The drone aerial view of the beach and downtown district of Brighton, England.Brighton is a seaside resort in the county of East Sussex, UKLondon holiday let prices soared 17 per cent year-on-year during the second-hottest June on record, despite fewer travellers booking stays, according to the latest PriceLabs STR Index.
The index, which tracks performance across more than 300,000 short-term rental listings nationwide, shows occupancy in London paced 10.9 per cent behind last year's levels. While fewer visitors chose the capital, hosts held firm on rates as inflation and operational costs remained high. With guests typically booking later, property managers may be waiting until later to lower rates, hoping to capture what demand there is at higher prices.
Heatwave fuels demand
Nationally, the heatwave-fuelled demand spilling out to the coast pushed average daily rates (ADRs) up 7 per cent to £139, despite overall occupancy slipping marginally to 61.3 per cent (down from 62 per cent in June 2024) as more homes entered the short-term rental market.
Seaside hotspots soaked up the sun-seekers, with Cornwall basking in a 3.3 per cent occupancy boost, Wales 2.9 per cent and Devon 0.7 per cent, as families chased the cooling sea breeze. Yet last-minute bookers were still able to sniff out a bargain, keeping ADR growth in check, with rates edging up just 1.1 per cent in Cornwall and actually dipping 4.4 per cent in Devon.
Average rates remain high
Forward-looking data suggests would-be travellers are playing a waiting game. As of mid-July, occupancy for the UK this month is pacing 8.9 per cent behind this time last year, while August is lagging 7.2 per cent. Nevertheless, nightly prices remain resilient at £145 for July (+2.1 per cent YoY) and £149 for August (+3.6 per cent YoY), hinting that hosts expect the mercury — and demand — to rise once again.
Similarly to London, Edinburgh is also feeling the heat on booking numbers. Its August occupancy is currently 2.4 per cent lower ahead of the Fringe Festival, though hosts are increasing rates in anticipation of strong last-minute demand.
Richie Khandelwal, President and Co-Founder of PriceLabs, said: “Heading into the high summer, we’re seeing a more cautious booking pattern in the UK. While average rates remain high, the slower occupancy growth suggests guests are waiting longer to commit as they weigh up economic pressures and are inspired by changeable weather.
“Hosts and property managers across the UK should stay cool-headed, paying close attention to not just their own data, but market figures and wider factors like weather forecasts, nearby events and macroeconomic trends.”
PriceLabs’ monthly STR index is available for free on priceLabs.co/str-index and offers a detailed view of the short-term rental market globally for hosts, managers, journalists and industry observers to understand what’s happening through key metrics.
