and color palette. This will drastically improve your listing on photos and attract short-term guests. Here are examples of basic amenities you need
- Refrigerator
- Dining table and chairs
- Sofa
- Bed frame
- Mattress
- Pillows
- Linen
- Closet organizer
- Decorative items
Publish an Airbnb Listing
It’s surprisingly easy to publish a listing. One can publish a listing in 30 minutes. Once you publish, potential guests can see your listing and start booking.
The most important part here is to use really nice pictures of your Airbnb. If it’s your first time, hire a professional who has done this before in your area. Your listing doesn’t have any reviews so guests can only rely on your listing’s picture before making a reservation.
Start with renting out a room, not the entire property
Are you a student or just got your first job? One idea for you. Rent an entire property with 3-4 bedrooms. You can live in one of the rooms and rent out the rest of the rooms on Airbnb. I did this personally when I was living in London in the The United Kingdom. My Airbnb guests covered my entire rent. When my parents visited me in London, I just blocked the calendars on Airbnb so that I could use the entire property for my family. This would have been not possible with a long-term tenant. This also taught me good lessons on how to operate an Airbnb business efficiently.