Guides
47 guides to managing short-term rentals for property owners.
47 in-depth guides in eight topics. Each one answers your question in the first paragraph, shows where every figure comes from, and says when we last checked it.
Featured
Featured guides
Platforms, pricing, reviews, damage, listings and the EU rules: the questions hosts ask most.
- GuidePlatforms
Airbnb vs Booking.com for hosts
What each platform charges and on what, when the money reaches you, how damage and double bookings are handled, and how to run both calendars without clashes.
- GuidePricing
Dynamic pricing for Airbnb
How dynamic pricing works, where Airbnb’s Smart Pricing stops, the settings that matter most, and a weekly routine for European seasons and events.
- GuideGuests
Get 5-star reviews
How Airbnb reviews work, what the review policy forbids, what moves each category rating, how to ask for a review the right way, and why a co-host should watch Guest favourite rather than Superhost.
- GuideOperations
Damage claims and insurance
How to document damage and get paid on Airbnb and Booking.com, why Airbnb’s damage protection is not insurance, and which cover the owner and the co-host each need.
- GuidePlatforms
An Airbnb listing that gets booked
What Airbnb itself says about search ranking, how to build each part of a listing, the European details you cannot skip, and a step-by-step check for a listing that sits empty.
- GuideRules
EU short-term rental regulation
What the regulation requires from member states, platforms and hosts, what it does not do, how it differs from DAC7 and the Digital Services Act, and what it means for a co-host who manages units for several owners.
All guides
Filter by topic
All guides in learning-path order. Pick a topic to narrow the list.
- GuideGetting started
Start an Airbnb co-hosting business
What a co-host is and does, what Airbnb lets a co-host do, how co-hosts get paid, the European rules to check, and the first six steps.
- GuideGetting started
Co-hosting vs arbitrage vs buying
Who owns what, who pays when the calendar is empty, what each model needs in capital, and what Belgian and Dutch law says about subletting a rented home.
- GuideOwners
Find your first management client
Where first owners actually come from in Belgium and the Netherlands, what to say when you have nothing to show yet, and the outreach rules that keep you out of trouble.
- GuideOwners
Airbnb management agreement clauses
The clauses that decide who pays, who is liable and what happens when it ends, with the detail that matters in Belgium and the Netherlands. A checklist to take to your lawyer, not a contract to copy.
- GuidePlatforms
Airbnb vs Booking.com for hosts
What each platform charges and on what, when the money reaches you, how damage and double bookings are handled, and how to run both calendars without clashes.
- GuidePlatforms
Sync Airbnb and Booking.com calendars
How iCal sync works and where it fails, when a channel manager is worth paying for, and a setup checklist that stops double bookings from day one.
- GuidePlatforms
An Airbnb listing that gets booked
What Airbnb itself says about search ranking, how to build each part of a listing, the European details you cannot skip, and a step-by-step check for a listing that sits empty.
- GuidePlatforms
Airbnb listing photos
What Airbnb and Booking.com ask for in photos, a room-by-room shot list for a city flat, how to stage it, whether to hire a photographer, and the signs that it is time to reshoot.
- GuideOperations
Airbnb amenities checklist
The amenities Airbnb lets guests filter on, a room-by-room stocking table for a managed flat, linen par levels, and the smoke, CO and fire safety equipment Belgian and Dutch rules ask for.
- GuideGuests
Airbnb house rules
The seven standard rules, what Airbnb’s new reasonable-rules policy bans from 20 November 2026, why fines are out, how Booking.com handles house rules, and a template for a managed flat.
- GuidePlatforms
Airbnb cancellation policies
Airbnb’s Flexible, Moderate, Limited, Firm and Strict policies side by side, the non-refundable and long-stay options, what a host cancellation costs, Booking.com’s policy types, and what the owner agreement should say.
- GuidePricing
Airbnb co-host fees
What managers in Belgium and the Netherlands say they charge, what the percentage is calculated on, how co-hosts get paid, and a worked euro example of what the owner and the co-host each keep.
