Home › Host with Guesture › Airbnb management in Cardiff
For Cardiff owners · Pontcanna, Cathedral Road, Cathays, Cardiff Bay and Taff's Well
Airbnb and holiday let management in Cardiff
Guesture manages Airbnb homes, holiday lets and serviced apartments for owners across Cardiff, from 12% + VAT, and looks after eight homes in and around the city (October 2026), in Pontcanna, on Cathedral Road, in Cathays and in Taff's Well. We price every day around the Principality Stadium calendar, look after guests day and night, run the keys, cleaning and repairs, and set up the Cardiff visitor levy and your Wales registration for you.
Run by a hotelier, not a call centre: you deal with Pedro Reis, a former four-star hotel general manager, directly.
Your proposal includes a pricing and competitor analysis for your home. It's an estimate, not a guarantee of income.
Guesture at a glance for Cardiff owners, October 2026
4.8 ★ from 382
guest reviews, Trustindex, Oct 2026
Best Property Management in Newport
Quality Business Awards 2025 and 2026
Entrepreneur of the Year
Service Industries, Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2024
Airbnb Superhost
Plum Guide partner · Marriott Homes & Villas accredited
15 homes
8 of them in and around Cardiff, Oct 2026
Since 2017
Filmed in by Netflix, S4C and BBC Studios
Full Management, 15% + VAT
Short-term rental property management in Cardiff, by hospitality experts
Full Management means we run your Cardiff home end to end: pricing, listings and photos, guests and keys, cleaning, repairs, the Cardiff levy and your Wales registration. Our fee covers the work; each clean, repairs and supplies are charged at cost.
Prices set every day around Cardiff's calendar
A competitor analysis against comparable Cardiff homes, then prices reviewed every day against demand, seasonality and local events, from Six Nations weekends to stadium concerts.
Photos and listings that show the home properly
Professional photography, commissioned and owned by Guesture, and listings written room by room with a caption for every photo.
A brand and guest area of its own
A logo, a page on guesture.co.uk, an online check-in form for every guest, and a guest area on our guest platform with the independent Cardiff places we recommend.
Guests looked after, day and night
From the first question to the post-stay review. Every guest verifies their identity before the booking is confirmed, and an optional £100 deposit hold costs £2.25 a booking.
Self check-in that suits the street
Keysafes in most homes and KeyNest in busy central spots, with codes changed between every stay.
Cleaning, linen and turnovers
A clean after every stay. Linen and towels are supplied, so you provide only a duvet and one soft and one firm pillow per guest. Charged per clean at the cleaner's rate, by bedrooms and linen.
Repairs through local trades
Vetted local trades, with you kept informed and every cost, with its receipt, on your monthly statement.
The levy and the register, set up for you
We put your home on the Welsh Government's register at no cost and add the Cardiff levy to every booking as a separate charge.
Direct bookings and one clear statement
Commission-free direct bookings on guesture.co.uk, paid into the holding account opened for you, and one statement a month listing every booking and cost. Your calendar login shows booked dates, not guests' details.
The Cardiff market
What brings guests to Cardiff all year
Cardiff fills for three different reasons: big nights at the Principality Stadium, castle and city-centre breaks, and weekday stays from people working or studying in the capital. A Cardiff listing has to be priced and written for all three.
Castle Street, from the page's own photos
Rugby, concerts and the stadium calendar
The Principality Stadium sits in the middle of the city, so match days and stadium concerts bring thousands of visitors into Cardiff in a single weekend. Wales play Japan, New Zealand and Australia there in November 2026, host Ireland on 20 February 2027 and England on 6 March 2027, and Cardiff stages the opening match of EURO 2028 on 9 June 2028.
What we do
We price those nights as event nights, reviewed every day, and plan minimum stays around them with you.
Castle, Bay and city breaks
Cardiff Castle, Bute Park and the arcades bring short breaks all year, and Cardiff Bay has the Senedd, the Wales Millennium Centre and the waterfront. A 16,500-capacity indoor arena is being built at Atlantic Wharf, with opening targeted for 2028.
What we do
Your guest area points guests to the independent Cardiff places we know and recommend.
