Guest communications
Enquiries, check-in details, questions mid-stay and the reviews afterwards. Answered fast, in your property's voice.
Short-let & holiday-let management · London & the Home CountiesKeep the income.
Hand over the inbox.
We look after short-let and holiday-let properties across London and the surrounding counties. Guest messages, pricing, changeovers and compliance, on whichever platforms you use, for a share of what your place earns.
- We aim to answer guest messages within 10 minutes1, 8am to 10pm UK time
- On call for lock-outs and leaks, day or night2
- Rolling monthly. Cancel on 30 days' notice.
Sophie · 14:52Hi! We're outside but can't find the keys?
Hive Stewards UK · 14:54Welcome, Sophie! The keysafe is on the left of the porch, code 4471. Kettle's by the window and there's milk in the fridge. Shout if you need anything.
Sophie · 14:55We're in. Thank you!!
Example conversation: a reply in 2 minutes while you were in a meeting.
What we look after
Everything between a booking and a five-star review
Pricing and occupancy
Rates that move with weekends, school holidays and whatever is on locally, so quiet weeks fill and peak dates earn properly.
Changeovers and cleaning
Cleaners booked and checked with photos, linen and consumables restocked, keysafe codes changed between guests.
Maintenance and callouts2
A boiler that won't fire at 10pm is our phone that rings, not yours. Agreed tradespeople, agreed spending limit.
Listing setup and photography
New properties launched across the platforms that suit them, with copy, photos and a digital house guide that answers itself.
Safety and compliance
Certificates tracked before they lapse, fire risk assessment in place, and your paperwork ready for the national register.
A changeover day, handled
Saturday, while you're somewhere else
Guests check out
Checkout confirmed. A friendly review request is queued for tomorrow.
Cleaner in, linen swapped
We book the clean and get photos of every room before they leave.
Restock and reset
Loo roll, coffee, dishwasher tabs. The keysafe code is changed.
Check-in guide sent
New guests get directions, the code and the wifi in one message.
"We're in!"
Any question, from the oven to the best pub, comes to us, not you.
Inbox quiet
Tomorrow's price nudged up for the bank holiday. You didn't touch your phone.
Why a local steward
Local support, one phone number
Someone can come to the property
For Fully managed (20%) customers, we coordinate lock-out help through the access arrangements agreed for the property.2
Ready for the new register
England is bringing in a national register for short-term lets. We'll get your gas, electrical and fire safety paperwork in order now, so your property isn't caught out when the portal opens.
Your listings stay yours
We work inside your own accounts. Stop any month and everything, reviews included, stays with you.
Rules that change at the boundary
Greater London caps entire-home lets at 90 nights a year. Cross into Hertfordshire or Surrey and that cap disappears, though permission can still be needed if letting becomes the property's main use. We work both sides of it.
Areas covered
London and an hour around it3
Somewhere not on this list? Ask anyway. If we can get to your property inside an hour, we can usually take it on.
- Greater LondonAll 32 boroughs and the City of London, from Zone 1 to the M25
- HertfordshireWatford, St Albans, Hemel Hempstead, Borehamwood, Rickmansworth
- EssexBrentwood, Epping, Loughton, Chelmsford, Basildon, Southend
- KentDartford, Gravesend, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, the Medway towns
- SurreyEpsom, Esher, Weybridge, Woking, Staines, Guildford
- Berks & BucksSlough, Windsor, Maidenhead, Amersham, Beaconsfield, High Wycombe
What it costs
A share of bookings, not a fee for existing
Percentages are taken from booking income after your platform has deducted its commission. No booking income means no percentage management fee. Agreed setup and property costs remain separate. No VAT is added to our fees at present.
Inbox & pricing
15% of booking income
- Ordinary guest messages, 8am to 10pm UK time
- Booking requests and calendar
- Nightly prices adjusted for demand
- Review replies and guest vetting
For owners who already have a cleaner they trust.
Fully managed
20% of booking income
- Everything in Inbox & pricing
- Cleaner scheduling and photo checks
- Linen, restocks and supply runs
- Maintenance callouts, emergency support and lock-outs
- Monthly earnings summary
Cleaning is billed at cost, with no markup.
