New here? This is the reading list we'd hand you over a cup of tea: what the blog covers, how the Edinburgh short-let year actually runs, and where to begin. There's a path for owners and one for guests.
Edinburgh short-let blog: what we write about, and why
We run short lets in Edinburgh and East Lothian every day. Most of what ends up on this blog started as a question someone asked us: an owner on the phone, a guest on WhatsApp at 10pm, a neighbour on the stair. If it came up more than twice, we wrote it down.
The posts fall into four groups, and the filters above match them.
- Owner advice. How to price, how to get a home ready, what a good manager should do and what it costs. If you're weighing up management, start with how our short-let management works and every number on our fees page.
- Compliance. Licences, planning, council tax, business rates and the Visitor Levy. These change, so we date every post and update the ones that matter. The deeper reference lives in our plain-words guide to short-term let licensing.
- Seasonal. The Fringe, Hogmanay, the Six Nations and graduations. Each one changes who books, how long they stay and what they ask for.
- Edinburgh guides. Short, practical notes for guests: getting around, rainy-day plans and the bits of the city we'd show a friend.
Alongside the posts there's a shelf of longer, free guides for Edinburgh owners, from tenement flats to inherited homes. The blog is where things change; the guides are where things settle. When a rule moves, we post first, then fold it into the guide.
Everything here is general guidance written by the Stays In team in Edinburgh. It isn't legal or financial advice, and we'll say so whenever a question needs your accountant or the council.
Start here if you own a home in Edinburgh
Owners usually arrive with one of four questions. Here's where we'd send you for each.
Can I short-let my home at all?
Every short let in Scotland has needed a licence since 1 October 2023, and all of Edinburgh has been a short-term let control area since 5 September 2022, so letting a home that isn't your main home usually needs planning permission too. Begin with how licensing works in Edinburgh, then read about the home letting licence if it's where you live, or secondary letting and planning if it isn't.
What would it earn?
Our Edinburgh earnings calculator gives you a first figure in a minute. Nightly prices by area sit on our Airbnb management page, and Short let or long let? The Edinburgh numbers sets the two side by side.
What will it cost me?
Licence fees, certificates, cleaning, linen, platform fees, the levy and, if you use a manager, the fee. Our licence costs page covers the council side. Our fee is from 15% + VAT of net booking revenue, which is 18% once VAT is added, and the pricing page shows every tier.
I already host. Am I doing it right?
Read our page for self-hosts and the tools, tips and tricks for self-hosts. If you'd like a second pair of eyes, send us your link for a free listing review.
If you'd rather not read at all, book a 15-minute call and ask us instead.
Start here if you're coming to stay in Edinburgh
If you're a guest, the blog has two jobs: help you plan, and help you enjoy the city once you're here. A few things are worth knowing before you book.
- Edinburgh is a city of stairs. Many flats are in tenements, up a shared stair with no lift. Check the listing for the floor, and ask before you book if stairs are a problem. Pack accordingly, and be kind to the neighbours on the way up.
- The weather changes its mind. A dry morning on Calton Hill can be a wet afternoon in the Grassmarket. Keep one indoor plan up your sleeve for every day; our Leith Shore guide has rainy-day options for that part of town.
- The Visitor Levy. Stays in the City of Edinburgh from 24 July 2026 include a 5% levy on the accommodation for the first five nights. It doesn't apply in East Lothian. Here's how the levy works.
- Big weekends book early. August, Hogmanay and rugby weekends fill first. If your dates are fixed, book when you know them.
Coming for something specific? We've written pages for Fringe performers and crews, graduation families, rugby fans heading to Murrayfield and golfers in East Lothian. Coming for work? See short stays for visiting professionals, or company accommodation if you're booking for a team.
Our guest team answers from 9am to midnight, with an emergency line through the night. You'll find every way to reach us on the contact page.
The Edinburgh short-let year, January to April
Edinburgh doesn't have one season. It has a run of small ones, and knowing them is most of the work of pricing a home well. Here's how the first third of the year usually goes.
January
Hogmanay guests check out in the first days of the month, and then the city goes quiet. It's the time for repairs, deep cleans and a fresh set of photos. From 1 January 2027 there's a change for some owners too: Edinburgh's council tax premium on second homes and long-term empty homes rises from 100% to 300%. We've explained who the 300% council tax premium affects, and the 140/70 rule for council tax or business rates is the page to read alongside it.
February
Usually the quietest month, except on rugby weekends. In 2027 Scotland host Italy on 6 February and Wales on 13 February at Murrayfield. Our Six Nations 2027 guide for hosts covers pricing, minimum stays and the stair.
March
Scotland play Ireland at Murrayfield on Friday 5 March 2027, the first Friday-night Six Nations match there. After that, city breaks pick up as the evenings stretch. Many owners use March to check their licence dates; renewing a short-term let licence explains the timeline.
April
School holidays bring families, and spring weekends get busier. It's a good month to look hard at your listing before summer. Our short-let starter pack and a free listing review are the quickest ways to do it.
The Edinburgh short-let year, May to August
From May the calendar fills, and the question shifts from "will it book?" to "is it priced right?"
