What Host & Stay does

Host & Stay is a UK-based holiday home management company that operates a B2B2C marketplace connecting individual property owners with leisure and corporate travelers seeking short-term self-catering accommodation. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Skelton-in-Cleveland, the company manages over 1,000 properties spanning nine UK regions — North East, North West, Yorkshire & The Humber, Central England, East of England, South East, South West, Wales, and Scotland — and has accumulated more than 87,000 guest reviews. The supply side consists of property owners who delegate listing, guest sourcing, and on-the-ground operations to Host & Stay; the demand side books directly through hostandstay.co.uk, by telephone, or via the dedicated corporate stays portal, with no third-party OTA dependency disclosed as the primary channel.

The technology stack is built on the third-party Guesty property management platform, with supplementary integrations including CoverMe for security-deposit and accidental-damage-waiver processing, Superhog for guest watchlisting, and resiAIR Wi-Fi sensors deployed in selected properties to monitor energy, heating, lighting, noise, occupancy, temperature, humidity, and indoor air quality. The company has not disclosed proprietary AI/ML capabilities, patents, or in-house models; product differentiation is operational and brand-led rather than technology-led. Core products include Holiday Lets, Corporate Stays (flexible durations from nights up to six months for business travelers), curated Holiday Collections (pet-friendly, hot-tub, large-group), the Host & Stay Rewards referral program, and a Damage Protection service.

Host & Stay's revenue model is a management-fee/commission slice of gross booking value on the properties it manages, with pricing on the consumer side ranging from approximately £50 to £650 per night depending on property size, location, and amenities. A £250 refundable damage deposit (with a £10 admin charge) or a £25 Accidental Damage Waiver covering up to £500 of damage is collected per booking, and ancillary fees from the referral program and corporate stays add incremental revenue. The company is privately held, founder-led by Dale Smith (Founder & CEO), and has secured two rounds of capital in 2024: a six-figure debt facility from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance in February and an approximately $13.8 million growth equity round led by Growth Partner in September, alongside two acquisitions (Peak Cottage Management and Peak Staycations) in November 2024.

Name

Host & Stay

Legal name

Host & Stay Management Limited

Website

https://hostandstay.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Host & Stay is a UK holiday home management company that operates a B2B2C marketplace for over 1,000 short-term rental properties across nine UK regions, serving leisure travelers via direct booking and corporate clients via a dedicated extended-stays product.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Holiday Home Management

NAICS

Other Traveler Accommodation (72119), Traveler Accommodation (7211)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Short-Term Rental (STR) Management for Individual Hosts (BPAJAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

New-Listing Onboarding, Setup & Launch Services (THAMAKAO), Co-Hosting & On-the-Ground Host Support (THAMAKAB), Vacation Rental Maintenance & Vendor Management (BPAJAIAM)

Keywords

• Holiday home rentals
• Vacation property management
• Short-term accommodation
• Corporate housing
• Self-catering bookings

Headquarters

HQ city

Skelton-in-cleveland

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Holiday Property Bookings: The company acts as a managing agent for holiday property owners and earns commission/fees from bookings. Guests pay for their stays through the platform.
2. Corporate Stays: Extended stay bookings for business travelers with dedicated corporate housing options

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Host & Stay operates a UK holiday home management and booking platform that manages over 1,000 short-term rental properties across nine regions on behalf of property owners, and rents these self-catering lets directly to leisure guests and corporate travellers. The company acts as a managing agent, handling listings, guest services, maintenance, and damage protection while taking a commission or fee on bookings. It also runs a dedicated Corporate Stays product for extended business travel and a referral-based Host & Stay Rewards programme.

Product overview

Host & Stay operates a holiday home management platform offering short-term rental properties across the UK. The core offering consists of holiday lets across nine UK regions (North East, North West, Yorkshire & The Humber, Central England, East of England, South East, South West, Wales, Scotland) and a dedicated Corporate Stays product for business travelers. The platform is supported by complementary services including the Host & Stay Rewards referral program, Damage Protection Services through CoverMe, and a Property Management service for owners. The company manages over 1,000 properties and employs smart home monitoring technology via resiAIR devices in select properties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Holiday Lets Short-term rental properties including cottages, apartments, houses and unique stays available across nine UK regions (North East, North West, Yorkshire & The Humber, Central England, East of England, South East, South West, Wales, Scotland). Targeted at individual leisure travellers including families, couples, groups and pet owners seeking self-catering accommodation.
• Corporate Stays Self-catering accommodation for business travellers offering flexible stays from a few nights up to six months. Includes self check-in, free WiFi, laptop-friendly workspaces and self-catering facilities across more than 900 properties in the UK.
• Property Management Services (Let Your Property) Full-service property management for UK property owners, including listing, guest sourcing, guest services, maintenance oversight and rental income maximisation through the Host & Stay platform.
• Damage Protection Services Security deposit handling (£250 deposit with £10 admin charge) and an optional Accidental Damage Waiver (£25 covering up to £500 of accidental damage) processed through the CoverMe platform, protecting property owners during guest stays.
• Host & Stay Rewards Referral programme where members earn £25 travel credit for each friend who completes a qualifying reservation (minimum £160), and referred friends receive £50 off their first booking. Travel credits expire after one year.

Quantifiable outcome

• 87,212+ guest reviews demonstrating high customer satisfaction
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Boutique Cottages: Curated UK holiday cottage collection offering full management services to owners; overlaps with Host & Stay on quality-graded self-catering inventory and direct booking model.
• Sykes Holiday Cottages: UK's largest holiday cottage letting agency managing thousands of properties nationwide; directly comparable to Host & Stay in both managed-property model and UK domestic leisure traveler focus.
• Cottages.com: Established UK holiday cottage letting agency offering full property management and booking services; competes directly with Host & Stay for owners and guests across the same UK regions.
• holidaycottages.co.uk: UK-based holiday cottage letting specialist with managed properties across multiple regions; a direct competitor in the self-catering cottage and home rental category.
• Coast & Country Cottages: UK holiday cottage letting agency focused on coastal and rural properties; directly comparable on managed-property model and UK domestic leisure traveler segment.

Broad incumbents

• Airbnb: Global short-term rental marketplace connecting hosts and guests; competes with Host & Stay for owners who could self-list on Airbnb, but Airbnb lacks the regional full-service management offering.
• Vrbo: Global vacation rental platform with UK presence; comparable in traveler-facing distribution and adjacent to Host & Stay's managed-letting model.
• Booking.com: Global accommodation marketplace listing holiday homes alongside hotels; an indirect competitor for guest acquisition and an alternative channel for property owners.

Emerging players

• Sawday's: Curated UK collection of distinctive holiday properties with owner management services; partial overlap with Host & Stay on quality-segment holiday lets and owner-onboarding support.

Others

• Guesty: Property management software platform used by Host & Stay (per company data); an enabling technology peer rather than a competitor, but comparable in serving the short-term rental operator segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/host-stay

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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

M&A2 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Host & Stay