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If you’re planning a trip to London this summer, you might want to book a hotel, because Airbnb prices are going to break your bank.
Like many of our woes these days, we can blame this on our old friend the Pandemic. Thanks to Miss Rona, there aren’t as many Airbnbs in London as there were back in 2019. This means that demand from tourists is currently higher than the supply, causing a hike in prices. A night in an Airbnb is now going to cost you 25 per cent more than it would have before Covid, according to Inside Airbnb, which scrapes and analyses data from the Airbnb site.
It’s worth noting that these figures apply to Airbnbs that offer up a whole home instead of just a room, and these make up 58 per cent of all London’s Airbnbs.
Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea are the most expensive boroughs to stay in. The average price for a night in Westminster in May would set you back a whopping £256, compared to the whole city’s avergae of £159. Hotels are still pretty pricey, averaging at £151 a night according to data from STR. Maybe you can just whack up a tent in one of our many parks?
A spokesperson from Airbnb told Bloomberg: “Scraped data is not an accurate reflection of activity on the Airbnb platform. Our platform is agile and as demand returns to cities, we are also seeing a return to growth in total urban supply.”
This jump in prices comes amidst a housing crisis, partly caused by a trend in landlords booting out long-term tenants in favour of running more lucrative Airbnbs.
The Government is trying to tackle the Airbnb problem and recently launched a review into short-term tourist accommodation.
Housing Minister, Stuart Andrew, said: ‘Holiday let sites like Airbnb have helped boost tourism across the country, but we need to make sure this doesn’t drive residents out of their communities.
‘We are already taking action to tackle the issue of second and empty homes in some areas by empowering councils to charge up to double the rate of council tax.
‘This review will give us a better understanding of how short term lets are affecting housing supply locally to make sure the tourism sector works for both residents and visitors alike.’
If you're heading out of the city, these are the best Airbnbs near London.