Merilee Karr on acquiring onefinestay portfolio, London's 90-day rule, and UK short-term rental regulation

https://youtu.be/s61us8LhD9g

Merilee Karr, CEO of UnderTheDoormat Group, joined the Host Planet Podcast – powered by Lodgify – to discuss the acquisition of onefinestay's London and Paris portfolios, the Renters' Rights Bill, the UK's incoming short-term rental registration scheme, and why she believes short-term rentals are one of the most sustainable ways to grow tourism.

Karr was the first ever guest on the Host Planet Podcast – and she returned with big news. UnderTheDoormat Group, the luxury short-term rental operator she founded in 2014, has acquired a portfolio of high-end homes in London and Paris from onefinestay, the Accor-owned brand that helped define luxury home rentals.

Here's everything we covered on the show – and what it means for hosts, property managers, and homeowners across the UK and Europe. Catch the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple.

Why did UnderTheDoormat Group acquire onefinestay's London and Paris portfolio?

For Karr, the deal is both a milestone and a signal of where the industry is heading;

"onefinestay is always a brand that I've admired," she said. "To be in a position now where we can acquire this quality of portfolio into the business absolutely boosts our position in the market – and it's a great testament to what the business has achieved."

The acquisition comes just over two years after UnderTheDoormat merged with Veeve, and Karr sees it as evidence of a maturing market: "The market is consolidating. Our market has matured, and this is just evidence of how that maturing means some players are able to take more dominant positions in certain markets. We're happy to be on this side of that equation."

Who are the homeowners behind luxury short-term rentals?

The onefinestay portfolio is what Karr calls a B2C portfolio: individual high-end homeowners who want their property fully managed. These are typically people with second homes elsewhere, whose London or Paris properties would otherwise sit empty for large parts of the year.

"These are not landlords renting it out 365 days a year," Karr explained. "These are genuine homeowners who have really high quality properties, looking to make some money and make sure their properties are cared for when they're not there."

And they're quite a cast: writers, actors, politicians – even royalty. "If you own a £5 million property, you don't always need the money. You will only ever open up your home to guests if it's done in a way that you're comfortable with."

That's why, Karr says, these owners look for a curated, insurance-backed service rather than "a turnkey solution with lockboxes" – pointing to UnderTheDoormat's Lloyd's of London-backed insurance as a key differentiator. Historically, she noted, UnderTheDoormat and onefinestay were the only two companies in the market offering that level of coverage.

How do the 90-day rules work in London and Paris?

Both cities cap short-term letting of primary residences at 90 nights per year – and Karr argues the portfolio model fits that direction of regulation, because owners with genuine availability windows are exactly who the rules were designed for.

There's history here too. Before London's deregulation around the 2012 Olympics, a rule dating back to the 1950s meant hosts technically couldn't let a single night without planning permission. The 90-day allowance legalised what people were already doing: earning an income from their home when they weren't using it.

But is 90 the right number? Karr thinks the cap should be higher – around 140 nights per year: "It would be rare that below that level you would earn more in a year than you would on a long-term rental. If the property would genuinely be available year-round, it can be rented to a permanent tenant. But there are so many lifestyles in London where the property would otherwise sit empty."

What is the Renters' Rights Bill and how does it affect UK short-term rental regulation?

Karr recently wrote a leader article in The Times arguing the Renters' Rights Bill will reward flexible landlords. The Bill, she explained, is landmark UK legislation designed to rebalance power between landlords and tenants – letting tenants serve notice soon after moving in, banning large upfront payments, and reshaping how renting works in the UK.

Most of the industry supports the direction of travel, Karr said – but the added flexibility for tenants changes the calculation for landlords, and flexible models that can move between rental lengths stand to benefit.

Is the UK's short-term rental registration scheme a good thing?

Karr is unambiguous: yes. The Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA) has lobbied for registration for years, and she believes it achieves two things.