Weekday and longer stays
Cardiff University, the University Hospital of Wales, government and city-centre offices bring business travellers, contractors, relocating professionals and visiting academics, often for a week or more. Across our homes, 45% of nights in the 12 months to September 2026 came from stays of a week or longer, and stays booked for more than 31 nights fall outside the Cardiff visitor levy.
Cardiff at a glance
Visitor levy
£1.30 per person per night on stays from 1 April 2027 (75p in shared hostel rooms and on pitches)
Levy counted from
Bookings taken from 28 September 2026
Long stays
Stays booked for more than 31 nights fall outside the levy
Wales register
Every host must join by 31 March 2027; free
Council tax
100% premium on furnished homes that are no one's main home, since 1 April 2024
Business rates
252 nights available and 182 let a year; averaging over 2–3 years since 1 April 2026
Short lets
About 1,660 active listings in Cardiff (AirROI, 12 months to September 2026)
Next big dates
Wales v Ireland 20 Feb 2027 · Wales v England 6 Mar 2027 · EURO 2028 opener 9 Jun 2028
Checked 29 October 2026 against gov.wales, GOV.UK, Cardiff Council, the WRU, UEFA and AirROI. Market figures are third-party estimates, not a forecast for your home.
What we do
We list your home with specialist corporate agents as well as the travel sites, and take direct bookings.
The homes
Our Cardiff homes: Pontcanna, Cathedral Road, Cathays and Taff's Well
We look after eight homes in and around Cardiff (October 2026): six in Pontcanna and on Cathedral Road, one in Cathays and one in Taff's Well. Each has its own page, so you can see the standard we keep.
The Suite
Cathedral Road, Pontcanna
The Regency Studio
Cathedral Road, Pontcanna
The Loft
Cathedral Road, Pontcanna
The Pontcanna Pearl
Ryder Street, Pontcanna · 3 bedrooms
The Pontcanna Sapphire
Ryder Street, Pontcanna
5B Senghennydd Road
Cathays, by the university
On Marriott Homes & Villas
The Pontcanna Emerald
Cathedral Road, Pontcanna
8 West View
Taff's Well, just north of Cardiff
Live October 2026
Fees and terms
What Airbnb management costs in Cardiff
Full Management in Cardiff costs 15% of the gross booking value, plus VAT. Distribution Only is 12% and Hyper Exposure 20%, each plus VAT, and the fees are the same wherever we work.
Way of working
Fee
In a line
Distribution Only
12% + VAT
Your listings on Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and more, run from one calendar, with commission-free direct bookings
Full Management
15% + VAT
Distribution Only plus guests, ID checks, keys, cleaning, repairs, the Cardiff levy and your Wales registration
Hyper Exposure
20% + VAT
Full Management plus Plum Guide, Marriott Homes & Villas and a featured place on guesture.co.uk
Hotels and aparthotels
from 10%
Pricing, distribution, guests and the day-to-day
Concept development
from £10,000
A new hospitality venture, from branding to full operations
Onboarding and your first income
Free onboarding
We hold back £1,000 from your first income and pay it back in monthly instalments over your 12-month minimum term. It covers set-up, professional photography, listing creation, pricing and connecting your home to the booking channels.
The terms, plainly
✓
You sign online, and the agreement runs for at least 12 months.
✓
To end it, give 90 days' notice; bookings already taken are honoured.
✓
While it runs, we're the only manager for your property.
✓
Either of us can end it on 7 days' notice for a breach that isn't put right.
With management, our fee is a share of what your home earns, so we don't guarantee occupancy or income. If a fixed monthly figure suits you better, ask about guaranteed rent for suitable homes.
Letting agents
0%
Introduce landlords and keep your commission
Our fee is a percentage of the gross booking value: what the guest pays for the stay, before platform fees. VAT is added to our fee. Each clean is charged at the cleaner's rate, and repairs, cleaning products and replenishments are passed through at cost.
Cardiff rules
The Cardiff visitor levy, the Wales register and your council tax
Three rules matter most to a Cardiff holiday let owner now: the visitor levy on stays from 1 April 2027, the Welsh Government register every host must join by 31 March 2027, and the 182-night test that decides between business rates and council tax. We set up the first two for every home we manage and keep the records you need for the third.
