Airbnb PR stunt by furnishings firm backfires

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A calculator that highlighted how landlords could make more income using Airbnb rather than letting their properties to local people has been criticised.

Bespoke blinds company Thomas Sanderson
incurred the wrath of local councillors in Brighton and Hove after it created the
online rental return calculator which showed how landlords in the city were
making an average monthly income of £1,375 by renting their property, whereas Airbnb
could pocket them £2,241 a month. 

Thomas
Sanderson is a prolific creator of property-related online tools such as ‘Student
Cities’ which helps
users see which cities are likely to have the most student renters, and the ‘Buy-To-Let
Hotspots’ tool to
show rental yield as a percentage of the property’s overall value in towns
and cities around the UK.

However, its latest PR wheeze was slammed by
city councillors in Brighton and
Hove where it’s estimated that 2,000 homes are listed as holiday lets.

They fear
encouraging residents to register their homes for Airbnb means taking rentals
out of the long-term rental market, negatively impacting on residents.

Green councillor Martin Osborne told the Brighton
and Hove News: “A
lack of affordable housing in Brighton and Hove means we have one of the most
acute housing crises in the country. 

“This new calculator works directly against
plans to alleviate this crisis by encouraging landlords to switch to
short-term, holiday lets rather than offering a longer tenancy, potentially
draining the private rented sector of available homes.”

Richard Petrie, marketing director of Thomas
Sanderson, defended the tool and says it was not designed to encourage
landlords to stop renting long term.

He explains: “Although we discovered the monetary rewards are
potentially greater for Airbnb rentals, they carry more risk and more work than
traditional renting and therefore require a totally different approach.” 

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