As the UK prepares for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Airbnb is offering families in Southampton an incentive to start hosting ahead of a big summer of travel.
The bonus scheme for people new to the platform has been introduced to encourages locals in major cities across the UK to make the most of the increased demand for holiday accommodation.
Airbnb is offering a £100 travel coupon to those welcoming their first guest during the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations (May 30 – June 4) in London, Brighton, Oxford, Manchester, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Leeds, Bath, Birmingham, Southampton, Bristol and Cambridge.
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Major UK events boosting travel sector
The Government’s Tourism Recovery Plan identifies special moments, such as the Platinum Jubilee and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, as major boosts for the UK travel sector, and the Airbnb incentive will help individuals benefit from them too.
Last year, Airbnb launched a welcome bonus for new Hosts to help tackle the accommodation squeeze around COP26 in Glasgow. The scheme increased accommodation capacity and benefitted locals who earned an average of £3,000 through hosting on Airbnb during COP26.
Amanda Cupples, General Manager for Northern Europe at Airbnb, said, “Airbnb offers a unique opportunity for communities to benefit from the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee as celebrations sweep across the UK and families visit loved ones over the additional bank holidays.
“Homesharing helps cities use existing space to scale up their capacity and welcome visitors during peaks in demand and empowers locals to provide sustainable and affordable accommodation, benefitting the local economy.”
New hosts can list a room or entire home on Airbnb, and globally last year, half of all new listings received a booking within five days of activation.
UK hosts on Airbnb collectively earned more than £1.5 billion last year - £668 million of which was over the summer months - according to data released by the company, with the typical individual earning more than £6,000 a year.
For anyone who would like to become a new Airbnb host and benefit from the incentive, you must opt into the scheme. To find out more and for full terms and conditions, visit airbnb.com/QueensJubilee and listing their space.
Airbnb’s top tips for new hosts
Here are some top tips from Airbnb for anyone considering hosting this summer.
Ask a superhost
Have a question about hosting and not sure where to start, get free one-on-one help from Airbnb’s best Hosts.
Create a great Airbnb Host profile
Your profile is a great way for others to learn more about you before they book your space.
Use quality photos
Guests spend more time exploring photos than any other part of a listing page.
Write an accurate description of your space
Focus on the style, uniqueness, condition and atmosphere of your space.
Keep the calendar up to date
Make sure that the dates on your calendar are up to date and that they reflect the actual availability of your accommodation. You can highlight your ad by setting the "Early Booking Discount", which rewards guests who plan a trip several weeks ahead.
Potential and existing Hosts can visit Airbnb’s responsible hosting page for information on hosting in their area.
If you would like to find out how much you could earn by sharing your space on Airbnb, visit the What’s My Place Worth tool. The interactive tool computes the estimated income based on geography, type of listing, and also uses prior Airbnb booking data in the area.
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