UnderTheDoormat

What UnderTheDoormat does

UnderTheDoormat is a London-headquartered, privately-held company operating a luxury short-term rental property management business under the parent holding UTD Group. Founded in 2014 and registered as UnderTheDoormat Ltd (company number 13623627), the company curates and manages a portfolio of premium furnished apartments and houses for short-term stays, with operations spanning nine destinations across the United Kingdom (London, Manchester, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cumbria), France (Paris, Dordogne), and the United States (Chicago, Colorado). The business operates a dual-sided model: a direct-to-consumer booking platform that allows guests to reserve properties via the company website, paired with a 'Let your home' homeowner acquisition channel that onboards property owners onto a fully-managed rental service covering listing, pricing, guest communication, cleaning, and maintenance.

The product portfolio is organized into two tiers. Standard properties carry nightly rates ranging from approximately £202 to £935, while the LUXE Homes tier represents the premium collection, with rates starting from £3,135 per night for the highest-quality finishes, service, and views. Properties are STAA/QiT inspected and accredited, and the company has accumulated industry recognition including the 2020 Travolution 'Best for Staying' award, 2020 Alto Vita Best Property Management Company EMEA, and 2021 Corporate Excellence Awards for Most Outstanding Luxury Accommodation Company UK. Inventory images and listings are hosted via the Hospiria distribution platform, which acts as a supplementary B2B distribution channel in addition to the direct website.

Revenue is generated through transaction and management fees charged on each booking, with property owners paying a commission or revenue share for the fully-managed service. Pricing follows a unit-based, pay-as-you-go model with no disclosed subscription or membership components. The customer base is split between individual leisure travelers and families (primary segment) seeking hotel-quality accommodation with home comforts, and property owners (secondary segment) seeking to monetize residential assets without operational burden. The company is privately held with no disclosed venture capital or private equity ownership beyond historical Crowdcube crowdfunding rounds and an institutional round in December 2023 led by Smedvig Capital with Second Century Ventures participation. The leadership team is led by founder and CEO Merilee Karr, with Gerard Beelaerts and Jonathan Wilkes as CFOs, Richard Bridger as COO, and functional heads across finance, technology, marketing, and corporate functions.

Name

UnderTheDoormat

Legal name

UnderTheDoormat Ltd

Website

https://underthedoormat.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UnderTheDoormat is a London-based luxury short-term rental property manager operating across nine destinations in the UK, France, and the USA, serving leisure travelers via direct bookings and property owners through a fully-managed hosting service with tiered offerings including a LUXE premium collection.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Short-Term Rental & Property Management

NAICS

Consumer Goods Rental (5322)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Villas & Luxury Estates (THAMAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Luxury & Estate Rentals (THAGANAF), Ultra-Luxury Villas & Estates (THAMAEAA)

Keywords

• Luxury short-term rentals
• Vacation property management
• Premium serviced apartments
• Corporate housing
• Homeowner hosting services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Property Rental Transactions: UnderTheDoormat generates revenue by facilitating short-term property rentals. Property owners list their homes on the platform and pay a management fee or revenue share for the company's fully-managed service including listing, guest management, cleaning, and maintenance. The platform takes a commission or management fee from each booking transaction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

UnderTheDoormat operates a curated portfolio of luxury short-term rental properties across nine destinations in the UK, France, and the USA, offering hotel-quality serviced accommodation for leisure and corporate travelers. The company also provides a fully-managed property hosting service for homeowners, handling listing, guest management, cleaning, and maintenance in exchange for a management fee or revenue share.

Product overview

UnderTheDoormat is a luxury short-term rental property management company operating a dual offering: standard premium vacation rentals across UK, France, and USA destinations, paired with the LUXE Homes premium tier for the highest-quality properties. The company also provides homeowner/property management services for hosts, including a fully managed service for property owners looking to list their homes. Properties span nine destinations: London, Manchester, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cumbria (UK), Paris, Dordogne (France), and Chicago, Colorado (USA). The company holds STAA/QiT property inspection accreditation and has received multiple industry awards including Best Property Management Company EMEA 2020.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LUXE homes: Premium tier of luxury properties featuring the highest quality finishes, service, and views in the company's portfolio.

Products and services

• Standard Short-Term Rentals

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• OneFineStay: London-headquartered luxury and high-end serviced short-term rental operator offering handpicked, hotel-grade homes across major global cities. Directly comparable on curated luxury positioning, target guest, and managed-supply model in overlapping geographies.
• Plum Guide: London-based vacation rental marketplace that vets each home against a 150-point quality test before listing. Closely comparable on the 'curated, verified luxury' wedge, target traveller persona and tiered pricing structure.
• GuestReady: Short-term rental management company operating across the UK, France and other European cities, offering fully managed services to hosts. Comparable on dual-sided model, geographic overlap (UK and France), and B2B host-acquisition motion.
• Vacasa: Largest US vacation rental management company offering fully managed hosting across thousands of properties. Comparable on the asset-light, fee-based property management model, though broader mass-market rather than purely luxury.
• Sykes Holiday Cottages: UK-focused holiday rental agency with a large curated portfolio of self-catering properties. Comparable on UK geographic overlap and curated short-term rental marketplace model, though skews more family/value than luxury.

Emerging players

• Sonder: Tech-enabled apartment-style accommodation operator offering design-led, hotel-grade short stays in urban locations. Comparable on the 'home-comfort meets hotel-quality' positioning and tech-driven guest experience.
• AltoVita: Corporate housing and serviced apartment marketplace that previously recognised UnderTheDoormat as a property partner. Comparable as a curated accommodation platform serving corporate and extended-stay demand in overlapping geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Airbnb Luxe: Luxury tier of Airbnb offering vetted high-end homes with dedicated trip designers. The dominant broad incumbent competing directly for the same luxury short-term rental guest, with materially larger supply and marketing reach.
• Vrbo: Expedia-owned vacation rental marketplace with a large whole-home inventory. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the short-term rental category, especially relevant where UnderTheDoormat's properties are listed via Hospiria.

Others

• Hospiria: Corporate housing distribution platform that lists UnderTheDoormat inventory. Not a direct competitor but a strategic distribution partner and ecosystem participant relevant to the company's go-to-market in the corporate segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UnderDoormat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds9 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UnderTheDoormat