Letter: How much impact has Airbnb had on accommodation in Glastonbury?
Glastonbury has a national, if not international, reputation as a wonderful place to live and visit.
But in recent years there has been some evidence of accommodation for rental becoming less available and more expensive.
The expensive part of rental is easy to understand, as you only have to look in an estate agent's window to see the price of even a modest house.
Add in the need for a month's rent up front plus a deposit and you can understand the challenge for many people.
But the availability of rental properties in Glastonbury may be slightly more complex. How much has Airbnb affected the rental market?
Can a resident with a spare room gain more from one or two nights of visitor accommodation through the global phenomenon that is Airbnb than by offering more permanent lodgings?
Does the licensing of HMOs (houses of multiple occupation) mean that big houses that were previously used for a kind of communal living are no longer available, with big houses split into little bedsitters?
My thanks to people who have spoken to me about this situation. If anyone else has any further experience of this situation, then I would be very interested to hear from you.
By Liz Leyshon, local councillor
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