- GuidePricing
Dynamic pricing for Airbnb
How dynamic pricing works, where Airbnb’s Smart Pricing stops, the settings that matter most, and a weekly routine for European seasons and events.
- GuidePricing
Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR
Exact definitions and formulas, why occupancy on its own misleads, how night caps and seasons change what good means, and where to find numbers you can actually compare in Belgium and the Netherlands.
- GuideOperations
Turnover cleaning system
The checklist is the easy part. This is the system around it: scheduling, linen, photo checks, restocking, a backup for a busy Saturday, and the Belgian and Dutch staffing rules that catch beginners out.
- GuideOperations
Damage claims and insurance
How to document damage and get paid on Airbnb and Booking.com, why Airbnb’s damage protection is not insurance, and which cover the owner and the co-host each need.
- GuideOperations
Self check-in and smart locks
How to choose between a smart lock, a keypad, a key box and a key exchange point, how to send codes safely, and the guest registration, privacy and fire safety rules that still apply when nobody meets the guest.
- GuideOperations
Preventive maintenance
A maintenance schedule by frequency, the smoke alarm, boiler and fire safety checks that Belgian and Dutch rules require, and how to plan contractors, blocked nights and costs with the owner.
- GuideGuests
Guest message templates
Eight messages that cover a stay from booking to review, when to schedule each one on Airbnb and Booking.com, what to leave to AI replies, and what you are not allowed to send.
- GuideGuests
Get 5-star reviews
How Airbnb reviews work, what the review policy forbids, what moves each category rating, how to ask for a review the right way, and why a co-host should watch Guest favourite rather than Superhost.
- GuideGuests
Guest favourite vs Superhost
The exact criteria for each Airbnb badge, when each one is assessed, what they do in search, and how a manager protects both across a portfolio of listings they do not own.
- GuideRules
EU short-term rental regulation
What the regulation requires from member states, platforms and hosts, what it does not do, how it differs from DAC7 and the Digital Services Act, and what it means for a co-host who manages units for several owners.
- GuideRules
Short-term rental licences and registration
Where to register a holiday let in Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia, the Netherlands and Spain, which number goes on the Airbnb listing, what the EU rules changed on 20 May 2026, and a checklist for onboarding an owner’s unit.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Belgium and the Netherlands
Region by region and city by city: registration, permits, night caps, VAT and tourist tax in Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, with the official page for each.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Antwerp
The permit Antwerp asks for, Flemish registration and its 2026 amendment, the city tax, the Italiëlei judgment and the building rules, with a checklist for co-hosts taking on an Antwerp unit.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Ghent
What Ghent’s holiday-home stop allows and forbids, Flemish registration and its 2026 amendment, the city tax, how Ghent now checks listings, and a checklist for co-hosts taking on a Ghent unit.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Brussels
What a host or co-host needs in Brussels today, what the ordinance of 1 February 2024 and its decree of 9 July 2026 change from 1 January 2027, and what is still unclear.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Amsterdam
The permit, the registration number and the notification before every stay, the 30-night cap and the eight 15-night neighbourhoods, B&B rules, fines, and what all this leaves for a co-host.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Rotterdam
The registration number, the notification before every stay, the 60-night cap, who may let, B&B rules, the 6.5% tourist tax, the fines in the ordinance, and what all this leaves for a co-host.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Utrecht
The registration number, the notification before every stay, the 60-night cap and guest limits, B&B rules, the 10% tourist tax Airbnb does not collect, the fines, and what all this leaves for a co-host.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in The Hague
The registration number, the permit and the notification before every stay, the 30-night cap, which homes qualify, B&B and pied-à-terre rules, the €6.20 tourist tax, the fine table and what is left for a co-host.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Haarlem
The registration number, the notification before every stay, the 30-night cap and the six-guest limit, B&B rules, the €6.20 tourist tax Airbnb collects, the fines, and what all this leaves for a co-host.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Maastricht
The registration number, the notification before every stay, the 60-night cap, guesthouse rooms, the €3.78 tourist tax Airbnb does not collect, the fines in the new 2026 ordinance, and what all this leaves for a co-host.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Bruges
Why a holiday home is not possible in the historic centre, the 200 m² rule outside it, the guest-room limits, Flemish registration and fire safety, the two city taxes, fines and a checklist for co-hosts.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Leuven
The permit Leuven asks for before you let to tourists, Flemish registration and its 2026 amendment, the overnight tax and the second-residence tax, with a checklist for co-hosts taking on a Leuven unit.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Mechelen
What Mechelen’s building code says about holiday homes, when a B&B room needs no permit, Flemish registration and fire safety, the city’s accommodation tax, and a checklist for co-hosts taking on a Mechelen unit.