Checked 29 October 2026
£1.30
The Cardiff visitor levy: £1.30 a person a night from April 2027
Cardiff charges £1.30 per person per night for most accommodation on stays from 1 April 2027, or 75p in shared hostel rooms and on tent pitches. Providers must account for it on bookings taken from 28 September 2026, so a booking made today for next April or later already carries it. Stays where every guest is booked for more than 31 nights fall outside it. You stay liable as the provider, the Welsh Revenue Authority collects it, and you can pass it on to guests; if you're VAT registered, VAT applies to any levy you pass on. Cardiff is the only Welsh council charging a levy so far.
What we do
We add the levy to each booking as a separate charge, so it never comes out of your nightly rate, and we can file the returns for you.
Sources: gov.wales "Visitor Levy in Wales" and technical guidance (updated 6 October 2026); Cardiff Council, 26 August 2026.
31 Mar 2027
The Wales register: sign up by 31 March 2027
If you take bookings for stays of 31 nights or fewer anywhere in Wales, you must join the Welsh Government's visitor accommodation register by 31 March 2027, whether or not your council charges a levy. It's run by the Welsh Revenue Authority and it's free. A managing agent can register for you, any change must be updated within 30 days, and missing the deadline can mean a penalty.
What we do
We register every home we manage at no cost, and other owners' Cardiff homes for £49.
Source: gov.wales "Registering visitor accommodation" (updated 28 October 2026). Our Wales registration guide
182 nights
Business rates or council tax: the 182-night test
A Cardiff holiday let pays business rates only if, in the last 12 months, it was available to let for 252 nights and actually let for 182, counting stays of 28 nights or fewer, and you plan to offer it for 252 nights again. Since 1 April 2026 you can average the nights let over the previous 24 or 36 months. Otherwise it pays council tax, and Cardiff charges a 100% premium on furnished homes that are no one's main home, which doubles the bill. The Welsh Government consulted until 23 October 2026 on changes intended from 1 April 2027.
What we do
Your monthly statements record every night let, so you have the letting figures the business-rates application asks for.
Sources: GOV.UK "Apply for business rates for a self-catering property in Wales" (updated 30 September 2026); gov.wales consultation (31 July 2026); Cardiff Council.
No levy
Homes just outside the city: Taff's Well
The levy applies only in the Cardiff Council area. Taff's Well, where we manage 8 West View, is in Rhondda Cynon Taf, so stays there carry no levy, but the Wales register and its 31 March 2027 deadline still apply. Rhondda Cynon Taf also charges a 100% council tax premium on second homes.
Sources: legislation.gov.uk (Rhondda Cynon Taf wards); rctcbc.gov.uk; gov.wales levy checker.
For certificates, fire safety and the licensing scheme due from March 2030, see our Wales holiday let rules
How it works
Five steps to launching your Cardiff home
Launching a Cardiff home with us takes five steps, from a call and a visit to going live on every channel. For a home that's ready to let, the last three can take about a week.
1
2
3
4
5
Call and visit
Tell us about your home; Pedro or a member of the team calls you back and comes to see it.
Proposal
A pricing and competitor analysis against comparable Cardiff homes, with the way of working we'd suggest.
Agreement, signed online
Then we collect your certificates, insurance, permission to let and the details for the Wales register.
Set-up
Styling advice, photography, listings, check-in, the levy charge and registration; your home gets its logo, guest area and check-in form.
Launch
Live on every channel once the pricing is right, with a WhatsApp from Pedro, your calendar login and monthly statements from then on.
Just north of Cardiff
Taff's Well, October 2026: the launch diary
3–4 Oct
Agreement signed
6 Oct
Kick-off
Sat 10 Oct
Photoshoot
Tue 13 Oct
Live
About a week from agreement to live, and three days from photos to live. Homes that need certificates, furniture or repairs first take longer.
Proof from our Cardiff homes
What guests say about our Cardiff homes
Across all our homes, guests rate us 4.8 from 382 reviews on the sites they book on (Trustindex, October 2026). Two recent Cardiff guests, in their own words:
“The finish throughout the property was top drawer - clearly no expense spared. The cleanliness was impeccable and facilities were excellent…”
Martin, a guest at The Pontcanna Sapphire, July 2026
“I stayed here for three weeks. I was looking for a quiet, nice, and central apartment for a visit to Cardiff University… turnkey ready on arrival.”
Randy, a guest at The Regency Studio, October 2026
“Very homely and comfortable property perfectly situated on Cathedral Road for the cricket.”
Alan, a guest on Cathedral Road, Google review, September 2026
One Cathedral Road house, three homes
The Suite, The Regency Studio and The Loft share one period house on Cathedral Road. Each has its own name, page, photos and listing, so each one is found, booked and reviewed on its own.
A Pontcanna three-bedroom on Marriott Homes & Villas
The Pontcanna Pearl, a three-bedroom home on Ryder Street that sleeps five, is listed on Marriott Homes & Villas, one of the channels our Hyper Exposure tier adds.
“Having a property managed by another person while you live several thousand miles away is a step of faith in many ways. … I would recommend Pedro as a rental property manager to anyone as my personal experience has been great.”
Gareth, property owner, Cathedral Road · from his LinkedIn recommendation
Run by a hotelier, not a call centre
Your Cardiff home, run the hotel way
Pedro Reis founded Guesture in 2017. He studied hospitality management in Portugal, opened his first hostel while still a student, and spent eight years in hotel management, including as General Manager of the Manor Hotel in Crickhowell, a four-star hotel with an AA Rosette kitchen.
He runs Cardiff homes the way a good hotel is run: priced every day, cleaned to a standard and looked after from the first message to the last review. You deal with him directly; his mobile is the owner line. A small local team works with him, including an operations coordinator based in Cardiff.
8 years
in hotel management
Since 2017
founder and director of Guesture
2024
Service Industries Entrepreneur of the Year, Great British Entrepreneur Awards
Where we work in Cardiff
Cardiff neighbourhoods we cover
We take on flats and houses in every part of Cardiff, from Pontcanna and the Bay to the northern suburbs, plus Taff's Well just north of the city. Our current homes are in Pontcanna, on Cathedral Road, in Cathays and in Taff's Well.
Pontcanna and Cathedral Road
Period streets beside Sophia Gardens and Pontcanna Fields, with footbridges over the Taff into Bute Park, and Cardiff Castle and the Principality Stadium a walk away.
Our homes here: The Suite, The Regency Studio, The Loft, The Pontcanna Emerald, The Pontcanna Pearl, The Pontcanna Sapphire.
Canton
Canton has Chapter arts centre, Victoria Park and the shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants of Cowbridge Road East. Ninian Park station is a short walk from Cardiff City Stadium, home of Cardiff City and the Wales football team.
Riverside
Riverside faces the Principality Stadium across the River Taff, a short walk from the city centre, and Riverside Market sets up on Fitzhamon Embankment every Sunday.
City centre
The stadium, the castle, the arcades and Cardiff Central station on the doorstep: flats here suit event weekends and short city breaks, and KeyNest makes check-in easy where keysafes don't fit.
Cardiff Bay and Butetown
The Senedd, the Wales Millennium Centre and Mermaid Quay line the waterfront, and Cardiff Bay station in Butetown has trains to Queen Street. A 16,500-capacity indoor arena is being built at Atlantic Wharf, with opening targeted for 2028.
Grangetown
Grangetown station has frequent trains into Cardiff Central, and the International Sports Village, at the Cardiff Bay end of Grangetown, has Ice Arena Wales, Cardiff International Pool and Cardiff International White Water.
Cathays and Heath
Cathays has its own station and sits beside Cathays Park, where Cardiff University's main buildings, City Hall and National Museum Cardiff stand. The University Hospital of Wales is at the Heath, which has two stations of its own.
Our home here: 5B Senghennydd Road.
Roath and Penylan
Albany Road, City Road and Wellfield Road are Roath's main shopping streets, and Roath Park, with its 30-acre lake and conservatory, runs from Roath and Penylan up to Cyncoed.
Splott and Adamsdown
Adamsdown, a short walk from the city centre, has Cardiff Queen Street station on its western edge and the Cardiff Royal Infirmary. Splott, just east of the centre, has Splott Park and the redesigned Maltings Park.
