Jaimie Sarah, 38, started Airbnb-ing the spare room of her two-bedroom, two-bathroom Streatham flat in 2016. “It used to be such a breeze. I have one property, but the original plan was to get more. When I was living there, I’d rent [the spare room] for a few months and then have a few months off. “I was getting between £50 to £75 (around US$65 to $100) a night, which worked out at about £7,500/$10,120-a-year (the rent-a-room tax-free limit)”. Jaimie bought the flat for £247,000/$333,392 in March 2013. As well as finding the extra cash from Airbnb useful, Jaimie, an executive mindset expert and marketing strategist, who helps CEOs grow their brands, enjoyed the process of meeting new people. “Initially, I was renting to people who were looking for a ‘home away from home’. They tended to be people who were sociable, which is why they chose Airbnb over a hotel, which can be lonely.”

Move to Kensington

When Jaimie decided to move to Kensington, she continued to rent out her Streatham flat on Airbnb and on the rooms individually to two separate sharers or the flat in its entirety. She also changed her mortgage from residential to a buy-to-let. “Before the 90-day limit came in [in 2017], I’d rent the flat for £2,700/$3,644 a month and get that for the whole year (£31,200/$42,113 annually). I was living the dream in Kensington, renting a gorgeous £1.6m one-bedroom flat for £2,600/$3,509 a month, with my Airbnb paying for my rent.” In early 2017, limits came in for listing entire homes but Jaimie got around this by listing the rooms separately once she’d met the limit, then switching to longer lets, then back to Airbnb in 2024. She achieved the coveted “Super Host” status and prided herself on all the glowing, five-star reviews. After booking for three months via Airbnb, one guest even asked if they could stay for another nine months at the same price. But then Airbnb bought in the rule that Londoners could only rent out their properties for 90 days a year, so Jaimie switched to long-term lets, using a traditional estate agent and getting between £1,800 to £1,900/$2,430 to $2,565 a month. (Photo: Jonathan Wilson/Getty/iStock Editorial)

Giving Airbnb another go

In 2024, however, she decided to give Airbnb another go but found that, in the six years she’d been doing long-term lets, things had changed. “I rented the flat out to a woman and her parents, and she was calling me day and night. She called because of a cobweb and told me I needed to come and sort it out, so I got on a train and went to clean the cobweb and took her a bunch of flowers to say, ‘Sorry’. When she left, I found she had broken things, and the place was a complete tip.” When she moved to Kensington, Jaimie used a local cleaner who would also wash and change the bedding, costing £100 to £150/$135 to $200 a time. “But, as [the Airbnb] started becoming less profitable, I felt like I had to do the cleaning and washing myself as I wasn’t making any money. I get £550/$742-an-hour in consulting for my actual job, and this didn’t feel like a profitable use of my time.” (Photo: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty)

Entitlement and disregard

In addition, Jaimie found a lack of warmth and detail in 80 per cent of enquiries, which didn’t fill her with confidence that they would be good guests, and there was an entitlement and disregard compared to before. “There was a change from ‘I’m a guest’ to ‘This is mine and I’ll do what I like.’ It was people who wanted to save money and not pay for a hotel. They treated it as they wished without any consequences.” She was getting a lot of spam messages from China, asking for three-month stays but wanting to book or have conversations outside the Airbnb app. I also noticed an increase in enquiries wanting insane discounts that were totally unviable, accompanied by sob stories about why they needed it cheaper.”

The nail in the coffin

Her final guests were the nail in the coffin. “I always message people before they come and say the flat is on the first floor. This lady was coming with her two elderly relatives, so I emailed her to say there were stairs. When she checked in, she said she didn’t know there were stairs and wanted a full refund. I have a strict cancellation policy that is made clear on the website, so I said ‘no’. She left me a bad review that tanked my rankings on Airbnb and meant I ended up with a two-month void period, which I’d never had before and cost me over £6,000/$8,100 in missed revenue.” When Jaimie asked Airbnb to take the review down, they said the guest was entitled to her opinion. (Photo: Shutterstock)

No regrets giving up Airbnb

“[This] bad review was by another Airbnb host, who had properties in Brazil, so she would have known the impact. At that point, the property was on the market for sale, and I had accepted an offer already. “I decided I was definitely going to go ahead with the sale as before I’d been hedging my bets and thought, if Airbnb goes well, I’ll pay the fees and pull out of the sale.” She sold the flat in January of this year for £390,000/$526,400. While it might have been profitable at first, Jaimie now has no regrets about as it means she can now focus on her job and career full-time. “I decided I wanted to stay focused on what I do best – my entrepreneurial activities – and not be distracted by something I no longer enjoyed.” (Photo: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty)