Hate campaign launched against Airbnb

A hate campaign against AirBnb appears to have been launched in a Welsh village.

Newspaper reports say a sticker reading 'Death to Airbnb' with a noose around the company's logo has appeared in the village of Llanberis.

There are also reports of stickers reading 'Airbnb Kills Communities' and 'F*** Airbnb' in the Snowdonia area of North Wales.

Local media in Wales say there were some 100 available listings in Llanberis in July this year, four more than in July 2022. Of these, 85 of these were entire properties, as opposed to private rooms in a house.

It’s also reported that as recently as July 2019 there were just 55.

The Welsh Government - as part of a governing deal between Labour and the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru - has been formally consulting on its proposals to include all short-lets, holiday homes, hotels and bed-and-breakfasts licenced under one scheme.

And from April this year local authorities in Wales are now able to set and collect council tax premiums on second homes and long-term empty properties at up to 300 per cent – up from 100 per cent – with councils able to decide levels based on their local needs.

The criteria for holiday lets being liable for non-domestic rates instead of council tax have also been strengthened, with the government saying this has ”the intention of providing a clearer demonstration that properties are being let regularly as part of genuine holiday accommodation businesses making a substantial contribution to the local economy.”

Proposals for a new statutory licensing scheme for visitor accommodation providers were published for consultation late last year while up to £60m is being allocated to bring empty homes into use as part of a national Welsh Empty Homes Scheme.