How much do you reckon you might earn in a year as the originally-envisaged Airbnb host sharing some part of your home to the typical guest?
It is likely to be considerable more modest than the staggering annual total of £11.9 million reported to be earned by the single owner of some 881 London properties, as revealed by the Evening Standard in its 10th of November 2017 edition.
The phenomenal figure reflects a notable departure from the original concept of the single individual sharing a spare room in their own home for a few days at a time, according to Airbnb analysts AirDNA.
The market researchers reveal that more than a third of Airbnb lettings are of portfolios of properties held by management companies. That proportion is growing, say the analysts, and it seems more or less certain that lettings by such companies are on much longer-term leases.
Findings reported back in December of 2016, looked at a growing trend amongst Airbnb hosts who let their entire home for more than 90 days a year – despite the legal requirement for any such long-term arrangement to be properly licensed, subject to planning permission and subject to the same health, safety and insurance regulations as those applying to the private rented sector in general.
Airbnb itself has admitted that some property owners are abusing the system in this way, but also promised to ban hosts in London from letting property for longer than 90 days without official consent.