Llandaff
Llandaff Cathedral is open every day of the year, and Llandaff Fields stretch east of the village to the River Taff. Cardiff Metropolitan University's Llandaff campus is on Western Avenue, about two miles from the city centre.
Whitchurch, Llanishen and north Cardiff
Whitchurch has Velindre Cancer Centre and a station on the Coryton Line, and Castell Coch stands above Tongwynlais. Llanishen has a station on the Rhymney Line and the reopened Lisvane and Llanishen Reservoirs, with paths, a café and water sports.
Anywhere else in Cardiff
We take on homes all over the city, including Fairwater, Ely, Radyr, Cyncoed, Pentwyn, Rumney and St Mellons. Send us the postcode and we'll tell you honestly whether short stays, longer stays or a long let suits your home.
Taff's Well
Just north of the city in Rhondda Cynon Taf, on the train line into Cardiff; 8 West View went live here in October 2026. No Cardiff levy; the Wales register still applies.
Our home here: 8 West View.
Penarth pier and the Vale coast
Penarth and the Vale of Glamorgan
Seaside Penarth, a few minutes from Cardiff Bay, and the towns and villages of the Vale. We take on homes here too. They sit outside the Cardiff Council area, so no Cardiff levy applies, but the Wales register does.
Free for owners
Guesture · 2026–27
The Wales holiday-let checklist
☐ Register with the WRA
☐ The Cardiff visitor levy
☐ Council tax or business rates
☐ Gas, electrics, alarms
☐ Lender, insurer, freeholder
The Wales holiday-let checklist for 2026–27
The visitor accommodation register, the Cardiff levy, council tax or business rates, safety and permissions, on two pages, each point with its source. We’ll email it to you now.
See our privacy policy.
Questions
Cardiff holiday let and Airbnb management: your questions
Thirteen questions Cardiff owners ask before they sign, answered plainly.
How much does Airbnb management cost in Cardiff?
Cardiff owners pay the same fees as everywhere we work, as a percentage of the gross booking value plus VAT: Distribution Only 12%, Full Management 15% and Hyper Exposure 20%. Hotels and aparthotels start from 10%, concept development from a £10,000 set-up fee, and letting agents work with us at 0%, keeping their own commission. Each clean is charged at the cleaner's rate, and your proposal recommends the tier that suits your home.
What does Full Management include for a Cardiff home, and what costs extra?
Full Management covers daily pricing around Cardiff's events, professional photography, listings written room by room, guest messaging day and night, ID checks, self check-in, cleaning and linen coordination, maintenance through vetted local trades, Wales registration, Cardiff levy set-up and a monthly statement. Each clean, repairs, cleaning products and replenishments are charged on top at cost. You keep paying utilities, broadband, insurance and any council tax.
Is there an onboarding or set-up fee?
Onboarding is free. We hold back £1,000 from your first income and pay it back in monthly instalments over your 12-month minimum term. Onboarding covers set-up, professional photography, listing creation, pricing and connecting your home to the booking channels, and your Cardiff home gets its own brand, logo, guest area and booking accounts.
How does the Cardiff visitor levy work for holiday let owners?
Cardiff charges £1.30 per person per night on stays from 1 April 2027, or 75p in shared hostel rooms and on pitches. Providers must account for it on bookings taken from 28 September 2026, so a booking made today for next April already carries it. Stays booked for more than 31 nights fall outside it. You stay liable as the provider, and returns go to the Welsh Revenue Authority. We add the levy to each booking as a separate charge and can file the returns.
Do I need to register my Cardiff holiday let, and can you do it for me?
Yes. Anyone taking bookings in Wales for stays of 31 nights or fewer must join the Welsh Government's visitor accommodation register, run by the Welsh Revenue Authority, by 31 March 2027. It is free, an agent can register on your behalf, and details must be updated within 30 days of any change; missing the deadline can mean a penalty. We register every home we manage at no cost, and other owners' homes for £49.
Will my Cardiff holiday let pay business rates or council tax?
