About StayWorkbench: who writes the guides and how they're checked

Who runs StayWorkbench

StayWorkbench is published by Paul Hampton and run by one person, not a content team.

Why it exists

Advice on self-managing a holiday let tends to be spread across forum threads, Facebook groups and blog posts, often written for US vacation rentals or ending in a sales pitch. StayWorkbench puts the UK-specific day-to-day work in one place: what to send guests and when, how to run a changeover so problems are caught before the next arrival, and which certificates your property needs.

How the guides are written and checked

Each guide is built around a job you can do the same day: a message you can copy, a checklist you can run, a tracker you can fill in.

Anything involving the law, tax, insurance or a platform's rules is checked against the official source, such as GOV.UK, HMRC, mygov.scot or the platform's own help pages, and linked so you can read it yourself. Those guides show the month they were last checked at the top. When something changes, the existing guide is corrected rather than a new one published on top.

The guides are general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. For decisions about your own property, check with a qualified adviser or the relevant authority. The disclaimer has the details.

What StayWorkbench covers, and what it doesn't

Five areas of day-to-day work: guest messaging, changeovers, property upkeep, compliance and safety, and apps and software. Free tools work out figures for your own property, such as linen stock, short-stay rates and business rates nights. It doesn't cover buying a property or marketing it; there are better resources for those. It's written for hosts who already run their own property and want the day-to-day work to take less time and go wrong less often.

Software notes and affiliate links

The Apps & Software section describes what tools such as Hospitable and Turno do and who they tend to suit. Nothing is rated or recommended, and each tool's status is shown on the page. Some links on the site may be affiliate links, which means StayWorkbench may earn a commission if you buy. They are always disclosed; the affiliate disclosure explains how.

Spotted a mistake or want something covered?

If something in a guide is wrong or out of date, or there's a job you'd like covered, email info@stayworkbench.com. Corrections are made to the guide itself.