More about how Stays In works day to day: who does what, the habits we keep with owners and guests, and how we try to be good neighbours on Edinburgh's stairs.
Edinburgh short-let managers who know the city
Local is easy to claim. Here's what it means for us in practice.
We know that a top-floor tenement flat means a long climb with a suitcase, and that guests are happier when they know before they arrive. We know which closes are dark at night, which streets have communal bins and which have a bin day, and that a check-in on Leith Walk in August needs a different plan from one in Morningside in February. We know the weather turns, so the boiler check happens before the first cold snap, not after the first complaint.
We look after homes in fifteen areas, from the Old Town and the New Town to Leith, Portobello, Musselburgh and North Berwick. Each one is different to let, and the Airbnb management page describes how we manage homes in each, from the Old Town to Portobello.
What local means for guests
Guests get a house guide written by people who live here, with the tips we'd give a friend. Our Edinburgh visitor guides go further: where to stay, where to eat and what to do when it rains. You can see all our homes in one place.
How the three co-founders split the work
Stays In is run by three co-founders. We each lead part of the business, and we work on most things together.
- Luis leads strategy, growth and systems. That covers where we take on homes, how we approach pricing, and the tools that keep bookings, cleans and statements joined up.
- Solene leads operations and the guest experience. Bookings, messages, check-ins and the welcome all sit with her team.
- Joanne meets new owners and looks after the homes themselves: property standards, the cleaning team and maintenance. Her standard is simple: every home should look the way it did in the photos, every time.
Why owners get to know all three
A first call is usually with Luis or Joanne. After that, the right person depends on the question. Pricing and statements go one way, a guest issue another, a worn sofa a third. Owners have a named person on the team, and that person knows which of us to bring in.
If you'd like to talk to one of us about your home, you can book a 15-minute call. It's a conversation, not a sales pitch. If you'd rather read first, how our management works and our fees are both set out in full.
The Stays In team: who does what
There are seventeen of us, including the three co-founders. Here's how the work is split.
- The guest team answers messages from 9am to midnight, every day. It includes our virtual assistants, who are part of the team. They check guests' ID and send arrival details.
- The cleaning team turns each home around after every stay and checks it against the listing photos.
- Maintenance deals with small faults straight away and books trusted local trades for the bigger jobs.
- Owner support looks after pricing, statements, licences and the Visitor Levy.
Our hours, plainly
For guests staying with us, messages are answered 9am to midnight, every day, and there's an emergency line 24/7 during a stay on +44 (0)131 560 6614. For owners, companies, partners and general enquiries, phone, WhatsApp (+44 7898 116933) and email (info@staysin.co.uk) are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm.
A guest locked out at 1am needs an answer then. A question about a statement gets a better answer in the working day. Our contact page has every number, and guests will find the essentials in the guest guide.
How we work with owners: the habits behind it
Good management is mostly small habits kept every week. These are the ones we hold ourselves to.
- A plan before a contract. Every owner starts with a free plan for their home: what it could earn on their dates, the licence route and every cost. It arrives by 11am the next working day.
- Fees in public. Our rates are on the pricing page, including the part people usually leave out: 15% + VAT is 18% of net booking revenue once VAT is added.
- Statements you can check. Every booking, every deduction and our fee, on one page, every month.
- Your money, your say. Repairs and supplies are passed on at cost, and anything over an agreed amount is agreed with you first.
- Honest advice. If a short let isn't right for your home, we'll tell you, and point you to the short let or long let numbers instead.
- No pressure. No countdowns. Decide in your own time.
Owners come to us from different places. Some have been hosting themselves and want their evenings back; hosting it yourself is written for them. Some have a manager already and aren't happy with it; switching manager explains how a handover works. Our free guide Is your short-let manager working for you? lists the questions worth asking any manager, us included.
Being a good neighbour on Edinburgh's stairs
Short lets have a mixed reputation in Edinburgh, and some of it is earned. A flat on a shared stair is someone else's front door too. We think the only way to run short lets here is to run them so the neighbours rarely notice.
What that looks like
- Every guest's ID is checked before they receive an access code.
- Quiet hours from 10pm, no parties, and a guest limit set by the licence.
- Noise sensors that measure sound levels only, never recordings.
- Bins out at every changeover, and the stair kept clear.
- A letter to every household in the building with our number, as the Edinburgh licence requires, within 28 days of the licence and every year after.
If you live near one of our homes
During the working day, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm, call +44 (0)131 560 6614 or send a WhatsApp. If something is urgent outside those hours, WhatsApp +44 7898 116933. Our guest team is on until midnight and can contact the guests straight away. We'll tell you what we've done.
The neighbours' page has the full detail, including what to do if a short let near you isn't one of ours. For the rules every host in the city works under, see short-let licensing in Edinburgh.
Working with local cleaners, trades and photographers
A short let is only as good as the people who look after it between guests. We rely on good local partners, and we're glad to hear from more.
Who we work with
- Cleaners who take pride in a finished home. Every clean is checked against the listing photos, so care with the details matters.
- Electricians, gas engineers and fire assessors. The certificates behind every licence need renewing, and the licence requirements show how many there are.
- Trades we can trust with the bigger repairs, booked and checked by our maintenance team.
- Photographers. Professional photography is included for every home we take on, so good listing photos are a big part of what we do.
What we look for
Reliability first. Turning up when you said you would, telling us early when you can't, and leaving the home as you'd want to find it. Clear prices, agreed before the work starts. And an understanding that guests may be due that afternoon.
If that sounds like you, email info@staysin.co.uk with what you do and the areas you cover. We read everything, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. You can also use the contact form and choose "Partner".
Licensed, reviewed and open about it
Trust is easier to give when you can check things for yourself.
- Every home we let is licensed. The licence number is shown on each listing. If you're new to the rules, our licensing guide explains them in plain words.
- The Visitor Levy is collected and paid. For stays in the City of Edinburgh, 5% on the first five nights, shown on owners' statements. See the Visitor Levy for hosts.
- Reviews are public. We hold 4.7 from 1,552 guest reviews on Airbnb, Booking.com and Google, and owners' own words are on our reviews page.
We were also featured in Best in Britain's guide to Airbnb management in Edinburgh. We're glad of it, but the reviews and the statements matter more.
If you'd like to know more before deciding anything, our free guides cover licensing, pricing, tax and more, and the blog follows the changes as they happen. If a term is new to you, the short-let glossary explains it in plain words. When you're ready, start with a free plan for your home.
Book a 15-minute call with one of the co-founders, or get a free plan for your home: what it could earn, the licence route and every cost.
