Adding a bedroom to a property is a canny (and very common) investment. Usually by converting a loft, a garage, or adding a whole new extension. It can add a lot of value to your house when it comes to sell. But what about other value?
Namely: how much more can you charge on AirBnB for an extra bedroom?
This now has to be factored into the calculations of thousands of homeowners who host on Airbnb. And (spoiler) it’s going to make that investment seem even juicier.
But how much more, precisely, can you actually make? I’ve looked at the data* 12 different markets across the UK to find out.
*all data comes from AirDNA, a very useful (but quite pricey) tool used for Airbnb market analysis. Data is from July 2024.
How much rental income on Airbnb does an extra bedroom earn?
On average, adding an extra bedroom increases your annual Airbnb income by 35%, or £14.4k. In some cases it adds as much as 52%. It’s a huge increase that could very quickly pay for the work.
I took 12 markets as a sample of the total 52 Airbnb markets. From these, I saw the following:
- The biggest increase was in the Peak District at 52%
- The lowest increase was in London at 10%
- The Seaside (41%) and Mountains (44%) had higher increases versus the Countryside (34%) and City (21%).
This last point is telling. Properties in holiday areas such as beach resorts or national parks benefit far more from an extra bedroom in terms of rental income. Perhaps there’s just less flexibility in these trips – if you need one, you really need another bedroom – whereas City breaks are more about location (you could always sleep on the couch).
Here’s the full list:
| Changing from 3 to 4 bedrooms on Airbnb | ||
| Airbnb Market | Annual Uplift (£k) | Annual Uplift (%) |
| Lake District | £22.1 | 47% |
| Peak District | £21.3 | 52% |
| Highlands | £14.6 | 34% |
| Mountains Average | £19.3 | 44% |
| Cornwall | £14.2 | 38% |
| Anglesey | £11.9 | 33% |
| Norfolk | £20.9 | 51% |
| Seaside Average | £15.7 | 41% |
| London | £6.1 | 10% |
| Edinburgh | £19.3 | 31% |
| Manchester | £6.5 | 23% |
| City Average | £10.6 | 21% |
| Surrey | £8.9 | 28% |
| Stirling | £17.2 | 43% |
| Chester | £10.0 | 31% |
| Countryside Average | £12.0 | 34% |
| TOTAL AVERAGE | £14.4 | 35% |
This analysis is based on the average income earned by a 3 bedroom house, versus a 4 bedroom house. This would be the most common addition you would see in UK homes. But of course there will be diminishing returns – if you have 10 bedrooms, an extra might not tip the balance (although I think you’re probably doing alright anyway).
So is it worth adding an extra bedroom for increased Airbnb income? Absolutely. For most markets, an extra bedroom stands to earn you at least £10k-£20k extra per year. The exception is in Cities (especially London) where the benefit is more marginal.
