The real question isn't just income — it's whether you can get the property back when you need it.
An honest look at what this property could do as a professionally managed short-term rental — and a direct look at what a standard long-term tenancy costs you in control, not just in rent.
Sos Stays — an Irish short-term rental management company
Sos Stays — sós is the Irish word for a break — manages short-term rentals for owners who'd rather keep the income than run the admin. We work with property owners across Ireland, handling everything from listings and pricing to guest communication and cleaning coordination, end to end.
This brief is prepared and presented by Keena Duffy, who would be your direct point of contact throughout — from the first conversation through onboarding and every month after.
We manage a small, closely-run portfolio rather than a sprawling one, and we're onboarding a limited number of new properties this year — every property we take on gets real, individual attention, not a queue ticket.
The 5-bed projection is in — and it clears the current rental
A fresh AirDNA report run specifically for this 5-bed, 2-bath property shows a materially different picture to the earlier 2-bed comp. Worth reading the confidence caveat below before taking the headline number at face value.
Even with that caveat, this changes the shape of the conversation: STR now looks credible on income as well as control — but the control argument below doesn't depend on this number holding up, and is worth weighing on its own terms regardless.
Control — the ability to get the property back when you need it
Niall's priority here isn't maximising rental yield. It's not being locked out of his own property by a long-term tenancy he can't easily end — particularly if selling, moving in, or otherwise reclaiming the property becomes a real possibility.
A standard tenancy is hard to end
Under current Residential Tenancies Act rules, a long-term letting that runs past the qualifying period can accumulate rolling Part 4 protections — sometimes referred to as the "6-year lock." Once that applies, ending the tenancy to sell, move in, or reclaim the property becomes materially harder, on the tenant's timeline more than the owner's.
STR keeps the property genuinely available
Guests book by the night, not the year. There's no tenancy to unwind, no notice period to serve, no rolling protections to navigate. If Niall wants the property back — to sell with vacant possession, to move in, or simply to pause — he can, on his own schedule.
Sale-readiness, without vacating early
A property tied up in a long-term tenancy often can't be shown or sold with vacant possession without a lengthy process. An STR-managed property can be taken off the booking calendar and made available for viewings or sale at short notice — no tenant negotiation required.
What Sos Stays handles on Niall's behalf, in plain terms
"We handle everything" isn't a specific enough promise to make a decision on. Here's the actual breakdown of what Sos Stays does, and what stays with Niall.
Listing & pricing
The property is listed across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and direct — one synced calendar. Nightly rates are actively adjusted to demand and season, not left flat.
Every guest message
Enquiries, booking questions, check-in instructions, in-stay issues — all handled directly by Sos Stays. Niall is never the point of contact for a guest.
Cleaning & turnover
Cleaning is scheduled around every checkout, coordinated end to end, and charged to the guest at cost. No rota to manage, no cleaner to find or chase.
Photography & presentation
Professional listing photography, built around the property's actual character — arranged and paid for as part of onboarding, not an extra ask.
Maintenance coordination
Day-to-day issues are handled directly, with a clear spending threshold before anything needs Niall's sign-off — he's not fielding call-outs personally.
Monthly statements & payout
A clear monthly statement and bank transfer — Niall's involvement is reviewing a statement, not chasing payments or reconciling anything himself.
The property itself, the decision to block dates for personal use or sale, and — per the national STL rules — the Fáilte Ireland registration itself must be completed by Niall personally, not by Sos Stays, once the register opens. Everything operational sits with us; ownership and registration stay with him.
A strong location score, a wide comp spread
A 93/100 market score for this submarket. But 5-bed properties in this area vary hugely in standard and presentation, and the comp set reflects that — this is a market where quality of execution moves the outcome more than most.
| Comparable Listing | Beds | Occupancy | ADR | Annual Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large luxurious house, 4bed/4bath, 10mins to City | 4 | 71.7% | €424.1 | €67,900 |
| Large 5 Bd Family Home w/Parking on site | 5 | 60.2% | €599.0 | €106,000 |
| Spacious Georgian Period Family Home, Dublin 6 | 4 | 64.2% | €668.2 | €134,300 |
| 4 Bed House between Silicon Docks & Aviva Stadium | 4 | 65.3% | €584.7 | €121,000 |
| Beautiful Home in Dalkey | 5 | 58.0% | €445.6 | €62,800 |
| Charming 5 bedroom family home, free parking | 5 | 75.0% | €248.7 | €36,600 |
AirDNA rates this projection "Low confidence." The full comp set (15 listings) spans from €34,400 to €248,100 in annual revenue — one of the widest spreads we've seen across any brief prepared so far. That range reflects real differences in property standard, exact location, and presentation, not modelling noise. Treat €107,600 as the model's central estimate, with genuine uncertainty on either side, not a number to plan around precisely.
