Has Airbnb Gone Too Far?

Have you noticed more and more key safes appearing outside Totnes homes? These little boxes are great if you forget your keys, or if a carer needs to get in.  Increasingly key safes are part of the self check-in system for holiday accommodation and may be a clue that another home is no longer available for local people.

There are now 98 holiday homes in the Totnes area currently advertised on Airbnb with prices between £71 per night and £396 per night. This week there are nine homes in Totnes available for long term rental, ranging in price from £795 per month to £2300 per month. In August, there were 924 people on the housing waiting list in the South Hams.

Some people are saying that it’s time to put a stop to Airbnb. The huge increase in short term holiday lets over the last few years has made it more and more difficult for people who need or would like to live in Totnes to find anywhere to rent.

Airbnb started in San Francisco in 2008 when two friends had the idea of putting an air mattress on their living room floor and offering bed and breakfast. Since that time it has grown and now has more than 8 million listings worldwide. Since it began there have been more than 1.5 billion arrivals in Airbnb accommodation. The type of accommodation has changed enormously. The air mattress on the floor is now almost non-existent. In Totnes, Airbnb offers 18 rooms in people’s homes. The other 98 rentals are all self-contained units. These all have the potential to be long term homes for local people.

There is a clear incentive for owners to become Airbnb hosts, The potential earning from the cheapest Airbnb is more than two and a half times the long term rental income. There will be many Airbnb hosts who would not want their property to be let long term, preferring to keep space available for family or friends to stay.
There are undoubted benefits in the growth of short term holiday lets. There is limited hotel accommodation in Totnes and the increase in visitors must benefit traders and add to the vibrancy of the town. Airbnb and other companies can increase choice and flexibility for travelers.
A problem, as highlighted in several European cities such as Barcelona, arises when the growth of holiday lets becomes detrimental to people who need to live and work locally. The previous government produced, but failed to implement, proposals that would have made short term holiday lets a planning matter and given a local authority the power to restrict their number. It also proposed the creation of a register of holiday lets, so that the scope of the problem could be assessed.

The new government has not taken any steps to implement these or similar proposals. Totnes has always welcomed visitors, but let’s hope that some action can be taken soon to help those desperately seeking a home in Totnes.