It pays business rates only if, in the last 12 months, it was available to let for 252 nights and actually let for 182, counting stays of 28 nights or fewer, and you plan to offer 252 nights again. Since 1 April 2026 you can average the nights let over 24 or 36 months. Otherwise it pays council tax, and Cardiff adds a 100% premium on furnished homes that are no one's main home.
How do you price around Principality Stadium events?
We start with a competitor analysis of comparable Cardiff homes, then review your prices every day against demand, seasonality and local events, so rugby internationals, stadium concerts and big weekends are priced as the busy nights they are, with minimum stays agreed with you. Coming up: Wales play Ireland on 20 February and England on 6 March 2027, and Cardiff hosts the EURO 2028 opening match on 9 June 2028.
Which parts of Cardiff do you cover?
All of Cardiff. Our current homes are in Pontcanna and on Cathedral Road (The Suite, The Regency Studio, The Loft, The Pontcanna Emerald, The Pontcanna Pearl and The Pontcanna Sapphire), in Cathays (5B Senghennydd Road) and in Taff's Well, just north of the city (8 West View). We also take on homes in the city centre, Cardiff Bay, Canton, Roath and Llandaff, and in Penarth and the Vale of Glamorgan. If a long let would suit your home better, we'll say so.
Who stays in your Cardiff homes?
Holidaymakers and event-goers, business travellers, contractors and relocating professionals, people visiting Cardiff University, and corporate guests booked through specialist agents. Longer stays matter: across all our homes, 45% of nights in the 12 months to September 2026 came from stays of a week or longer. Stays booked for more than 31 nights also fall outside the Cardiff visitor levy.
How quickly can my Cardiff property go live?
About a week is possible once the agreement is signed and the home is ready. Our home in Taff's Well, just north of Cardiff, was signed on 3–4 October 2026, photographed on 10 October and live on 13 October. A home goes live only once its pricing is set correctly; homes that need certificates, furniture or repairs first take longer.
How long is the contract, and can I still use my home?
The agreement runs for at least 12 months from signature, ends on 90 days' notice and makes us the only manager for your property; bookings already taken are honoured, and you sign online. To keep dates for yourself, give us 90 days' notice. A calendar-only login shows booked dates at any time, without guests' personal details. Either side can end the agreement on 7 days' notice for an unremedied breach.
Do you offer guaranteed rent in Cardiff?
Yes, where the home suits it. Guaranteed rent pays you a fixed amount each month instead of a share of the bookings, and the terms come in your proposal after we've seen the property. On our management tiers you keep the booking income and we take a percentage, so neither occupancy nor income is guaranteed. If a fixed monthly figure matters most to you, say so on the first call.
Does the Cardiff levy apply to homes just outside the city, such as Taff's Well?
No. The levy is charged only in the Cardiff Council area, and Cardiff is the only Welsh council charging one so far. Taff's Well, where we manage 8 West View, is in Rhondda Cynon Taf, so stays there carry no levy. The Wales register still applies everywhere, with the same 31 March 2027 deadline, and Rhondda Cynon Taf also charges a 100% council tax premium on second homes.
Your proposal
Get a proposal for your Cardiff home
Send us a few details and Pedro or a member of the team will call you back to arrange a visit and a pricing analysis for your home.
Or get in touch directly
Office: 029 2120 0119
Know a Cardiff owner who'd be a good fit? Refer a property
An estimate, not a guarantee of income. We'll use your details only to reply about your property. See our privacy policy.
Guesture in brief
Guesture is an independent holiday let and Airbnb management company in South Wales, founded in 2017 by Pedro Reis, founder and director, and formerly AirFreedom (renamed Guesture in 2024). We look after 15 homes (October 2026), 8 of them in and around Cardiff. Guesture Property Management Ltd, company number 11527224, registered in England and Wales; VAT registered; Property Redress Scheme PRS041497; ICO ZA638801. Guesture is not connected to GuestReady or Guesty. Owner line 07787 048216 · owners@guesture.co.uk · 029 2120 0119.
Last updated 29 October 2026. Facts checked by Pedro Reis, founder. Cardiff and Wales rules checked against gov.wales, GOV.UK, Cardiff Council and Rhondda Cynon Taf Council on 29 October 2026.