Luxury short stays are redefining the prime property market, offering homeowners a flexible, hospitality-led alternative to traditional lettings.
As demand grows across Prime Central London and sought-after countryside destinations, professionally managed short lets are becoming an increasingly attractive option for both landlords and guests seeking privacy, flexibility, and elevated living experiences.
In this exclusive PrimeResi interview, our Managing Director, Sophie Jones, discusses the growth of the luxury short-stay sector, evolving guest trends, and why more prime agencies are embracing flexible accommodation models.
Read Sophie Jones, Managing Director of We Stay’s Interview on The UK Short Term Lettings Market
PrimeResi Journal, May 2026
PCL agent-turned-hospitality entrepreneur discusses changing rental patterns and why more prime agencies are moving into the flexible accommodation arena.
Before launching luxury short-stay operator We Stay, Sophie Jones cut her teeth in Prime Central London lettings at Aylesford and Kaye & Carey, working across some of the capital’s most valuable private homes and high-net-worth clients.
At a time when the traditional rental rulebook is being rewritten, and more established PCL agencies are moving into flexible rentals and short-stay management, PrimeResi caught up with Jones to discuss changing landlord attitudes, the growing appeal of hospitality-led lettings, rising demand across country estates and lifestyle destinations, and why the short-stay sector is becoming increasingly relevant to prime residential operators.
‘I was simply inspired by working with beautiful properties and understanding the people who owned them’
You started out in prime London lettings at Aylesford and Kaye & Carey – what were the big lessons you learned early on, and what first made you think the short-stay model could work at the luxury end of the market?
I was incredibly fortunate to start my career in Prime Central London lettings at Aylesford in Chelsea, operating in the super-prime market, before later moving to Kaye & Carey in Knightsbridge. Working within these firms meant I was immersed from the outset in some of the most exceptional homes and clients in London. Andrew Langton at Aylesford had a particularly big influence on me early on. It was my first real exposure to the super-prime market and to the calibre of clients and properties that exist within Prime Central London.
Andrew remains one of the most respected figures in the industry and has an extraordinary ability to build lasting relationships with both clients and fellow agents.
Observing how he operated taught me that property at this level is ultimately about trust, discretion and understanding the long-term value of these assets. Those early years gave me a deep appreciation not only for exceptional real estate, but also for how these homes should be treated and managed.
At that stage I wasn’t thinking about short stays at all, I was simply inspired by working with beautiful properties and understanding the people who owned them.
It was much later in my career, as global travel patterns and lifestyle trends began to evolve, that I began to recognise a gap in the market. Many luxury homeowners weren’t necessarily looking for a traditional long-term tenant, yet their properties would often sit empty for significant periods of the year. At the same time, international travellers were increasingly looking for something more private, spacious and authentic than a hotel.
That was the original thinking behind We Stay, creating a professionally managed hospitality model for luxury private homes that could unlock the value of these properties, while delivering a truly elevated guest experience.
In recent years we have refined that model even further, focusing exclusively on a curated luxury portfolio and operating more like a hospitality brand than a traditional property management company.
For agents and landlords unfamiliar with short-stay, how would you define the sector in simple terms – and where does it sit alongside long lettings?
At its simplest, short stay sits somewhere between hospitality and traditional lettings. Instead of a long-term tenant occupying a property under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, the property is let on a flexible basis, anything from a few nights to several months, typically to international travellers, relocating professionals, families or corporate clients.
The key difference is flexibility. For second-home owners, particularly those whose properties may otherwise sit empty for large parts of the year, it allows them to monetise those periods while still retaining the flexibility to use the home themselves whenever they choose.
It’s also highly relevant for portfolio landlords and investors who might traditionally default to a long-term tenancy. In the right location and with the right type of property, short stay can significantly outperform a conventional long let.
At We Stay we assess this through our Market Mapping & Analysis (MMA), which evaluates whether a property has the location, design potential and demand profile required to perform successfully within the luxury short-stay market.
We are highly selective in what we take on; if a property meets those criteria and the owner is open to optimising the design and setup to align with guest expectations, then it can perform exceptionally well within the short-stay model.
What we’re seeing now is that the wider market is evolving.
Even long-established Prime Central London agencies are launching short-let departments, reflecting the growing demand for flexible living and the recognition that this model can unlock additional value from prime residential assets.
How does We Stay’s offering differ from other short-term rental platforms, including Airbnb?
Platforms such as Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com are fundamentally marketplaces. They provide global distribution for properties, but the responsibility for managing the property, optimising listings and delivering the guest experience typically sits with the host.