"The people who are genuinely following the rules will easily be able to register. There's nothing to hide – they pay their taxes, they're doing things properly. Great, let's be counted. Those that are not following the rules are going to find it really difficult to register and declare, because if you declare it and you're breaking the law, you're in a whole different world than if you're just pretending you didn't know."

She expects the scheme to push rule-breaking activity out of the market, improving both the supply-demand balance for compliant hosts and the reputation of the industry in cities like London and Paris.

Registration means better data – and better policy

Perhaps the biggest prize is data. "Today the only way people get data is scraped data, and that data by its very nature has lots of imperfections," Karr said. Reliable registration data lets the industry argue for proportional regulation and debunk myths about the sector's impact on housing – which studies by the VRMA in the US and Oxford Economics in the UK suggest is far smaller than headlines imply.

"It is always easier to point a finger at short-term rentals than it is to build more homes," she noted.

What does good STR registration look like?

Based on schemes across Europe and worldwide, Karr's blueprint for registration that works: free or low-cost, centrally managed, and declaratory rather than permission-based. Night limits can work alongside registration – but only when set at reasonable levels.

Are short-term rentals actually sustainable tourism?

Karr's most striking argument: short-term rentals are one of the most sustainable ways to grow tourism.

"That sounds contradictory to everything you hear out there," she admitted. "But if tourism is growing, what we want to do is not spend all the land resources we have building new hotels. It is far more valuable for a city to use the empty homes dotted around the whole city. It disperses tourism, spreads it more evenly, all the shops and restaurants and businesses around the city benefit – and you don't have to build a single new building. Then you can use that land to build more homes."

Cities like Barcelona and Amsterdam actively want to shrink tourism, she acknowledged – and their policies reflect that. But for the majority of destinations that want tourism growth, GDP, and jobs, dispersed stays in existing homes beat new hotel construction.

What's next for the STAA?

Karr, a former chair of the STAA, also shared her view on the association's new leadership. Janet Uttley – who joined from a Visit England background – brings both policy understanding and tourism promotion experience.

"We want to be an association which is collaborative, talking about tourism more broadly, speaking as a single voice as an industry – representing everything from an individual host all the way up to the big global OTAs," Karr said, adding that she'd like to see more global collaboration between associations across Europe and North America.

Key takeaways for UK hosts

The market is consolidating, and quality operators are gaining ground. Registration is coming, and compliant hosts should welcome it – it will squeeze out rule-breakers and generate the data the industry needs to fight disproportionate regulation. The Renters' Rights Bill rewards flexibility. And the sustainability argument for short-term rentals deserves to be made louder: empty homes hosting guests beats building hotels.

Listen to the full episode

Hear the full conversation with Merilee Karr on the Host Planet Podcast – available on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Lodgify – the all-in-one software that gives you your own direct booking website, channel manager, and guest messaging. Use code HOSTPLANET60 at checkout for 60% off annual and biannual plans (offer valid until the end of July).

FAQs

Who is Merilee Karr? Merilee Karr is the Founder and CEO of UnderTheDoormat Group, a luxury short-term rental operator founded in 2014, and a former chair of the Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA).

What did UnderTheDoormat Group acquire from onefinestay? A portfolio of high-end, fully managed homes in London and Paris, previously operated by onefinestay, the luxury home rental brand owned by Accor Hotels.

What is London's 90-day rule? Londoners can let their primary residence as a short-term rental for up to 90 nights per calendar year without planning permission. Paris has a similar 90-day limit. Merilee Karr argues the cap should be closer to 140 nights.

What is the UK short-term rental registration scheme? A government scheme, expected to be announced soon, requiring short-term rental operators to register their properties. The industry, including the STAA, has lobbied for a free or low-cost, centrally managed, declaratory scheme.

Does the Renters' Rights Bill affect short-term rentals? Indirectly. The Bill rebalances power between landlords and tenants in the long-term rental market – and Karr argues flexible landlords, including those who move between rental models, stand to benefit.