The research conducted by Love2Laundry explores the best UK city to start an Airbnb business based on important factors for both the owner and guests. These include monetary gains, cost of setting up, maintenance costs as well as what that city has to offer in terms of culture, eating out and transport. In their recent annual report, Airbnb reported culture, transport and restaurants were extremely high up in terms of what their guests look for when visiting a UK city.
In order to make it fair and to also get the most out of the data, we divided the data by staying visits to reveal the city that offers it all.
Key Takeaways:
- Manchester has more cultural activities per person than London.
- London has over 17,000 more staying visits than Edinburgh, but you can still make more money for your Airbnb business in Edinburgh.
- Liverpool is the cheapest UK city to buy a house for your Airbnb business.
- Edinburgh has the lowest cost for council tax.
- Edinburgh has more restaurant options than London per person.
- Chester has the cheapest transport cost.
London appears to have it all when looking at the data as it stands, more restaurants, more cultural activities. But, when divided by the number of staying visits, Edinburgh actually has more options for an individual than London. Manchester has more cultural activities than London too. London is also the city with the highest average house cost, so you’ll need to pay out more to initially get started. However, London does have a staggering number of staying visits per year.
If you’re looking to really maximize on profit, you may want to go for not only a city where you can charge more per night but also a city with the lowest house price. In that case, you’d choose Liverpool to start your business. With an average house price of £119,600 and a charge of £129 per night, it’s the perfect option for minimizing costs.
However, low cost doesn’t always mean success. Liverpool doesn’t rank in the top 10 for number of restaurant options, but, it is number 5 for cultural activities.
Manchester is great for attracting guests who are looking for a city experience with heaps of culture to explore. At an average cost of £117 a night, it’s not in the top 20 cities for cost per night. However, it’s likely to fill up bookings due to a low cost per night and high value in culture.
However, if you’re looking to cover all bases, Edinburgh really does have it all. By starting your Airbnb business in Edinburgh, you’ll be able to charge more per night and spend less money on council tax. You’ll also be located in a city that offers your visitors more restaurant options. Airbnb revealed restaurant options was the second most important deciding factor for Airbnb guests when booking.
| Cities | Staying Visits | Average Price (per night) |
| London | 19,828,000 | £214 |
| Edinburgh | 2,015,000 | £256 |
| Manchester | 1,319,000 | £117 |
| Birmingham | 1,117,000 | £110 |
| Liverpool | 839,000 | £129 |
| Glasgow | 787,000 | £116 |
| Bristol | 602,000 | £141 |
| Oxford | 536,000 | £154 |
| Cambridge | 519,000 | £144 |
| Brighton/Hove | 491,000 | £154 |
| Cardiff | 372,000 | £207 |
| Bath | 361,000 | £167 |
| Inverness | 311,000 | £179 |
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 297,000 | £105 |
| Leeds | 294,000 | £119 |
| York | 289,000 | £143 |
| Aberdeen | 276,000 | £91 |
| Nottingham | 267,000 | £110 |
| Reading | 229,000 | £166 |
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