Edinburgh MPs welcome Airbnb ban on holiday bookings after criticism

Reservations limited to key workers

Airbnb says it will review the ban on April 18 and regularly thereafter

LETTING platform Airbnb has banned holiday bookings in the UK for at least the next eight days.

It said it would only allow key workers and essential stays after criticism that its website was allowing people to flout the Stay At Home advice.The restriction will last until at least April 18 before being reviewed.

The platform said thousands of its hosts had opted to provide accommodation under its Frontline Stays programme, which offers free stays for NHS staff and subsidised stays for other key workers on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Airbnb director of public policy Patrick Robinson said: “Restricting bookings on Airbnb to key workers and other essential stays will allow hosts to continue supporting frontline workers while following government guidance.”

The move was announced in a letter to MPs yesterday morning in which Airbnb said: “We have heard from policy-makers and local residents who are worried about incoming visitors and the impact on the health of your communities. From 9am today, it will not be possible to book a stay in the United Kingdom.”

Nearly 12,000 Edinburgh properties were listed on Airbnb’s site at the end of last year.

The ban on holiday bookings was welcomed by Lothian MSP and Labour’s local government spokeswoman Sarah Boyack.

She said: “Key workers and NHS staff should be prioritised for these kinds of short-term let options in the coming weeks.

“However, when we emerge from the pandemic there will be a chance for everyone to go back to first principles and establish some new standards around short term letting in the city.

“Although I’m not against short term lets in principle, there clearly needs to be more robust management and scrutiny. For cities like Edinburgh, it would be beneficial to see longer term renting opportunities that provide people with some security, and a greater acknowledgement of the negative impact experienced by those who are neighbours to some short-term let properties.”

And Livingston SNP MP Hannah Bardell MP also hailed the move and called on other companies to follow suit.

She said: “I welcome Airbnb’s decision to ban holiday bookings and to refund those that have already been made.

“While this should have been the case from the start, I’m pleased that the company has listened to our concerns and done the responsible thing with this U-turn.”