Bristol hotelier calls for short-term lets regulation
More than 2,700 Bristol properties are currently listed on Airbnb
Last updated 8th Apr 2025
Hoteliers in Bristol are calling for more regulations to be put in place on short-term holiday lets.
Renting holiday accommodation is becoming increasingly popular in the city, with more than 2,700 properties currently listed on Airbnb.
Raphael Herzog, chair of the Bristol Hoteliers Association, believes the growing popularity of of short-term lets, adds fuel to the city's housing crisis and harms local business.
“The UK is falling behind on this," said Mr Herzog, "other cities in Europe charge a licence fee of around £180 a year and cap the number of nights per year that people are able to rent out their accommodation.
“This would provide an income as well as enabling the authority to better regulate the accommodation available in the city.
“Without action being taken, Airbnbs affect the availability of housing for those for badly need it as well as taking a significant share of occupancy from hotels and B&B businesses.”
Campaigners in Bristol have previously raised their concerns surrounding how the lets impact long-term renters in the city.
Marvin Rees, former Mayor of Bristol, went as far as to describe short-term lets as a "wicked challenge".
But Airbnb argue the company has no impact on the housing market.
“Many hosts on Airbnb are everyday people renting their place casually to make ends meet," said an Airbnb spokesperson.
"Hotel lobbies’ calls to impose restrictions, red tape and fees only protect big hotel chains’ profits at the expense of local families.
"A typical host on Airbnb in Bristol shares their home for just over 3 days a month*, with four in ten saying the extra income helps them afford their homes.
"Listings rented on Airbnb for more than 90 nights account for just 0.41% of housing stock in the South West so restricting these will have no impact on the housing market.
"In 2023, Airbnb guests contributed £885 million to the local economy and helped keep almost 13,000 people in jobs in the area, bringing the benefits of tourism to all.”
A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said:
“We are determined to fix the housing crisis we have inherited, and we know that having excessive concentrations of short-term lets in an area can drive up housing costs for local people and damage local services.
“That’s why we have scrapped the furnished holiday lets tax regime so that landlords aren’t incentivised to rent homes as holiday lets, we will introduce a short-term let registration scheme to protect the spirit of our communities, and we continue to consider further action.”