"How much will I actually make?" is the question behind every enquiry we get. The honest answer is a range — but it's a range you can narrow down quickly with three numbers.
The only formula that matters
Annual revenue = average nightly rate × 365 × occupancy rate
A Manchester two-bed at £110 a night and 78% occupancy grosses about £31,300. Drop occupancy to 60% and it's £24,000. Drop the rate to £90 and it's £19,700. Small changes in either number compound heavily over a year — which is exactly why pricing and distribution are worth paying for.
Realistic gross ranges
Typical well-run, professionally managed city-centre properties in our markets:
- 1-bed apartment: £18,000–£26,000 a year
- 2-bed apartment: £26,000–£38,000
- 3-bed house: £34,000–£50,000
- 4-bed+ / group stays: £45,000–£70,000
Chester tends to run stronger seasonality with high weekend rates; Liverpool spikes hard around football fixtures and events; Manchester has the most consistent year-round corporate and event demand of the three.
Costs to subtract
Gross revenue isn't income. For a two-bed, budget roughly:
- Management fee at 15%: £4,700
- Utilities, wifi and TV licence: £2,400
- Business rates (often £0 with small business rate relief): £0–£1,200
- Insurance: £400–£700
- Consumables and replacements: £900
- Maintenance and annual certificates: £800
On £31,000 gross that leaves roughly £21,000–£22,000 net — against about £15,600 for the same flat let long-term at £1,300 a month, before letting fees and voids.
What drives the difference between good and average
- Photography. The single highest-leverage spend. It sets your click-through rate, which sets everything else.
- Dynamic pricing. Event weekends can carry 2–3× the base rate; midweek gaps need discounting quickly.
- Multi-platform listing. Airbnb plus Booking.com plus direct typically adds 10–20% occupancy.
- Review score. Moving from 4.6 to 4.9 materially changes search placement.
- Minimum stay strategy. Too high and you lose midweek; too low and cleaning costs bite.
Setup costs to plan for
Furnishing a two-bed to a competitive standard typically runs £6,000–£12,000, plus £300–£600 for professional photography. Most properties recover setup within the first six to twelve months of the uplift over long-let income.
Get a number for your property
Generic ranges only get you so far — postcode, building, layout and photography change the answer. Our calculator uses local comparable data for Manchester, Liverpool and Chester to give you a projection specific to your address.
Get your free earnings estimate, or see our guaranteed rent option if you'd rather have a fixed monthly figure.