The Short-Let Host’s Manual

A five-star listing is a turnaround problem, not a decorating problem.

Guests forgive a dated kitchen. They do not forgive a hair in the bath, a check-in message that never arrived, or a bin that was not emptied. Almost every rating a listing loses is lost in the three hours between one guest leaving and the next arriving.

This manual writes those hours down, along with everything around them: cleaning standards, linen stock, check-in, messaging, pricing, maintenance and the weekly look at the numbers.

It takes no view on your property. It assumes the place is yours and the operation around it is what is costing you weekends.

Inside, you will learn how to

• Run a turnaround that finishes to the same standard every time
• Hold enough linen to survive a same-day changeover
• Price nights against your own occupancy, not a hunch
• Write messages that prevent the questions you keep answering
• Handle damage without losing the review
• Read the four numbers that tell you whether the month worked