The UK’s short-let guest nights exceed 100 million

Landlords operating short-let accommodation saw demand rise across every UK country and English region during 2025.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that guests spent 100,911,620 nights that were booked through online platforms last year.

That was 11.5% more than the 90,507,070 guest nights recorded between January and December 2024.

Wales posted the strongest growth among the four UK nations, with guest nights increasing by 17.4%, from 6,282,250 to 7,374,780.

Call for PRS parity

Propertymark’s chief executive, Nathan Emerson, said: “The latest ONS data highlights the continued growth of short-term lets but also reinforces concerns about the impact they can have on the supply of homes available in the private rented sector.

“While short-term lets support tourism and local economies, an increasing number of properties being diverted from long-term rental use can reduce housing availability and place further pressure on affordability, particularly in high-demand areas.”

He added: “These figures demonstrate the need for local authorities to have access to robust data and appropriate powers to address imbalances where short-term lets are affecting housing supply.

“Propertymark continues to call for greater parity between the short-term lets sector and the private rented sector, ensuring communities can benefit from tourism without compromising access to homes for local residents.”

Where stays grew

England’s short lets recorded an 11.1% rise, Scotland was up 10.9% and Northern Ireland had the smallest increase at 10.8%.

January remained the quietest month, accounting for 4,344,890 guest nights, or 4.3% of the annual total.

Even so, the January figure was 19% higher than the 3,651,460 guest nights recorded during the same month in 2024.

August was the busiest month, with 14,143,560 guest nights. This represented 14% of the 2025 total and an increase of 10.6% from 12,788,560 a year earlier.

Regional increases

March was the only month to record a fall in stays, with guest nights dropping by 5.9%.

April, however, registered the largest increase at 29.3% with the timing of the Easter holidays affecting the comparison.

Every region recorded an increase in guest nights during 2025.

The North East had the largest percentage rise, climbing by 22.2% from 2,253,220 guest nights to 2,753,800.

London remained the region with the highest volume, recording 21,557,480 guest nights. That was up 6.3% from 20,270,590, the smallest regional increase.

Where visitors come from

North Yorkshire recorded the largest numerical increase among local authorities, adding 452,960 guest nights, a rise of 20.5%.

Cornwall followed closely, with an additional 449,450 nights, representing growth of 13%.

Brighton and Hove recorded the largest fall, with guest nights declining by 35,900, or 3.7%.

Visitors from within the UK accounted for 67.2% of guest nights in 2025.

The United States remained the largest source of international guest nights, contributing 6,214,210 during the year.

Germany was second with 3,032,410, followed by France with 2,600,090.