Individual homeowners can list their property on these platforms and manage the entire operation themselves, from pricing and bookings to guest communication, housekeeping and ensuring calendars across multiple platforms are correctly synchronised to avoid double bookings.
In practice, managing a property across several booking channels can quickly become a full-time operational role, which is why many individual hosts ultimately transition to professional management as their properties become busier or they want to optimise performance.
We Stay operates as a professional host, specialising in the management of luxury short-stay properties and as a multi award-winning hospitality brand.
While we utilise the same major booking platforms, we also distribute our portfolio across a much wider network of global channels that individual hosts typically don’t have access to. This includes premium platforms such as Marriott Bonvoy and Plum Guide, where entry is highly selective and based on property quality and operational standards.
Alongside this extended distribution, our team professionally manages and optimises every aspect of the operation, from pricing strategy and listing optimisation to guest vetting, housekeeping, maintenance, concierge services and regulatory compliance.
Combined with our specialist operational teams and data-driven revenue management, this expanded global exposure and professional optimisation typically results in stronger occupancy and financial performance for the properties we manage.
Ultimately, our role is to ensure each property is operated to a luxury hospitality standard, delivering an exceptional guest experience while maximising the performance of the asset for the owner.
Commercially, how does short stay stack up for prime landlords compared with a traditional long let?
For the right property, in the right location, the difference can be significant. The UK attracts a huge amount of demand that doesn’t always align with the structure of a traditional long tenancy, from relocating executives and film productions to families spending extended periods in the country, attending events or visiting for schooling.
Short stay allows property owners to tap into that demand through dynamic nightly pricing and flexible occupancy. When professionally managed, this can often result in substantially higher income than a fixed long-term tenancy.
Importantly, this opportunity isn’t limited to Prime Central London. While areas such as Chelsea, Kensington and Knightsbridge remain extremely strong, we also see exceptional performance in high-demand lifestyle destinations across the UK, including the Cotswolds and other prime countryside locations that attract both international visitors and strong domestic tourism.
Many guests from London and other major UK cities are increasingly seeking countryside escapes for weekend stays or holiday breaks, creating consistent demand for well-positioned luxury homes.
We also work closely with country estate owners who often maintain strong ties to London, whether through business, family or seasonal living and who are increasingly recognising the value of professionally managed short stays to generate income when their properties are not in use.
What sort of properties actually work well for luxury short stay – and which ones don’t?
The properties that perform best are those that lend themselves naturally to luxury hospitality, homes with strong design, excellent locations and the ability to deliver the comfort and quality that today’s discerning guests expect.
In Prime Central London, that often means beautifully designed apartments or townhouses; homes that allow guests to experience London as residents rather than simply visitors.
Beyond London, we see particularly strong performance in lifestyle destinations such as the Cotswolds and other sought-after countryside locations across the UK, which attract both international visitors and domestic guests looking for weekend escapes or longer countryside stays.
Increasingly, guests are drawn to properties that offer elements of wellness and aspirational living, whether that’s outdoor space, swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas, games rooms, home gyms, parking or beautifully designed entertaining areas.
Properties that are dog-friendly are also increasingly attractive, as many guests want to bring their pets when escaping to the countryside.
Ultimately, the most successful homes combine the comfort of a ‘home-from-home’ with an elevated sense of luxury, offering guests the space, privacy and character of a private residence, but with aspirational touches and amenities that enhance the overall stay.
Properties that struggle are typically those that feel overly personal, poorly presented or not positioned with the guest experience in mind.
Luxury short stay is ultimately a hospitality product, so presentation, comfort and operational standards are critical.
We’re starting to see some PCL agencies launch short-stay arms. What’s driving that shift?
The biggest driver is changing demand. Over the past decade we’ve seen a significant shift in how people live, travel and work.
Guests increasingly want flexibility, whether that’s relocating temporarily for work, spending time in London or other parts of the UK for leisure, enjoying weekend getaways, or needing a comfortable home while navigating life events such as moving house or renovating a property.
At the same time, landlords are becoming more aware that there are alternative ways to generate income from prime residential property.
When professionally managed, short stays can unlock strong performance through dynamic pricing and access to a global guest market.
The shift reflects both the growing demand from guests and the recognition among traditional agencies that the model can deliver strong commercial results for the right properties.
In many ways this has helped bring greater credibility to the sector and inform some of the outdated perceptions that short stays are a fringe part of the market.
Instead, they are increasingly being recognised as a legitimate and valuable part of the modern property landscape.
Do you see short stay as competing with long lettings, or as something that can sit alongside them?
I see them very much as complementary rather than competing models.