- GuideRules
Tourist tax on Airbnb
The 2026 rate in nine cities, what it is charged on, who declares it, and where Airbnb collects it for you, with a worked example and the effect on the Airbnb fee.
- GuideRules
Airbnb income tax
How Belgian and Dutch owners are taxed on furnished short stays, how a co-host’s commission is taxed, and what Airbnb reports to the tax authorities under DAC7.
- GuideGrowth
Mid-term rentals in Belgium and the Netherlands
What a furnished let of one to six months is in law in the Netherlands, Amsterdam, Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia, how Airbnb handles stays of 28 nights or more, and when one tenant beats a month of short stays.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Spain and Marbella
What happened to Spain’s national registration number, how Andalusia’s tourist home register works, what Marbella and Málaga have decided, what the building can block, and what a Belgian or Dutch co-host should check before taking on a unit.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Málaga
How Málaga city has closed the door to new tourist homes in four steps since 2024, which barrios are capped at 8%, what the July 2026 change does to hotels and tourist apartments, and what a co-host can still take on.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Barcelona
What a tourist flat (HUT) is in Catalonia, why Barcelona grants no new licences, what the Catalan decree and the Constitutional Court mean for November 2028, how the tourist tax works in 2026, and what that leaves for a new co-host.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in France and Paris
What a meublé de tourisme is, where registration stands, what the Loi Le Meur changed, why a Paris second home needs compensation, what the building can block, and how a Belgian or Dutch owner is taxed.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Italy
What Italy’s national code (CIN) requires, which safety devices every unit needs, where the courts left key boxes and remote check-in, how short lets are taxed after the 2026 budget law, and what Rome, Florence and Venice add.
- GuideRules
Airbnb rules in Portugal
How the alojamento local registration works, what the 2023 Mais Habitação law changed and what was reversed, what Lisbon and Porto now allow, where the Algarve stands, what the building can do, and what a Belgian or Dutch co-host should check before taking on a unit.
- GuideGrowth
Scaling past 10 units
What breaks between the first unit and the tenth, which tasks to hand off first, the costs that change per unit, and how to keep owners while you grow.
- GuideGrowth
Estimate what a property will earn
Build a monthly projection from comparable listings, show it as a low, likely and high range, subtract the European cost stack, and check the rules that cap nights before an owner sees a number.
Topics
Browse by topic
Eight topics, in the order you meet them when you start managing short-term rentals for owners.
- 01The model and getting startedWhat co-hosting is, how it compares with arbitrage and buying, and how to begin.2 guides
- 02Finding and signing ownersFinding your first owner and agreeing clear terms before you take on a unit.2 guides
- 03Listings, platforms and channelsBuilding a listing that gets booked, and running Airbnb and Booking.com side by side.5 guides
- 04Pricing and revenueCommission, what it is calculated on, and dynamic pricing.3 guides
- 05Cleaning, maintenance and damageTurnovers that run on a system, and what to do when a guest causes damage.5 guides
- 06Guests and reviewsGuest messages from booking to checkout, and reviews earned within the rules.4 guides
- 07Rules, registration and taxEU rules, local registration, night caps and VAT in Belgium and the Netherlands.23 guides
- 08Markets and growthEstimating what a property can earn, and growing a management business past the first units.3 guides