You cannot ‘cross play’ booking sites against each other. Airbnb charges 3%, substantially less than hotels pay on their dedicated sites.
To the numerate this is not correct.
I can see why the innumerate might think this. That, I presume, is why they lay it out as they do.
That’s why it’s a tax dodge
Its not a tax dodge if it's two different buisness models! Some one who rents their granny anex isn't comparable to a hotel. In my area I know of around 10 local Airbnb owners, all are in their own homes apart from one who rents an entire 8bed house, he rents a small 1bed house from the income. None of these people are depriving housing to anyone. As said earlier by a few other the lack of housing in the UK is the issue, not holiday let. All airbnb have done is made it accessible and easy, like Uber Vs taxis.
The final rates Airbnb charges hosts actually work out to around 18% (just looked it up, based on what my final take home is from a three night stay) I could also be on booking.com if I wanted to, at 15% charges or any other site - there isn't an exclusivity clause with Airbnb.
The world is changing, get over it and move with it.
Where I live in Tobermory there’s a real problem with second homes, Air B’N’Bs etc as there’s a critical shortage of homes for local workers - you have the situation where people are living on the mainland and paying £30/day for the ferry to do a job paying £10/hr. Lots of hospitality businesses and hotels haven’t opened fully this year due to staff shortages - only those that can offer live-in jobs can manage. Many of these second home owners aren’t local, so a lot of this money bypasses the local economy - but the cost of cleaners/handovers has gone up a lot. A secondary affect is that with all the self-catering people in town our one local food shop has been empty almost all the time - and it’s £30 on the ferry (if you can get a booking) before you can step through Tesco’s door. There are no online food deliveries here.
Holiday let owners have to declare their profits on HRMC self assessment and pay income tax on it like anyone else.
They're supposed to, but do they? Do Airbnb share information with HMRC?
Most will also have paid additional dwelling supplement tax on the house purchase.
Hmmmm
. Houses in small scenic towns get sold to landlords for airbnb, therefore locals cant afford them
That, and the other people saying about locals being priced out always confuses me.
Someone is selling these houses. "Our children cant afford to live round here" Well no, that's because you've all sold your houses at massively inflated prices to outsiders, what do you expect? For everyone who is priced out, someone else has cashed in.
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Also, regarding the VAT. Anyone who isn't charging VAT also isn't reclaiming any. Any who is charging it will be reclaiming on things they buy.
There are no online food deliveries here.
Slight aside, but that's crazy. I was up in Kinlochbervie the other week and came across a Tesco Delivery van - nearest tesco is over 100 miles away in Dingwall. You'd think if they can trek 100 miles out to there they could strike a deal with Calmac and do a run out from Oban to Tobermory. Apart from maybe Calmac like everyone having to trek over. So a £10 delivery fee and only available on a given day, would still be cheaper.
Yes, island population of 3,000 and there’s a smallish Co-op and a couple of Spar - there are rumours of a supermarket being built we go from week to week dreaming of tomatoes and salad..
They may reduce the incentive for some parents of adult kids to downsize and free up larger houses for families that need the space. Granted it's nice for those parents not to have to downsize for financial reasons.
The OBI can’t open 7 days per week AND give their staff a day off because there aren’t enough workers in the area. See also: every other cafe and pub in the area. Why aren’t there enough workers? Because there is no housing they can afford.
I’m sure air b n b and the current boom in demand is a factor there but is brexit also an effect? I imagine that brexit (or brexit & covid combined) means many Eastern Europeans who worked in hospitality staying in crappy facilities provided by employers said **** this and went elsewhere. Not that it was any better before - in 1996 two good friends spent the summer on Pitlochry living in a tent working in a Bakers Oven whilst my brother lived in a portacabin whilst working at a little chef…. At least to some extent if the employers haven’t sorted out accommodation or provided wages that compete it’s their own fault. Mine and mill owners had this worked out centuries ago.
Someone is selling these houses. “Our children cant afford to live round here” Well no, that’s because you’ve all sold your houses at massively inflated prices to outsiders, what do you expect? For everyone who is priced out, someone else has cashed in.
Eh, hang on, if the complainer is saying their kids can’t afford to live “round here” are the complainers not still living locally rather than having sold up? The problem is their ex-neighbours who cashed in…?
Yes, island population of 3,000 and there’s a smallish Co-op and a couple of Spar – there are rumours of a supermarket being built we go from week to week dreaming of tomatoes and salad..
There’s a market opportunity there for someone entrepreneurial. Mull is not the only place like it - but it’s a good example where the barrier to competition would help. You just need a refrigerated van, a website* and some flyers. And probably some sort of basic warehouse.
*the website needs to be a bit more sophisticated than your average Wix or Squarespace off the shelf thing but it’s not rocket science to build a web-ordering system that automatically manages the ERP side and places orders to suppliers.
Scotroutes has it right
And why should rural economies by so reliant on tourism anyway?
Why are NGOs such as National Parks or RSPB so concerned to preserve the "beautiful view" but not to preserve the local community? Or heaven forfend allow them to thrive.
Someone is selling these houses. “Our children cant afford to live round here” Well no, that’s because you’ve all sold your houses at massively inflated prices to outsiders, what do you expect
The owners of the houses don't always live in the houses. Many belong to the local landowners
Why are NGOs such as National Parks or RSPB so concerned to preserve the “beautiful view” but not to preserve the local community? Or heaven forfend allow them to thrive.
Are NPs NGOs?
Their remit certainly includes:
- to promote sustainable social and economic development of the communities of the area
That’s not mutually exclusive with looking after the natural heritage.
There’s a market opportunity there for someone entrepreneurial.
I can see myself itching starting a thread on black site food shops at that comment...... If Airbnb's are bad, then..... Etc.
@poly I would suggest that neither of the Scottish National Parks are fulfilling that part of their remit well. I think they're NGOs because some members of their board are ministerial appointees.
That, and the other people saying about locals being priced out always confuses me.
Someone is selling these houses. “Our children cant afford to live round here” Well no, that’s because you’ve all sold your houses at massively inflated prices to outsiders, what do you expect? For everyone who is priced out, someone else has cashed in.
Is there any way around that in the realm of capitalism though? If owners start selling under-market to young locals, soon those would start arbitraging the situation by selling onwards to outsiders and collecting the price difference.
Eh, hang on, if the complainer is saying their kids can’t afford to live “round here” are the complainers not still living locally rather than having sold up? The problem is their ex-neighbours who cashed in…?
Plenty of dead ex-neighbours I'd guess.
@gordomhor - does that not make them GO’s rather than NGOs then (which was what I was questioning)?
I’d probably agree though that neither seem to necessarily be hitting all 4 of the objectives with equal success. Of course that might be because some are much harder to do than others…
I thought they were partly autonomous ngos .I was trying to avoid using the acronym QUANGO