New Government figures show that demand for holiday lets soared last year, with bookings in areas of London and Edinburgh reaching record highs. Rising demand is putting strain on available housing stock for local people and leaving many holidaymakers unable to find accommodation in August.

(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - May 22nd, 2025 - A new report from the Government’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that bookings for UK holiday lets have soared. Demand for holiday lets meant that, last year, holidaymakers booked 90.1 million guest nights in short-term UK lets. The four most popular areas were Westminster (3.9 million guest nights), Cornwall (3.4 million), Edinburgh (3 million) and Highlands (2.6 million).

Now a leading travel expert from UniversityRooms.com says that, while this may be good news for Britain’s holiday let owners, the surge in demand is creating problems in some areas.

Lily Smith, from UniversityRooms.com, says: ‘The rise in the number of holiday lets in areas of London and Edinburgh has an impact on the amount of housing stock available for sale or long-term rent to local people. Additionally, the surging demand for accommodation in some areas of the UK is leaving many potential visitors disappointed as properties become fully booked earlier and earlier.

‘Looking at two of the four most popular areas, Westminster in London had the highest number of guest nights (3,901,890 or 4.3% of the UK total) in 2024. It had a resident population of 211,508 in mid-2023. Last year, the median house sale price was 18 times the area’s yearly average earnings. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that the rising numbers of holiday properties are increasingly unpopular with locals.

‘Similarly, last year, the City of Edinburgh had the third-highest number of guest nights in the UK, at 3,016,130 (3.3% of the UK total). This amounted to 26.5% of all guest nights in Scotland. So great are fears that too much housing stock is being lost to holiday lets that the city council is planning a 5% visitor tourist tax, to be applied to the cost of overnight accommodation.

‘In both these areas, considering the demand for rooms, there is an accommodation “release valve” for August that still remains partially untapped. Many university rooms stand empty in August, when students are away on their long summer holidays. Fortunately, hundreds of these rooms are now available to book for holiday accommodation and you don’t have to be a student to stay in them. That means holidaymakers can stay in some of the most in-demand areas of the UK without feeling guilty they are contributing to an escalating housing crisis.

‘With demand for holiday let accommodation increasing every year, it’s good to know there is an alternative that is not only readily available for August but would otherwise be standing empty during the peak holiday season. For more information on staying in London, see https://www.universityrooms.com/en-GB/city/london/home/ and for Edinburgh accommodation, check out https://www.universityrooms.com/en-GB/city/edinburgh/home/

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