Short lets firm that had advertisement banned changes its name

A London company that has previously had an ad banned by the Advertising Standards Authority has announced a change of name.

The company Airsorted - which manages properties short-let by their owners via online and other platforms - says it’s now been renamed as Houst.

When it was Airsorted it described itself as “the world’s largest management company for Airbnb and more” - a claim that led to a challenge from a rival firm, Hostmaker, leading to the ban on the wording by the ASA.

Now the company, in a statement announcing its new name, makes no such claim but instead calls itself “the biggest player in the professional hosting space” and says it has an ambition “to be seen as an essential partner to property owners, rather than simply a service provider.”

James Jenkins Yates, founder, says his company has established the host-management concept “defining the standards of great hosting including five-star housekeeping and thorough guest vetting.” 

He continues: “When we launched, we were understandably focused on the huge opportunity that Airbnb presented to hosts and guests. Now, the market has evolved and so has our proposition – hosts can list their properties on a range of short to mid-term lettings platforms. As such, we have rebranded to clearly communicate this evolution and the huge opportunity that exists for all hosts.”

The company claims that in 2019 it worked with short-let owners in 20 cities in 11 countries to achieve more than 250,000 bookings generating a total of revenue for hosts of over £90m. 

“Londoners in particular are reaping the rewards of the service, letting their properties out on average for 63 days a year and earning £6,894 as a result. Hosts on the Houst platform have sailed around New Zealand, explored Europe in a campervan and even walked from London to Rome to raise money for charity, thanks to income from renting their property” says the statement launching the new name.