Short Lets rip off? Airbnb owners hike rents up to 30...

A new survey suggests Airbnb owners are charging over 300 per cent more to stay at their properties during major events and public holidays.

The Money.co.uk study looked at the average nightly price of rentals on Airbnb over the dates and locations where the UK’s biggest events are set to take place throughout 2021.

The prices were then compared to the corresponding dates of the previous week to reveal which events increase Airbnb prices the most.

The event where Airbnb owners implemented the biggest increase in prices of 305 per cent was the Cowes Week regatta on the Isle of Wight. In second was the Open Championship golf tournament which this year takes place in Sandwich, Kent. Here the average Airbnb host charges £250 per night the week before the tournament, but that jumps by more than double to £611 during the event.

The research also looked at a number of nationwide holidays with the biggest Airbnb price increase.

In the country’s 10 biggest cities, Airbnb owners increase prices by six per cent on average over Halloween weekend, but the city which saw the biggest price increase by far was Glasgow, where hosts increase prices by an average of 58 per cent.

The three-day August bank holiday weekend encourages many to embark on a city break, allowing Airbnb landlords to increase by an average of six per cent this weekend.

Liverpool saw prices increase the most, with the nightly fee jumping by 22 per cent compared to the previous weekend.

The Christmas weekend also offers Airbnb owners to generate additional Christmas income, with rental prices increasing by an average of eight per cent for the weekend, most notably in Edinburgh, increasing by 18 per cent, followed by Sheffield on 14 per cent.