Survey shows South Harris is Airbnb hotspot

Property owners in South Harris secured almost £5.5 m from short term lets last summer.

While intended to promote the benefits of tourism income throughout the UK, the figure also confirms the scale of “Airbnb” type letting in the islands and its contribution to the ongoing housing crisis.

According to the Wealth of Geeks site, South Harris came within the top 30 locations in the UK for revenue proportionate to nights let between June and September last year.

The information was compiled “taking the number of nights rented on Airbnb, Booking.com, and Expedia Group from the Office for National Statistics from 1st July to 30th September 2023” then calculating “how much each location makes in revenue”.

It explained: “Total revenue is calculated by multiplying the number of nights with the nightly cost of a room, a house, or an apartment on Airbnb”.

The survey covered 388 UK locations to “calculate how much each makes in revenue”.

According to this formula, there were 64,160 short term let nights in South Harris between June and September last year with “the median price of a house per night £115”.

This produced a total revenue of £5,453,600 for South Harris making it the 30th most profitable area in the UK for Airbnb-type lets proportionate to the number of nights.

The sponsors of the research concluded: “In the summer of 2023, the UK holiday rental industry made approximately £739 million, according to our data.

“Holiday rentals play a vital role in the UK's tourism industry by supporting local economies, providing accommodation to enhance visitor experience, and promoting tourism in diverse regions across the country.

“Tourism also helps to promote awareness of lesser-known areas, helping to distribute tourist spending more evenly across the country”.

Others may well draw their own conclusions over the impact. From July 1st, it will be illegal to operate a short term lets business without a licence.