Long-term lettings will always play an important role in the residential property market, particularly for tenants looking for stability and a long-term home.
Short stay simply offers an additional option for property owners whose circumstances or assets may suit a more flexible approach.
The key is understanding which strategy is best suited to the individual property and the owner’s objectives.
Some homes will always perform best as long-term rentals, while others, particularly those in prime locations or desirable lifestyle destinations, can perform exceptionally well within a professionally managed short-stay model.
What’s encouraging is that the industry is increasingly recognising that both models can coexist successfully, giving landlords more choice in how they manage and maximise their property assets.
What are you seeing in terms of guest trends right now?
The guest profile is incredibly diverse, which is one of the reasons the sector has grown so quickly.
International travellers remain a significant part of the market, particularly those visiting the UK for extended stays who want the space, privacy and comfort of a private home rather than a hotel.
We’re also seeing strong domestic demand. Many UK-based guests are increasingly choosing luxury short stays for weekend breaks or holiday escapes, particularly in countryside destinations that offer beautiful surroundings, great restaurants and outdoor activities.
Another trend we see regularly is guests staying during life transitions, for example while moving house, renovating a property or spending time in a location before making a longer-term move.
Alongside leisure travellers, we also work with corporate clients, production companies and relocation partners and we maintain a strong internal guest network, which helps ensure properties achieve consistent occupancy across the calendar.
What do people underestimate about running a luxury short-stay portfolio day to day?
Almost everything.
From the outside, short stays can appear relatively simple, listing a property online and welcoming guests, but operating a luxury short-stay portfolio properly is a highly complex, full-time operation.
In reality, you are running a distributed hospitality business rather than simply managing a rental property.
Every booking involves guest vetting, dynamic pricing, calendar management across multiple platforms, guest communication, housekeeping coordination, maintenance, concierge services and ensuring the property is presented to an exceptional standard at all times.
There is also a significant amount of work that happens behind the scenes to ensure properties perform well commercially. That includes professional photography, listing optimisation, marketing across multiple booking platforms, revenue management and responding to guest demand in real time.
Guests have very high expectations. Whether it’s arranging transport, recommending restaurants, managing special requests or resolving issues quickly and discreetly, the service element is just as important as the property itself.
Some local governments in the UK and overseas have restricted short-term rentals. What can be done to foster better relations with communities and support healthy housing markets?
It’s an important conversation and responsible operators have a key role to play.
Short stays, when professionally managed, can bring significant benefits to local economies, supporting local businesses, restaurants, shops and service providers, while also helping homeowners generate income from properties that may otherwise be underutilised.
The key is ensuring the model is operated responsibly.
Professional management means guest vetting, clear house rules, attentive property oversight and ensuring that properties are well maintained and operated in line with local regulations.
Many of the concerns that arise around short-term rentals tend to be linked to unmanaged or poorly regulated properties.
When the sector is run professionally, with the right standards and oversight in place, it can coexist successfully with residential communities.
You also scaled a virtual PA business globally. What’s your top tip for someone starting their own venture today?
My best piece of advice would be to start by identifying where there is a genuine opportunity to create value.
The most successful businesses are those that solve a real problem or improve an existing experience in a meaningful way.
I’m also a strong believer in building strategically. Growth is exciting, but sustainable businesses are built on strong foundations; the right systems, processes and team, which allow you to scale confidently as demand grows.
Another important lesson is to be very clear about who your ideal customer is. When you truly understand your client and the experience you want to deliver, it becomes much easier to make the right decisions for the business and grow in a focused way.
Above all, stay curious and open to learning. Markets evolve and opportunities often appear where you least expect them, so being adaptable and willing to refine your approach is one of the most valuable traits an entrepreneur can have.
Where do you see We Stay in five years’ time?
Our ambition is to position We Stay as the defining brand in exclusive private-home hospitality, not just in the UK but internationally, becoming the name that both guests and homeowners instinctively trust when it comes to exceptional short-stay experiences.
Over the next five years we will continue building on our presence across some of the UK’s most desirable destinations, from Prime Central London to exceptional countryside locations and country estates, while also expanding internationally into carefully selected luxury markets.
A key part of our future will also involve continued investment in technology, design and operational excellence.
Ultimately, our ambition is simple: to make We Stay the most trusted name in exclusive private-home hospitality anywhere in the world.
Explore We Stay’s Collection of Award Winning Short-Stay Lettings
As the market swells for consumer’s appetites for luxury and design-led short term holiday lets, We Stay are here to support owners with revenue optimisation, exceptional guest liaison, and comprehensive property management – making it simpler than ever to launch your first holiday let or expand your portfolio.
