Start Your Airbnb Business in Ireland

Build an Airbnb business in Ireland with Houst

Ireland is a high rate short let market with a small professional operator base. Whether you want to co-host, buy into a franchise or take properties on rent to rent, the same things stall most people: finding owners, pricing well and running guest operations at scale. As a Houst partner you get the training, the software and the owner leads, and you keep a share of every booking you manage.

Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in Ireland with Houst's partnership program. Streamlined operations include automated guest messaging, cleaning requests, and payment tracking to support business growth.
Image of Houst property management software dashboard notification for a new clean request in Ireland for Airbnb business owners.
Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in Ireland with Houst's partnership program. Streamlined operations include automated guest messaging, cleaning requests, and payment tracking to support business growth.
Image of Houst property management software dashboard notification for a receipt of new payment in Ireland for Airbnb business owners.
Operating Partner launching their Airbnb business in Ireland with Houst's partnership program. Streamlined operations include automated guest messaging, cleaning requests, and payment tracking to support business growth.
Our partnership track-record:

24 homes

Average portfolio after year one

1-2 months

Time to first earnings

50/50

Revenue split on every booking

24 homes

The average amount of properties after 1 year in business.

20%

The average commission on each guest booking

1-2 months

The average time it takes our partners to start earning.

Who can become a partner?

From solo co-hosts to franchise operators, there is a route in whatever stage you are at.

Start co-hosting in Ireland without owning property

You want to run short lets for other people but do not own property yourself. Co-hosting is the lowest cost way in and it is how most partners start. Airbnb's own co-host network wants a track record before it will list you publicly, which is hard to build from zero. We train you on pricing, listings, guest management and the registration position, then pass you owner leads in your territory so the first properties come from us.

Already letting one or two places

You let your own property, or you look after one for an owner, and you know what the compliance side involves. Growing past two or three units usually breaks the setup, because cleaning, linen, guest communication and out of hours cover stop fitting around everything else. Partnering gives you the systems and the support team to take on more without hiring first.

Add short let management to your agency

You run a lettings or property business and your landlords keep asking about short lets. Offering it properly means new pricing, different compliance, a guest operation and cover outside office hours. We supply the platform, the training and the brand so you can serve those owners on a system that already operates across 27 cities rather than building one.

Run an Airbnb franchise in Ireland

You want a territory and a real business rather than a handful of units. Most franchise opportunities in this sector sell you a brand and a territory and leave you to build the operation yourself. We give you the operating model, the technology and the owner pipeline, so you are running a short let franchise on infrastructure that already works.

Airbnb business in Ireland: Illustration of upcoming booking notifications and Airbnb revenue on Houst's partner platform interface, demonstrating streamlined short-let property management.
Airbnb business in Ireland: Illustration of upcoming booking notifications and Airbnb revenue on Houst's partner platform interface, demonstrating streamlined short-let property management.
A dashboard screenshot image of an Airbnb business in Ireland showcasing upcoming booking details, including check-in dates, booking revenue, and guest profiles to optimize short-let property management and running an Airbnb business in Ireland.

Who finds the properties

This is the question every applicant asks. Houst already generates owner enquiries across Ireland through search, referrals and paid channels, and those leads go to the partner covering that area. You are not starting with an empty pipeline. You will still win properties locally, through agents, developers and word of mouth, but the first ones normally come from us.

Why Ireland works for short let operators

Ireland runs high nightly rates against a small supply base. Dublin carries year round demand from business travel, events and city breaks, while the west and the coast run a concentrated high value summer. Rates in prime areas sit well above the national average, which means a smaller portfolio here produces the revenue a larger one would elsewhere.

Houst operates in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Dublin is the largest and steadiest of the three and the market most partners build from.

