Still losing up to 18% of every booking? Direct bookings with us are 5%.
We manage short-term rentals across the UK and South Africa — filling them through our own booking engine at 5% commission instead of the 15–18% the large platforms take.
Part of Charles Hope — serviced apartments in 15+ UK locations and Cape Town.
The problem
Most short-let managers list your property on Airbnb and Booking.com and stop there. The platform takes its 15–18%, the agency takes its 20%, and a fixed monthly charge lands whether the property was booked or not.
Charles Hope has spent years building direct demand — corporate accounts, relocation agents and returning guests who book us straight. Pointing that at your property is what makes 5% possible.
62%
reaches you
18% platform commission + 20% management, plus a fixed monthly account charge on top.
83%
reaches you
5% on direct bookings + 12% management. No monthly account fee, no minimum term.
Savings comparison
Move the slider to your monthly booking revenue. Same bookings, same property — the only difference is who takes a cut on the way through.
£5,000
Typical agency · OTA-led
£3,075
you keep · 62% of revenue
CharlesHope Living · direct-led
£4,150
you keep · 83% of revenue
You keep more with CharlesHope Living
£1,075/ month
That is £12,900 a year on the same bookings.
Comparison uses typical market rates — 18% OTA commission, 20% management and a fixed monthly account charge — and excludes VAT. Your own agreement may differ.
Average rate finder
Search any UK or South African market to see what comparable short-lets achieve per night, how often they book, and what would reach your account after our fees.
London — Battersea · 1 bedroom
Greater London · United Kingdom
Average nightly rate
£158
blended across platforms, before fees
What lands in your account
Indicative area averages for professionally managed short-lets, updated periodically from market data. Not a quote or a guarantee — actual performance depends on the property, its presentation and the season.
Open the full rate finderWhat we do
Marketing, guests, housekeeping and reporting — handled by the team that runs Charles Hope's own serviced apartments, to the same specification.
01Your property is marketed to corporate accounts and returning Charles Hope guests through our own booking engine — not rented out to a platform that takes a fifth of every night.
02Enquiry to check-out, handled by the same team that runs Charles Hope aparthotels. Vetting, communication, 24/7 support and a keyless arrival as standard.
03Hotel-standard turnarounds, linen, consumables and maintenance, run to the same specification as our own serviced apartments.
04One monthly statement showing every booking, every fee and exactly what lands in your account. No fixed account charge, on a rolling agreement.
Why Charles Hope
Most short-let managers came to property from software or lettings. We came to it from hospitality — running apartments where guests actually stay, night after night, across two countries.
Charles Hope runs its own serviced apartments and aparthotels in 15+ UK locations and Cape Town. Your property is managed to the standard we hold our own inventory to — because it's the same team and the same specification.
Corporate travel bookers, relocation agents, project teams and returning guests book Charles Hope directly. That existing demand is what fills your property at 5% instead of 18%.
One itemised statement a month. No account charge, no minimum term, 30 days' notice. If we stop earning the property, you take it back.
How it works
No long onboarding, no minimum term, and a real number in front of you before you commit to anything.
Tell us where the property is and what it is. We come back with a realistic rate, occupancy and net-income projection based on what comparable apartments in that area actually achieve.
Photography, listing build, smart-lock installation, pricing strategy and compliance checks. Most properties are live within 10–14 days of signing.
Your property goes live on the Charles Hope direct engine and on selected OTA channels. Guests are vetted, hosted and supported by our team, and the property is cleaned to spec after every stay.
One monthly statement, one payment, every fee itemised. No account charge, no minimum term, 30 days' notice if you ever want the keys back.
Side by side
Measured against a typical short-let management agency of the Houst or Nestify type.
CharlesHope Living
Typical agency
Booking commission
Management fee
Monthly account fee
Contract term
Where bookings come from
Guest check-in
Operating background
Owner reporting
Comparison based on published market rates at the time of writing. Individual agreements vary.
Where we manage
Charles Hope already operates apartments in these markets, which means local teams, local housekeeping and local knowledge of what a night is actually worth.
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
South Africa
Questions
If yours isn't here, call us — we'd rather answer it now than have you find out later.
Because we are not only a management company — Charles Hope is an established serviced-apartment operator with its own booking engine and its own corporate demand. When a booking comes through that engine, there is no platform taking a cut, so the commission is 5%. We still use Airbnb and Booking.com to fill gaps, and those bookings carry the platform's own rate — we simply don't rely on them for everything.
5% commission on direct bookings and a 12% management fee on booking revenue. Smart-lock installation is a one-off £250 per property, and an in-person guest welcome is £40 per arrival if you want it. There is no monthly account fee and no minimum term.
No. The agreement rolls monthly with 30 days' notice on either side. We would rather keep your property by performing than by tying you in.
Yes. Charles Hope operates in both markets, and CharlesHope Living manages short-term rentals across UK cities and the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. South African owners are quoted, reported to and paid in Rand.
They are indicative area averages for professionally managed short-lets, not a quote and not a guarantee. Real performance depends on the specific property, its condition, its photography and the season. A free valuation gives you a figure based on your actual property.
Every guest is vetted and ID-verified before arrival, a security deposit or damage waiver is held on each booking, and the property is inspected and photographed after every stay. Anything found is reported to you the same day with the evidence.
Yes. You can block dates in the owner calendar whenever you want it for your own use. We just ask for reasonable notice so we are not turning away a confirmed booking.
Most properties are live within 10–14 days of signing — the timeline is usually set by photography and any compliance or licensing checks in that local authority.
Twenty minutes on a call and we'll give you a realistic rate, occupancy and net-income figure for your actual property — not an average, and not a sales pitch.
South Africa: +27 21 100 6828