UK: Experts within the professional short-term rental industry have been reacting to the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union on 31 January 2020, following more than three years of uncertainty after the in/out referendum was held back in 2016.
The matter has proved to be a divisive one across the UK and tensions still remain on both sides with regards to the country’s future direction outside of the European Union. Though the date has now passed, the UK remains in the EU’s single market and customs union while negotiations take place between both parties on the terms of the UK’s proposed exit deal.
As a result, questions have been asked about the potential impact of Brexit on the domestic short-term rental industry, following the Conservative Party and Boris Johnson’s success in the UK General Election back in December.
Here is how some industry figures have responded to the UK’s departure from the European Union:
Rentals United CEO James Burrows said: “It’s still too early to really understand the impact of Brexit on the UK vacation rental market.
“The past three years of uncertainty have had an impact. However, the drop in tourist numbers from international markets has been offset by the increase in “staycation” tourism.
“Being one of Rentals United’s strongest markets, we’ve seen solid growth in both bookings and inventory from city and non-urban locations in the UK. Despite Brexit, the UK market has become more competitive and we are seeing property managers working twice as hard as before to achieve the same levels of revenue.
“However, only time will tell if this becomes a long-term trend,” he added.
Abode PR director Jessica Gillingham said: “Post-Brexit is upon us and it will be interesting to see how things play out in reality now that some decisions have been made. However, in our view, Brexit will have a minimal impact on the trajectory of the global short-term rental industry.
“Our industry crosses all borders and both the demand for short-term rentals as an accommodation choice, and the tech and service solutions offered, aren’t going to slow down or care much about whether the UK is in or out.
“We work with businesses both in the UK, Europe and North America and the message we are getting from all of our clients is that it is, ‘business as usual’.
“London is still the top-performing city for Airbnb and the UK is still a vibrant place to do business both as a property manager and as a vendor,” she added.
Founder of Lavanda and the Professional Host Alliance, Guy Lavanda, said: “I know it’s topical, but I honestly struggle to see how it has much impact at all.
“The only parallel I can draw is that the stock market has rallied since Brexit, and the housing market seems to be bouncing back… so to me this implies that confidence in London and the UK is recovering, and so business travel and tourism is likely to also increase and bounce back in turn,” he added.