Listing launch
from £250 one-off
- Listing copy, photos and pricing set up
- Digital house guide for guests
- Keysafe or smart lock advice
- Safety paperwork checklist, ready for registration
Waived if you go on to Fully managed.
We do not hide charges. We set out our management fee, any agreed setup fee and the costs paid separately before you commit. Spending on your property follows the limits and emergency arrangements in your service agreement.
Hypothetical fee example
£2,000 booking income − £300 illustrative platform commission = £1,700 fee basis.
Inbox & pricing: 15% × £1,700 = £255. Fully managed: 20% × £1,700 = £340.
These invented amounts explain the calculation, not typical platform charges or expected bookings. The fees are alternatives. Cleaning, laundry, supplies, utilities, repairs, tax and agreed setup costs are separate; this is not a profit forecast.
One-page agreement, rolling monthly, 30 days' notice either way. Your listings and reviews stay in your own accounts.
About us
A family business, and a short list of properties
Hive Stewards UK is family owned and family run, working across London and the Home Counties. That is not a line we put here to sound warm. It is the reason we look after a property the way we would want ours looked after.
A home is not a unit. It is somewhere people arrive late and tired, and want the heating on, the kettle where they can find it and the bed made properly. Families notice those things, because families live with them. So we look after the details that make a place feel cared for rather than merely cleaned, which are the same details guests end up writing about.
We like a tidy spreadsheet and a five-star review, and we are the ones who answer the “how does the oven work?” message at 9pm so you don’t have to.
We started Hive Stewards UK after seeing good homes let down by tired listings, and owners who had stopped enjoying owning them. Our job is to make your place earn more and bother you less. We take on a limited number of properties at a time, so yours is never one more line on a dashboard.
Before we take on a home, we confirm the service scope, access arrangements and spending limits with you. The agreement records what we will handle and which costs remain yours. Your earnings statement gives you a record to check against the bookings in your own account.
Questions owners ask
The practical bits
What happens after I do the readiness review?
Send us your score and we aim to reply within two working days with the specifics for your property: which certificate to get first, roughly what it costs, and who locally can do it. No charge, and no obligation to hire us.
Which booking platforms do you work with?
All the main booking platforms, plus direct bookings through your own site if you'd rather not pay platform commission on repeat guests. We sync calendars to reduce the risk of double bookings.
How do you get paid?
Either through the platform's own co-host payout split, where that's available, or by monthly invoice against a statement showing every booking. Either way you can see the full picture in your own account.
Is there a contract?
A one-page agreement that rolls monthly. Give us 30 days' notice and we part on good terms, with all your reviews and listings exactly where they were.
What happens if a pipe bursts at 2am?
For Fully managed (20%) customers, emergencies come straight to us, day or night, and we get to them as fast as we can, subject to local availability. We agree a list of tradespeople and a spending limit up front, so that in most cases we can arrange a callout without waking you.2
Can you work with my existing cleaner?
Yes, if they're good. We'll put them on the changeover schedule and check every clean with photos. If you don't have one, we can introduce cleaners and trades we have worked with.
Do I need to register my property?
As at 6 October 2026, government guidance says the mandatory national registration scheme for short-term lets in England is not yet in force and is expected to begin in March 2027. This is an expected timetable, not a confirmed legal commencement date. We can help organise your existing safety paperwork and will check the final registration requirements when they are published. Read the government registration guidance.
How does the London 90-night cap work?
In Greater London, short stays in an entire home normally count towards a 90-night annual limit. Going beyond it requires planning permission, and the exemption depends on the council-tax condition. We track booked nights and check the position before exceeding the limit. Longer stays and room letting can be treated differently, but do not assume that either automatically avoids planning or tenancy rules. Confirm the arrangements for your property with the council or a qualified adviser.
Does the 90-night cap apply outside London?
No. It comes from the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973 as amended by the Deregulation Act 2015, and it only covers Greater London. In Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Berkshire or Buckinghamshire there's no statutory night cap. Planning permission may still be needed if short letting amounts to a material change of use, and that is for your local planning authority to decide. We check the position with them before taking a property on.
Get in touch
Tell us about your property. We'll tell you what it should be earning.
We aim to send a personal reply within two working days: a short, honest note on what's holding it back, what we'd change first, and what we'd charge. No obligation.
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