A clear summer peak, and a real winter trough
The monthly shape below is drawn from the wider submarket's 2-bed data, since the 5-bed report only gives annual totals — the seasonal pattern (summer peak, January trough) is a reasonable read on the area generally, but treat the specific monthly euro figures as illustrative rather than exact for this property.
Average listing revenue, by month
Submarket average revenue (€), Stillorgan / South Dublin, trailing 12 months — general area pattern
Two things worth budgeting for upfront
Even setting the income comparison aside, switching to STR isn't zero-cost. Two items should be treated as prerequisites, not afterthoughts, if this is ever pursued.
Smart lock installation
Self check-in is standard for this kind of guest, and a smart lock is the safest and most practical way to manage it without a physical key exchange. This is a one-off hardware and installation cost, budgeted before the first booking goes live.
Short-term letting insurance
A standard landlord or long-term letting policy typically doesn't cover short-term guest turnover. Proper STL-specific cover needs to be in place before the first guest checks in — we'd help source quotes, but this is Niall's policy to hold, not ours.
Neither of these is included in the net income figure above — they're additional costs on top of an already-tighter margin than the current rental. Worth having real numbers on both before any decision.
Ireland's new Short-Term Letting Register
New national rules apply to hosts in Ireland from 31 December 2026, under the Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill and the EU Short Term Rental Regulation. We won't pretend to have every detail nailed down this far out — but here's our honest read.
Our honest approach: we'll play this by ear. The register only opens in December 2026 and the fine detail — fees, exact planning documentation, how enforcement actually works in practice — isn't fully settled yet. It doesn't change the core control argument above either way: STR keeps the property available on Niall's terms regardless of exactly how registration shakes out.
If STR itself doesn't work out
If short-term letting doesn't get planning clearance, or the numbers once they're in don't justify it, a business guest accommodation / corporate relocation model is worth having as a second option — housing relocating professionals on a licensee basis rather than a standard Part 4 tenancy. It keeps the same core benefit Niall's actually after: no rolling tenancy protections, and the property stays his to reclaim.
This is a general note, not a firm recommendation — any such structure would need a solicitor's eyes before relying on it.
The right amenities are already the market norm here
Amenity presence across the 5-bed comparable listings in this submarket — the features driving bookings for properties at this size.
What comes with it, once control is the priority
Control is the headline reason. These are the practical things that come along with it once Sos Stays is managing the property day to day.
Zero day-to-day effort
The full breakdown of what Sos Stays handles is above — but in short, there's no tenant management, no chasing rent, no lease admin. Niall's involvement is a monthly statement, not a second job.
The property is always ready to show
A well-managed STR is cleaned, presented, and photograph-ready on a rolling basis. If a viewing or valuation comes up, the property's already in a state to be shown — unlike a tenanted property, where access and presentation are the tenant's call.
The location has genuine upside, even if this exact number doesn't hold
The comp set's top performers — properties well above €107,600 — show what's achievable with strong presentation in this submarket. Given the Low confidence rating, that's a more useful way to think about the ceiling than banking on the model's central estimate holding exactly.
The complete list, for reference
The section above covers the day-to-day basics. This is the fuller list — the same operating model we run for every managed property, nothing untested, nothing theoretical.
Dynamic pricing
Nightly rates adjusted continuously to demand, season, and events — not a flat rate set once and left.
Multi-platform listing
Live across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and direct — one calendar, synced everywhere.
Professional photography
Listing photography built around the property's real character — not generic stock-style shots.
Guest communication
Every enquiry, booking message, and in-stay question handled directly — owners are never the point of contact.
Cleaning & turnover coordination
Cleaning scheduled around every checkout, at cost, with a set turnaround standard — no owner involvement.
Local & tourism promotion
Outreach to build organic visibility, tailored to the property's actual location and audience.
Review & reputation management
Post-stay follow-up and review management to build the trust signals that drive future bookings.
Maintenance coordination
Day-to-day upkeep handled directly, with a clear spending threshold before anything needs owner sign-off.
Monthly owner statements
A clear monthly statement and payout — full visibility without needing to manage any of it directly.
Sos Stays works with property owners across Ireland
Whatever Niall decides on this property, we're a national management company, not a single-area agency.
Every property, properly managed
We take on properties across Ireland — city and county — and give each one the same close attention.
Keena, start to finish
No call centre, no rotating account managers — Niall's point of contact is Keena, from the first conversation onward.
We'll tell you when the numbers don't work
This brief is the proof — when a projection doesn't beat the current arrangement, we say so, clearly, before anything else.