THE COVID crisis sees Airbnb landlords switch to longer term rentals say estate agents.
Airbnb landlords are switching from offering holiday lets to longer term rentals in the light of the pandemic, according to Leamington estate agency ehB Residential.
The trend is one of a number of changes seen by its lettings department over the past three months. Several of the properties it has taken on over the past few weeks have been from Airbnb landlords.
Lettings manager Gayl Tallis, who says June has been her department’s busiest month since 2018, explained: “These landlords are turning down the potential higher returns they would otherwise have achieved in the short-term rental markets for the security of a longer term let.
“This is the reverse of the trend we as a country have seen in recent years. A lot of ‘accidental landlords’ had been marketing their properties via Airbnb as they could achieve pretty good returns by renting them out by the day or the week.
“But because of the lockdown they obviously haven’t been making any money. And now talk of a second wave means many of them would rather have the certainty of a steady, but lower monthly income rather than gambling on the fact that they could return to previous levels.