May
Steady city-break demand and longer weekends. Homes near the centre and the coast start to see longer stays. In Portobello and North Berwick, the first warm weekends are when families book the summer. See short lets in Portobello and North Berwick.
June and July
Graduation weeks arrive, and families want two or three nights close to the universities. Homes in the Southside, Newington, Marchmont and Bruntsfield feel it first; the Southside and Newington is a good example. There are big summer concerts at Murrayfield in some years, and the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston. Student landlords often ask whether an empty flat can earn over the summer; summer lets for student landlords answers that honestly.
August
The Fringe and the summer festivals. It's the year's high point, and it's also the month when things go wrong for unprepared hosts: cleaners overbooked, stairs busy at 2am, guests staying a month instead of a weekend. Owners should read the Fringe host's guide, and owners without a full licence should know about temporary exemptions and temporary licences. Performers looking for a base can see Fringe accommodation for performers.
Since 24 July 2026, stays in the City of Edinburgh include the 5% Visitor Levy on the first five nights. August is when most owners first notice it in their statements, so it's worth understanding before then.
One habit that pays off across the summer: open your calendar a year ahead and price each night on its own, rather than in blocks. That's how our homes stay busy outside August as well as during it, and it's how we manage every home.
The Edinburgh short-let year, September to December
The festivals end, the students return and the city settles into a different rhythm.
September and October
Conferences, business travel and autumn city breaks. Weekday stays matter more now, and a desk and fast Wi-Fi do more for bookings than a view. Homes near Haymarket and the West End do well with visiting professionals, and longer project stays suit contractor accommodation. It's also a good time to compare your summer against your plan and adjust before winter.
November
Autumn rugby internationals at Murrayfield and winter graduations. In 2026, Scotland host New Zealand on 7 November, Australia on 15 November and Japan on 21 November. It's a useful rehearsal for the Six Nations: you'll see which guests book, what they ask and how the stair copes. Homes in Murrayfield and Corstorphine and Haymarket and Dalry see it first.
December
Festive city breaks in the first weeks, a lull, then Hogmanay. New Year prices near the Old Town run well above the surrounding dates, and minimum stays matter. Owners of second homes should also look out for revised council tax bills: the council has said those affected by the 300% premium should expect them in December 2026.
Winter is also when the boiler, the windows and the heating get tested properly. A short note in your arrival message about how the heating works saves a lot of 11pm calls. Our Guest Message & House Manual Kit has wording you can copy.
Then January comes round, and the year starts again. If you'd like to see what that year could look like for your own home, month by month, ask for a free plan made for your home.
Short-let rules in Edinburgh: the order owners meet them
The rules make more sense if you read them in the order you'll meet them. This is the path most owners take, with the page to read at each step.
- Planning. If the home isn't your main home, you'll usually need planning permission for secondary letting. Read secondary letting and planning in Edinburgh.
- The licence. Every short let needs one, whether it's a room, your own home while you're away, or a second property. Licence requirements lists the certificates and checks, and licence costs shows the council fees.
- Council tax or business rates. A self-catering home available for 140 nights and let for 70 in the year moves to business rates. The 140/70 rule explains the evidence the assessor can ask for.
- The Visitor Levy. 5% on the accommodation for the first five nights, for stays in the City of Edinburgh from 24 July 2026. The Visitor Levy for hosts covers collecting and returning it.
- Tax. The furnished holiday let rules ended in April 2025. Short-let tax after April 2025 is a plain overview to read before you see your accountant.
- Renewal. Licences don't last forever. Licence renewal sets out the timeline.
If a word along the way doesn't make sense, our short-let glossary has it in plain English. And if you live next door to a short let rather than running one, our page for neighbours tells you who to call.
How we write the Stays In blog
A blog about short lets can easily turn into a sales pitch. We try hard to keep this one useful instead, and a few rules help.
- We check the facts at the source. Licensing and council tax come from the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government. Rugby dates come from Scottish Rugby. Fringe dates come from the Fringe Society. If we can't confirm something, we leave it out.
- We date everything. Rules change. Every post shows when it was written, and we update the ones that matter.
- We don't inflate numbers. Where we quote figures, they're our own or the council's. Our fee is from 15% + VAT, which is 18% of net booking revenue once VAT is added, and we say so plainly.
- We write for one reader at a time. A post for owners won't try to sell anything to guests, and the other way round.
- No pressure. You won't find countdowns here. If something has a real deadline, like our introductory rate for owners who sign by 31 December 2026, we'll tell you the date and leave the decision with you.
We're three co-founders and a team of 17, all working in Edinburgh. You can read more about who we are, or see what owners and guests say on our reviews page.
Got a question we haven't answered? Tell us and we may well write it up. You can get in touch with our team by phone, WhatsApp or email. If you own a home and want the full picture, tell us about your property and we'll come back with a plan made for it.
New this month: how much does an Airbnb earn in Edinburgh?, home letting vs secondary letting and mortgage and insurance for short lets.
Message us on WhatsApp on +44 7898 116933, or get in touch. We reply 9am to midnight, and the emergency line is there 24/7.