GLOPRAGlobal Property Radar

UK short-term let guest nights rise 10.2% in year to June 2026

Guest nights in UK short-term lets rose +10.2% to 104,617,530 in the year to June 2026, but the growth is domestic and Wales is tightening its rules.

The facts

  • From July 2025 to June 2026 there were 104,617,530 guest nights in UK short-term lets, a +10.2% increase on the previous 12 months and 22.9% more than two years earlier.
  • The Office for National Statistics counts only accommodation booked through Airbnb, Booking and Expedia Group, and states the data do not cover all UK activity.
  • A guest night counts one night per person, so four people staying two nights are eight guest nights; the same period covers 36,386,970 nights and 10,525,200 stays.
  • Domestic guest nights rose 13.4% to 70,990,590 while international guest nights rose 4.1% to 32,712,380; United States guest nights fell to 6,164,480 from 6,244,740 and Australian guest nights to 2,108,000.
  • Wales grew fastest at 14.3%, ahead of Scotland on 12.0%, Northern Ireland on 10.1% and England on 9.5%; 327 of 361 local authorities grew and 34 fell, Gedling worst at 16.8%.
  • Nine of the 361 local authorities accounted for 24.5% of all UK guest nights: Westminster, Cornwall, North Yorkshire, Kensington and Chelsea, Camden, Westmorland and Furness, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Highland.

What it means for your money

  • Demand is growing, but the rules are catching up. Welsh registration becomes compulsory.
  • If you already own, the long let is the benchmark: Glopra data put UK rent at 19.4 dollars per square metre a month before an effective 18.51% tax on non-resident rental income, so a short-let premium has to survive platform fees and the new compliance costs on top.
  • Concentration cuts both ways. Nine councils hold 24.5% of guest nights, and two of them, Edinburgh and Highland, already require an operating licence.
  • Inbound demand grew only 4.1%, under a third of the domestic rate, and the largest overseas source, the United States, shrank, so a plan built on foreign visitors is weaker than the headline.

What to watch

  • Registration becomes compulsory for all visitor accommodation in Wales from autumn 2026, and Welsh councils may apply an overnight visitor levy from April 2027.
  • England's national register of short-term lets was legislated in 2023 and the government says it remains committed to it, but no start date has been set.
  • The data are subject to revision and the next release is due in May 2027, so this is one annual reading rather than a monthly trend.

Sources: Office for National Statistics https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/bulletins/shorttermletsthroughonlinecollaborativeeconomyplatformsuk/july2023tojune2026

Market data: Edinburgh · Manchester · United Kingdom · London