UK Holiday Let Boom: A New One Every Day for Five Years
The UK had 6,495 registered holiday let businesses in March 2026. That’s 2,245 more than in 2021, or more than one every day for five years.
Business sites classed as other holiday and short-stay accommodation (SIC 55209), UK, March of each year. Hover over a point to see the figure for that year. Source: ONS UK Business Counts via Nomis. ONS widened its business register in 2015, so years before 2015 aren’t directly comparable with later ones.
Registered holiday lets have more than doubled since 2010
In 2010 the UK had 2,725 registered holiday let businesses. By March 2026 there were 6,495, a rise of 138%.
Growth slowed around the pandemic, with just 200 added in the two years to March 2021. Then it took off. In the year to March 2022 the UK added 720 holiday lets, the biggest annual rise in figures going back to 2010.
Growth cooled to 100 in the year to March 2025, after the government announced it would scrap the furnished holiday lettings tax regime from April 2025. It then picked up again, with 285 more in the year after the tax break ended. Over the five years from March 2021, the UK gained 2,245 holiday lets. That’s more than one every day.
Registered holiday lets, UK, 2019 to 2026
Select a column heading to sort.
| 2019 | 4,050 | +300 |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 4,090 | +40 |
| 2021 | 4,250 | +160 |
| 2022 | 4,970 | +720 |
| 2023 | 5,595 | +625 |
| 2024 | 6,110 | +515 |
| 2025 | 6,210 | +100 |
| 2026 | 6,495 | +285 |
“Scrapping the holiday let tax break was supposed to cool this market. It didn’t. Another 285 registered operators opened in the year after it ended.
A lot of these are farmers and rural landowners turning barns and outbuildings into a second income, and their guests spend money in the village pub and shop. Wales starts charging visitors an overnight levy in 2027. Any government thinking of doing the same should look first at what these businesses are holding up in the countryside.”
Steven ForesterSales Manager, Homefords
The boom has spread to the Midlands and the North
Holiday lets grew in all 12 UK nations and regions between 2019 and 2026. The fastest growth came in places few people picture as holiday let country.
The West Midlands almost doubled, from 155 to 300. The East Midlands and the North East both grew by 90%.
The traditional holiday regions grew more slowly. The South West still has the most holiday lets, with 1,280, but grew by 49%. The South East grew by 39%.
Change in registered holiday lets by region, 2019 to 2026
In three parts of the UK, hotels are falling as holiday lets rise
Across the UK, hotel numbers barely moved between 2019 and 2026, rising 1.7% to 13,415. Holiday lets grew 60% over the same period.
The South West, Wales and Scotland tell a different story. Hotel numbers fell in all three while holiday lets climbed. The South West lost 165 hotels and gained 420 holiday lets.
The figures don’t show that one caused the other. A hotel can close for many reasons. But in these areas, the mix of places to stay is changing fast.
London is the exception. Hotels there grew 20.4%, from 1,935 to 2,330, the fastest hotel growth of any region.
Change in holiday lets and hotels by region, 2019 to 2026
Holiday lets Hotels
Guests are booking more nights too
Business counts show supply. A separate ONS release shows demand. Guests spent 100.9 million nights in short-term lets booked through Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia Group in 2025, up 11.5% on 2024.
The two measures point the same way. The North East had the fastest rise in guest nights of any region, up 22.2%. Wales had the fastest rise of the four nations, up 17.4%, and both are among the fastest growing areas for registered holiday lets.
Most of the extra nights came from UK holidaymakers. Domestic guest nights rose 16.7%, while international guest nights rose 2.1%.
London still has more guest nights than any other region, with 21.6 million. But it had the slowest growth, up 6.3%.
Guest nights in short-term lets by nation, 2025
Select a column heading to sort.
| England | 78.4m | +11.1% |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 12.7m | +10.9% |
| Wales | 7.4m | +17.4% |
| Northern Ireland | 2.4m | +10.8% |
| United Kingdom | 100.9m | +11.5% |
A guest night is one guest staying one night, so a family of four staying two nights counts as eight. Covers lets booked through Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia Group, including rooms and apartments. Source: ONS, Short-term lets through online collaborative economy platforms, UK, released 24 June 2026.
How does your region compare?
Pick a region to see how its holiday lets and hotels have changed since 2019.
Choose a region above to see its figures.
Every region, side by side
| Registered holiday lets | Hotels | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 100 | 190 | +90.0% | 365 | 385 | +5.5% | 49 |
| North West | 335 | 600 | +79.1% | 1,440 | 1,460 | +1.4% | 41 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 280 | 490 | +75.0% | 790 | 805 | +1.9% | 61 |
| East Midlands | 150 | 285 | +90.0% | 600 | 615 | +2.5% | 46 |
| West Midlands | 155 | 300 | +93.5% | 765 | 805 | +5.2% | 37 |
| East | 290 | 450 | +55.2% | 900 | 900 | 0.0% | 50 |
| London | 300 | 485 | +61.7% | 1,935 | 2,330 | +20.4% | 21 |
| South East | 445 | 620 | +39.3% | 1,640 | 1,640 | 0.0% | 38 |
| South West | 860 | 1,280 | +48.8% | 1,670 | 1,505 | −9.9% | 85 |
| Wales | 305 | 545 | +78.7% | 825 | 750 | −9.1% | 73 |
| Scotland | 725 | 1,110 | +53.1% | 2,050 | 1,985 | −3.2% | 56 |
| Northern Ireland | 110 | 140 | +27.3% | 205 | 235 | +14.6% | 60 |
| United Kingdom | 4,050 | 6,495 | +60.4% | 13,190 | 13,415 | +1.7% | 48 |
Select any column heading to sort the table. Select it again to reverse the order. Counts are rounded to the nearest 5 by ONS.