Regulation is tightening and it is national rather than local. A short-term letting register opens on 1 December 2026 and every operator must be registered by 31 December 2026. It covers any letting of 21 nights or less, issues a unique number per unit that has to appear on every listing, and renews each year. Registration requires a declaration that the property meets planning requirements, and changing a property's use to short-term tourism letting needs planning permission from the local authority. Rent pressure zones add further restriction. Knowing where a property stands before you take it on is now part of the job. We cover it with partners during training.

Airbnb business in Ireland: Get started with Houst's property management platform to supercharge your property business, featuring an intuitive booking calendar for streamlined Airbnb operations.

We only get rewarded when you do well

Total entry cost is 10,000 euro. You pay a 2,500 euro deposit at signing and a 2,500 euro set-up fee, then 500 euro a month across your first ten months. Bookings split 50/50 from day one. Systems, sales, growth, marketing and full guest support are included.

10,000 euro
Total investment
50/50
Revenue split per booking
2,500 euro
Joining fee upfront
10 months
Payment spread over
Airbnb business in Ireland: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Airbnb business in Ireland: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Airbnb business in Ireland: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Airbnb business in Ireland: Maximise your profits with Houst's expertise in managing short-let properties, featuring insights into bookings, total properties, activity logs, and upcoming cleans.
Insight into running an Airbnb business in Ireland with real-time data on total properties and scheduled cleanings, ensuring smooth operations and guest satisfaction.

What an Irish property earns

The calculator below uses Houst booking data from Ireland. A two bedroom property averages 343 euro a night at 70% occupancy, which is around 88,000 euro in booking revenue over a year. Change the inputs to see what a portfolio of that size returns to you as a partner.

GET A MORE ACCURATE ESTIMATE

Properties in your portfolio

25 properties Typical year 1

Average daily rate

€343

Occupancy

70%

Annual booking revenue managed

Your share, per year

Estimates based on current average daily rates and occupancy in your market. Actual earnings vary by property, area and season.

Five properties to seventy across three cities

David and Matt started with five properties in Dublin and now manage north of 70 across three Irish cities. They moved owners off long term leases because the yield from short lets is consistently higher, and they hold a 99 percent positive review rate with almost every guest message answered within the hour.

FAQ

How to start an Airbnb in Ireland?
Decide the model first. You can buy or lease a property and run it yourself, take properties on rent to rent with the owner's written consent, or manage homes for other people as a co-host. The third route needs no property and no capital outlay, which is why most operators start there. Whichever you choose, planning permission and registration sit on the property, so check both before you take anything on.
How to start an Airbnb in Ireland?
Is Airbnb profitable in Ireland?
It can be, and Dublin performs strongly, but the margin depends on how well the property is priced and run rather than on the market alone. Nightly rates in prime areas hold up well above the national average. The costs that erode returns are cleaning, linen, utilities, platform fees and void nights, and the operators who make money are the ones with the systems to keep occupancy high without adding hours.
Is Airbnb profitable in Ireland?
How much does a cohost get paid on Airbnb?
Co-hosts typically take a percentage of booking revenue, commonly in the region of 10 to 20 per cent for digital management and higher where they handle turnovers and on-site work. Some take a flat monthly fee instead. Houst partners share management commission on every property they run, and the volume the support team makes possible is what turns a percentage into a business.
How much does a cohost get paid on Airbnb?
Is subletting illegal in Ireland?
No, but you need the landlord's explicit written permission. Subletting without it breaches the tenancy and makes the arrangement unauthorised. As the head tenant you remain responsible for the rent and for any damage. Sub-tenancies must be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board, and subletting is generally barred in student specific accommodation, cost rental tenancies and approved housing body properties.
Is subletting illegal in Ireland?
Do I need to pay tax on my Airbnb income in Ireland?
Yes. Short-term letting income is taxable and must be declared to Revenue each year. Platforms report host earnings directly to Revenue, so the income is visible whether or not you declare it. Running properties for other people is a service business rather than rental income, which changes how it is treated, and anyone building a portfolio should take proper advice on structure early.
Do I need to pay tax on my Airbnb income in Ireland?