Why landlords are turning to Airbnb-style short-term lets (and that’s no bad thing) – Talha Bashir

There’s been a lot of discussion in the Scottish press about short-term letting. If that doesn’t ring a bell, I’ll use a different word to describe it: Airbnb.

It’s hard for people to see the positives because most of the media coverage focuses on the negatives. As Peter Smyth told the Scotsman last month, behind the business success of Airbnb lies a “trail of policy and regulatory challenges shared by towns and cities across the globe”.

Let’s rewind and look at the Airbnb model and the way it was founded. The name comes from the idea of making your home into a B&B using an airbed in your living room – that’s what the first Airbnb guest slept on.

And that ethos prevails after 10 years: the idea that people rent out spare rooms in their homes to travellers or their whole property when they’re away, say for work or on a holiday.

What’s not to love? The room or the property would otherwise be lying empty, and there would be no use for it. It’s the sharing economy at its best – ‘providers’ making the most out of an under-utilised asset and generating income, ‘users’ getting the chance to experience something they might not have otherwise, and saving money too.

At SpotHost, that’s still what the majority of our clients do. But I’m aware that in some cases people are using Airbnb or similar platforms to rent out their second or third property short-term.

However, there’s a reason for that, and it’s not, as some people think, simply greed on the part of property owners. Speaking to a lot of owners, the reason that more and more people are moving into short-term letting is new legislation, which some landlords feel takes control away from them and puts it solely in the hands of tenants.

But short-term rental is different: as a landlord you have more control. Admittedly, it can, in certain areas, put pressure on the longer term rental market – but the fault doesn’t lie with the property owners or the platforms themselves.

Some people ask me, if you use a management company, how are you actually hosting, if you’re not even greeting your guests? Aren’t you just a different type of landlord?

I think it depends on what management company you use. At SpotHost, we don’t use key boxes: we make sure guests are greeted individually, shown round the property, and told about the local area, something that the actual owner would do anyway. The owner can’t do it every time, but we can, and we’re hosting on behalf of the owner. It’s not quite the same but at SpotHost we try and keep that personal touch.

Another objection to Airbnb, voiced publicly by Kezia Dugdale, concerns Scots not paying tax on Airbnb income. Like any additional income, there will always be people that do or don’t declare it, but the fact is, any income generated from Airbnb has to be part of your personal income when doing your tax return.

Of course, there are tax reliefs, which is why some people don’t pay tax on their income, but the reason for this is because they don’t reach the threshold. They’re not ‘tax dodging’, and Airbnb is constantly encouraging people to keep their tax information updated on their Airbnb accounts. We support this: at SpotHost, we often help clients fill out their annual tax returns.

A further argument I hear a lot against Airbnb is that it brings tourism to areas that aren’t designed for it. You’ve probably heard complaints about the noise of suitcases on stairs, rubbish, parties... we understand that too. But here’s a different way of looking at it.

Tourism is on the rise, and in fact the country has a policy to increase it, but Scottish hotels can’t keep up with this growth. This is where Airbnb has helped, it allows more people to come into the country at one time. Tourism brings revenue here, and by distributing visitors into other areas of Scottish cities, Airbnb reduces centre congestion and overloaded hotels.

Edinburgh has recently been named alongside Amsterdam, Rome, Venice and Barcelona as one of the world’s worst hotspots for “over tourism”: thankfully, Airbnb moves tourism out of the centre.

But it has to be done properly. Key box after key box on a street isn’t the way: if guests let themselves in they are less likely to follow the rules. This is why we’re part of the STAA (UK Short Term Accommodation Association). There’s a code of conduct, and we have to follow it. It’s regulation not legislation: because hosting has to be managed to work. And hosting has to work if tourism is to grow.

Regulation is seen as negative sometimes but we see it as positive, that’s why we’re so involved with the STAA. Recently, the Scottish Parliament voted to amend Andy Wightman MSP’s proposals to regulate the sector in the Planning Bill. Conservative and SNP MSPs backed Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton’s amendment which allows the designation of “control areas” to regulate short-term lets.

We see this as much more positive, giving the power back to local authorities in a way that doesn’t affect the whole city.

One of the things I love about Airbnb is that it enables people to truly experience a country, and live in a ‘real home’, not a generic hotel, where you can wake up and not know what city you’re in. People want an experience and not just a place to stay – it’s how travel is evolving.

Another advantage is that when you’re travelling as a family, you don’t have to book two or three hotel rooms, you just rent a house, and you can all stay together.

There’s a lot to be said for Airbnb once you get past the standard objections that most people have. In fact, people are often keen to stay in Airbnb but don’t want it on their street! I think that says a lot...

Talha Bashir is co-founder of SpotHost