What this means if you run a holiday let
The figures count registered businesses. They don’t show how busy each one is or what it earns. They do show where competition is growing fastest.
If you let a property in the Midlands or the North East, there are almost twice as many registered operators in your region as in 2019. With more choice nearby, guests can be pickier, so the state of your beds and linen counts for more.
What guests want is changing too. VisitBritain figures show stays of eight or more guests rose 25% in a year, and pet-friendly is the most searched holiday home feature, as Savills reports. Bigger groups and four-legged guests both mean more beds to make and more laundry between stays.
Rules are tightening as well. Short-term let operators in Scotland have needed a licence since October 2023. Wales is bringing in compulsory registration for visitor accommodation from autumn 2026, a licensing scheme to follow, and councils there can add an overnight levy from April 2027. England has a national register planned but not yet in place.
More from this research
- Holiday lets are growing fastest in the Midlands and the NorthThe West Midlands, East Midlands and North East have almost doubled since 2019.
- South West hotel numbers have fallen eight years in a rowDown 165 since 2019, while holiday lets grew by 420.
- London has added 395 hotels since 2019. The rest of the UK has lost 170Why the capital is out on its own.
- UK holiday lets have more than doubled since 2010A year by year look at the boom, and the region where they’ve tripled.
Questions about the figures
How many holiday let businesses are there in the UK?
There were 6,495 registered holiday let businesses in the UK in March 2026, according to ONS UK Business Counts. That only covers businesses registered for VAT or PAYE, so many smaller hosts aren’t included. The total number of holiday let properties and listings is much higher.
Is a new holiday let opening every day?
Over the five years to March 2026, the number of registered holiday let businesses grew by 2,245. That’s 1.2 a day. It’s a net figure, after closures, so the number opening was higher still. Growth varies by year, from 720 in the year to March 2022 to 100 in the year to March 2025.
Where are holiday lets growing fastest?
The West Midlands, up 94% since 2019. The East Midlands and the North East are close behind, both up 90%.
Which part of the UK has the most holiday lets?
The South West, with 1,280 registered holiday let businesses in 2026. Scotland is second with 1,110.
Are holiday lets replacing hotels?
Not across the UK as a whole. Hotel numbers rose 1.7% between 2019 and 2026. In the South West, Wales and Scotland hotel numbers fell while holiday lets grew, but the data doesn’t show that one caused the other.
Did scrapping the holiday let tax break slow growth?
Growth fell to 100 in the year to March 2025, after the abolition of the furnished holiday lettings regime was announced. It picked up to 285 in the year after the change took effect in April 2025. The figures can’t prove what caused either change.
Can I use these figures?
Yes. Please credit Homefords and link to this page. You can download the full data below. The underlying ONS data is available under the Open Government Licence.
How we worked out the numbers
The business figures come from ONS UK Business Counts, which is drawn from the Inter-Departmental Business Register. We used local units, meaning individual business sites, so an operator with 10 sites counts as 10. We used the release published on 24 September 2026, which covers March of each year from 2010 to 2026.
Holiday lets are sites classed under SIC 2007 code 55209, other holiday and other short-stay accommodation. This mainly covers holiday cottages, flats and chalets. Holiday parks and youth hostels have their own codes and aren’t included. Hotels are sites under code 55100, hotels and similar accommodation.
Only businesses registered for VAT or PAYE appear on the register. Many people who let a single property aren’t registered, so these figures track professional operators, not every Airbnb listing. ONS rounds counts to the nearest 5.
ONS added about 105,000 PAYE-only businesses in 2015, so comparisons starting before then aren’t like for like. Our main comparisons, 2019 to 2026 and 2021 to 2026, are unaffected.
Guest nights come from the ONS bulletin Short-term lets through online collaborative economy platforms, UK: July 2023 to December 2025, released 24 June 2026. It uses data from Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia Group. It’s a separate measure and can’t be compared directly with the business counts.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics, UK Business Counts, via Nomis, and Office for National Statistics, Short-term lets through online collaborative economy platforms, UK.
Using these figures
You’re welcome to use any figure on this page in your own reporting. Please credit Homefords and link to this page as the source.
Suggested credit: Homefords analysis of ONS UK Business Counts, 2026. https://homefords.co.uk/holiday-let-boom/
Download the full dataEvery region, every year from 2010 to 2026, for registered holiday let businesses and hotels. Includes the regional comparison, UK trend and methodology notes.
Download the data (Excel)Media enquiries, interviews and regional breakdowns: hello@homefords.co.uk
Furnishing a holiday let?
Homefords supplies bedding, blankets, curtains and rugs to holiday let owners and Airbnb hosts across the UK. You don’t need a trade account, there’s no minimum order and delivery is free on orders over £100.
Run a hotel? See our hotel furnishings.