1 week Ago By Brian Ferguson
Airbnb has demanded an easing of Edinburgh's controversial short-term letting curbs as it claimed there had been a 13 per cent slump in bookings during this year's Fringe. Visitors using the booking platform are said to have cut back the length of their stays by almost 20 per cent during the Scottish capital's peak season. Airbnb claims the council's "draconian" approach to regulating short-term lets has left people "priced out of visiting the city and attending its major cultural events.
" It wants a rethink of what it describes as "overly-restrictive" measures in Edinburgh, which means all properties being used for short-term letting need some form of licence, including people who want to rent out all or part of their home while they are away on holiday. The lettings site claims the council's clampdown has led to the price of hotels soaring to record levels in the city. Its demands have emerged days after the Fringe Society - which oversees the staging of Scotland's biggest cultural events - warned that it had seen a decline in the number of UK-based ticket bookers, a slump in the number of spare rooms being let out at affordable rates, and the cancellation of hundreds of "Fringe Friend" memberships for supporters.
The Fringe Society's official box office figures show that ticket sales actually rose by nearly seven per cent this August compared to the 2023 event. This year's overall tally of 2,612,923, which was the fourth biggest in the history of the Fringe, was nearly 19 per cent on the festival's box office performance in 2022, before the city council's designation of the whole city as a "short term let control area" took effect. However, a recent Fringe Society survey found that one in four audience members now saw the rising cost of accommodation as a "barrier" to staying in Edinburgh for longer or attending more shows.
Separate research commissioned by short-term let operators in Edinburgh suggested that they are worth more than £154 million for the city's economy and support more than 5,580 jobs. It is believed there are currently more than 4,300 short-term lets operating in the city. Airbnb wants the city council to make a number a changes to its licensing regime and planning guidance for short-term let operators, including granting licenses for more than a year at a time, reducing fees for and making it easier to secure planning permission for "secondary lets," which involve the short-term letting of properties which the owner is not staying in.
A spokesperson said: "The number of Airbnb guests visiting during the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival dropped 13 percent compared to the previous year, and guests who booked on Airbnb reduced the length of their stay by almost 20 per cent, as reduced supply caused price increases across all accommodations this summer, including hotels. "With a reduced number of festival attendees choosing to stay overnight or for shorter periods, the evening spending that supports local businesses is at risk." Amanda Cupples, Airbnb general manager for northern Europe, said: “Edinburgh’s draconian approach to regulating short-term lets has failed to ease the affordable housing crisis.
"Instead, housing costs and hotel prices have hit record highs – rising higher and faster than the rest of Scotland – and guests have been priced out of visiting the city and attending its major cultural events. "Data shows there is no upside to Edinburgh’s outlier approach to regulation, and we encourage the city to explore a more inclusive way forward.".
