Guest-caused damage is the leading source of stress for owners of short-term holiday rental properties, according to new survey data.
The survey from insurer Schofields of 100 holiday let owners found 80% cited guest damage as a source of frustration, ranking it above cleaning and changeovers (61%), property maintenance and repairs (58%), unexpected costs (54%) and difficulty finding reliable cleaners and tradespeople (42%).
Nearly nine in 10 owners reported encountering a problem with their property at least once every few months, the survey found, and 79% said they spend four or more hours a week managing the property or handling related administrative tasks. Eighty-eight percent said they had interrupted personal plans at least once to deal with an issue at their property.
Seventy percent of those surveyed said they use Airbnb or similar booking platforms to let their properties.
The findings align with broader industry warnings about gaps in coverage for short-term rental damage. Standard landlord insurance policies are generally built to cover insured perils such as fire, storm and escape of water, and damage caused directly by guests – whether accidental or deliberate – may fall outside that standard scope, according to the National Residential Landlords Association. Some short-term letting platforms offer host protection schemes, but these are not always equivalent to a comprehensive insurance policy and can include limitations and exclusions, the NRLA said.
Demand for short-term lets has also been climbing. The UK recorded close to 101 million guest nights in short-term lets in 2025, with 14% of that total, or roughly 14.1 million nights, concentrated in August alone, according to research cited by price-comparison site Uswitch. Nearly a quarter of 2025's guest nights were concentrated in just nine local authorities, led by Westminster, the City of Edinburgh, and Kensington and Chelsea.
Uswitch has separately cautioned that standard home insurance is designed for owner-occupiers rather than paying guests, and hosting without a specialist short-term rental policy could leave owners uninsured for damage, theft or injury caused by guests.
Phil Schofield, head of sales and marketing at Schofields, said guest damage was named as the single biggest headache by a third of respondents.
"Taking a deposit can provide some protection, but having appropriate insurance in place for accidental or more serious damage is important too," Schofield said. "There can also be added frustration when guests attempt to hide or cover up damage, while owners may occasionally find items have gone missing from the property."
Schofield said the wider list of frustrations extended beyond damage. "Cleaning and changeovers, maintenance and unexpected costs all ranked highly, while 88% of owners told us they've had to interrupt their own plans at least once because of a problem with their holiday let," he said.
"With 70% of those surveyed using Airbnb or similar platforms, it's clear that making a property available to guests has never been easier, but owners shouldn't underestimate the work that can come with it. Being prepared for those unexpected problems can make managing a holiday let considerably less stressful."
Schofields has provided holiday home insurance for more than 40 years, covering properties in the UK, Spain, France and Portugal.
