Shortlet Business Plan: A Simple Template

A shortlet business plan is a short, written answer to five questions. Who will stay? Where, and in what? At what price? How many nights do you need to sell? What could go wrong? Write it before you spend money, and it will stop you making the most expensive mistakes.

This guide explains what each part of the plan should say, then gives you a one-page template to copy. It has blanks, not example prices, because your area and your flat decide the numbers.

What your plan must answer

A good shortlet (or short let) plan fits on one or two pages. It answers these questions:

1. Guests. Who will stay, why they come, and when.
2. Unit and area. What the home is, where it is, and whether you are allowed to let it by the night.
3. Price. What you charge in quiet, normal and busy times, and what offers and fees you add.
4. Money. What it costs to set up and run, and how many nights you need to break even.
5. Bookings. Where guests will find you, and how you will turn enquiries into stays.
6. Risks. What could go wrong, and what you will do about each one.

The plan is mainly for you. It is also useful if a partner or investor is putting in money, or if you want to manage a flat for its owner.

Who your guests are

Start with the guest, not the flat. Everything else follows from who you want to host. These are the main groups in Nigeria:

Pick one main group and, at most, one second group. A flat that tries to suit everyone usually suits nobody well. Write down what your main guest needs that most flats nearby do not offer.

Your unit and area

Describe the home plainly, as a guest would see it:

• the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and how many people can sleep there;
• furniture, kitchen, air conditioning and Wi-Fi;
• power backup, water supply, parking and security;
• anything special: a view, a pool, a workspace, or space for children.

Then write down your permission. If you own it, check your estate’s rules on short stays. If you lease it, you need the landlord’s written permission to let it by the night. If you manage it, you need a written agreement with the owner. Can I turn my flat into a shortlet? lists what to check.

For the area, say why your guests will want to be there, and how long it takes to get to what they come for. Look at the shortlets already listed nearby. Compare shortlets in Ikeja with shortlets in Lekki, for example, and note what each offers. For Lagos in detail, see starting a shortlet business in Lagos.

Your price, offers and fees

Your plan needs three night prices, not one: a quiet-season price, a normal price, and a busy-season price for December and holidays. Set each by comparing like with like: the same area, the same size, and the same things included.

Then decide your offers and fees:

• Longer-stay offer. A discount for a week or a month fills quiet periods with fewer changeovers.
• Minimum stay. The fewest nights you accept per booking.
• Cleaning fee. A fixed amount, charged once per stay, that pays your cleaner.
• Caution deposit. A refundable sum held against damage, returned after check-out.
• Cancellation terms. How long before check-in a guest can cancel for a full refund.
• Costs of selling. Any commission, agent’s cut or payment fee on each booking.

On Cabans, you set a price per night, per day or per week. On your calendar you can give a season its own price with a price window, and give single busy nights a special day price. You can offer up to three longer-stay discounts, or a free-nights offer such as “Stay 5 nights, get 1 free”; the guest gets whichever saves more, never both. You also choose a cleaning fee, a fixed caution deposit and a free-cancellation time from 24 hours to 30 days before check-in.

Cabans charges a 5% commission on bookings, and the guest pays Paystack’s payment processing fee on top. You are paid within 7 days after the guest’s stay, and faster when the guest approves the payment after their trip. See how to set your night prices.

Break-even: how many nights you need

This is the heart of the plan. Work it out in three steps:

1. Add up your fixed monthly costs. Rent if you lease, service charge, internet, wages and money set aside for replacements.
2. Work out what one booked night leaves you. Your night price, less fees and the running costs of that night, such as power and toiletries.
3. Divide the first by the second. The answer is how many nights you must sell each month to cover your costs.

Do the sum three times: for a slow month, a normal month and a busy month. Then work out how long it takes to earn back your set-up costs: set-up costs divided by a normal month’s profit gives you the number of months. For a worked example, read is a shortlet profitable in Nigeria?

How you will get bookings

A plan that stops at the price is only half a plan. Write down how guests will find you and why they will choose you:

• Where you will list. Property websites where guests search by area, plus your own social media.
• Photos. Bright, clear photos of every room, the entrance and the view. Budget for a photographer if yours are dark.
• Reply speed. Guests often book with whoever answers first. Decide who replies when you are busy.
• Your first guests. Friends, colleagues and community groups who will try you and tell others.
• Repeat guests. Business visitors and families who come back every year are the cheapest bookings you will ever win.

Then set one simple target, such as the number of enquiries you want each week, and check it every month.

Risks and what you will do about them

Every shortlet has risks. A plan names them and says what you will do, before they happen:

A template you can copy

Copy this into a notebook or a document, and fill in every blank. If you cannot fill one in, that is the next thing to find out.

1. Summary: A ___-bedroom shortlet in ___ for ___ (your main guest).
2. Guests: Main group ___. Second group ___. Busy months ___. Quiet months ___.
3. Unit: Bedrooms ___. Sleeps ___. Power backup ___. Water ___. Security ___.
4. Permission: From ___ (owner, landlord or estate), in writing on ___ (date).
5. Prices: Quiet night ₦___. Normal night ₦___. Busy night ₦___.
6. Offers and fees: Minimum stay ___ nights. Longer-stay offer ___. Cleaning fee ₦___. Caution deposit ₦___. Free cancellation until ___ before check-in.
7. Set-up costs: Furniture ₦___. Power backup ₦___. Other ₦___. Total ₦___.
8. Monthly costs: Fixed ₦___. What one booked night leaves you ₦___.
9. Break-even: ___ nights a month. Expected nights: slow ___, normal ___, busy ___.
10. Getting bookings: Where you will list ___. Who takes photos ___. How fast you will reply ___.
11. Running it: Cleaner ___. Who does check-in ___. Repairs contact ___.
12. Top three risks and your plan: 1 ___. 2 ___. 3 ___.
13. Review: Check this plan against your real numbers on the ___ of every month.

Once the numbers work, list your short let so guests can find it. See what other hosts offer on the shortlet page first, and read how to start a shortlet business in Nigeria for the full path to your first guest.

Ready to take bookings? See how to take shortlet bookings online, then follow the Host Academy lesson make your listing bookable.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

Start a shortlet business · Is a shortlet profitable? · Shortlet business in Lagos · Management company or self-manage? · Short let vs long-term rental · Choosing a shortlet business name