Oxford: Management service for short lettings opens in city

Pass the Keys, a professional co-host management service for Airbnb and other UK short letting operators, has set its sights on Oxford as its next destination. The start-up is moving in to help property owners manage their rental properties in the city. 

Pass the Keys, which offers a management service that takes care of everything from listings, guest screening, cleaning, key exchange and check-in to the linen and towel changes, works with property owners with lettings of a minimum of four-weeks. 

The business aims to eradicate the hassle for property owners and make the handover of guests seamless, without them even having to be in the city at the time.

According to experts there are currently over 1,400 properties available to rent in the city, making it an obvious market to target for entrepreneurs Zoe Vu and Alex Lyakhotskiy, who launched Pass the Keys in 2015. The business already operates in nine other cities across the UK.  

Zoe Vu said: “Oxford continues to offer an exciting buy-to-let market for investors so this is an exciting move for us. Oxford’s international profile rivals that of any university in the world. This diversity means parents who buy a property to use while visiting are looking for long term rentals to occupy the property the rest of the time. 

“Oxford’s new rail infrastructure into London has also brought opportunities with investors looking to the city as a potential long term let destination.

“However, the challenge of exchanging keys and completing administration while in different parts of the globe, makes the letting process difficult. This is where Pass the Keys comes in."

To ensure the business operates at a local level a city manager, who will be based in Oxford, has been appointed. Nicole Conn will run the service and work with those clients who have properties to let in Oxford. 

As it enters the Oxford market, Pass the Keys is also recruiting local businesses to partner with including linen providers and professional cleaning firms. The entrance to the Oxford market will also create approximately 10 jobs as the company looks for hosts to come on board.