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Guide · UK hosts

Airbnb bookings down? How to tell if it’s the market or your listing

Before you cut your price, check whether it’s really the market. If the listings around you are booked and yours isn’t, it isn’t the market: it’s something you can fix. Here’s a free test that takes about ten minutes, using nothing but Airbnb, and what to change for each answer.

By the PeakRate team. We're UK holiday-let hosts. Facts checked on ; sources are listed at the end.

Prefer to watch? Airbnb Bookings Down in 2026? Is It the Market or Your Listing? on our YouTube channel.

In short

What the UK market is doing

Start with the national picture, because it rules out the scariest explanation: that guests have simply stopped booking.

SourceWhat it measuresWhat it found
ONS (24 June 2026)Guest nights in UK short-term lets on Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia Group100.9 million in 2025, up 11.5% on 2024
VisitBritain/VisitEngland, Lighthouse data (August 2026)Occupancy of UK short-term rentals47% in June 2026, in line with 2025
AirDNA, a data company (15 September 2026)Available UK listingsUp 3.5% in summer 2026 on a year earlier
Key Data, via Property Reporter (3 August 2026)Agency-managed holiday letsNorth West England occupancy down 7% in April to June 2026

These sources count different things, so don't set one source's figure against another's. Occupancy for the same month can differ by 10 points or more between them.

Read together, they say: demand grew strongly in 2025, this year is flatter, more listings are competing for those guests, and some regions are softer. Note that a guest night counts each person, so the ONS figure measures people times nights, not bookings.

What none of these figures can tell you is why your calendar looks different from the listings around you. For that, you need to look at your competitors.

Guests choose from a map, not the market

A guest doesn't book "the UK market". They search for a place and some dates, and pick from the listings in front of them.

Airbnb's Help Centre says the quality, popularity, price and, for homes, location of a listing heavily influence where it ranks. On price, it looks at your total price against other listings in the area for the same dates. In its words: "Listings that are priced below other comparable listings… tend to rank higher."

Since April 2025, Airbnb has shown guests the total price by default, including all fees before taxes. So guests weigh a handful of listings like yours side by side, on the total, and book one. Your cleaning fee is part of that total.

Why the comparison shifted this summer

On 22 June 2026, UK hosts switched to Airbnb's single 15.5% host-only fee. Airbnb's own example: keep a £100 price and you now earn £84.50. Raise it to £115 and you keep £97, the same as before.

Our maths: leaving a £100 price alone cuts your payout by about 12.9% a night (£84.50 against £97). Raising to £115 while your neighbours stay at £100 makes you 15% dearer than them on the same map.

Some hosts raised their prices. Others checked and found most of their neighbours hadn't. In one host's check of their area, posted in September 2026, about 1 in 15 nearby listings had raised (an anecdote, not a survey). If you raised and they didn't, you may now be the expensive one. There's more on this in our guide to Airbnb's 15.5% host fee.

The 10-minute test

It's free, and all you need is Airbnb and somewhere to make notes.

  1. Pick five to eight real competitors. Same number of bedrooms, same number of guests, the same feature people filter for (like a hot tub, or dogs allowed), and close enough to be a real alternative. Ask yourself: if a guest didn't book you, where would they stay instead?
  2. Open each one on Airbnb for the same dates: your next four weekends. For each listing, note which nights are unavailable, and the total price for two nights.
  3. Do the same for your own listing and put it alongside. A simple grid works: one row per listing, one column per weekend, unavailable nights marked, and the two-night total at the end of each row.

One caution: unavailable isn't always booked. Owners block dates. Read the pattern across all the listings and all four weekends, not one night.

Read the result: four answers

What you seeWhat it meansWhat to change
They're booked, you're not, and you're dearer than mostPriceMove towards the middle of their range on the nights that aren't selling
They're booked, you're not, and your price is in lineListingCompare your first photo, title, reviews and minimum stay with theirs
They're mostly empty tooMarket or seasonDon't race them to the bottom; work on gaps and minimum stays
You sell out weeks before themUnderpricedTest a higher price

If it's price

Move towards the middle of your competitors' range, but only on the nights that aren't selling. There's no need to cut nights that are already booking.

If it's the listing

If your price is in line and they're still getting the bookings, guests are choosing them for something else. Put your listing next to theirs and compare, in this order:

  1. Your first photo against theirs.
  2. Your title.
  3. Your reviews. Airbnb says higher-quality listings with better ratings and reviews tend to rank higher.
  4. Your minimum stay. If theirs is shorter, they can take bookings you can't.

If it's the market

If listings like yours are empty too, it's the market or the season, not you. Don't race them to the bottom. Keep your price above what each stay costs you, and work on the nights you can win instead: short gaps between bookings, and minimum stays that stop guests booking them.

If you're underpriced

A general rule of thumb: if you sell out much faster than the listings around you, your price is probably too low. A full calendar feels good, but it can mean guests are getting a bargain. Try a higher price on your next busy dates and see whether you still fill ahead of your competitors.

Run it again

The bookings haven't vanished; they're going to someone. And because competitors keep repricing, the answer can change from one month to the next, so one check goes stale. Repeat the test before each busy period and whenever your calendar looks thinner than you'd expect. If doing it by hand gets old, the box below shows a faster way.

Not sure what to charge in the first place? Read how to price your Airbnb.

Questions hosts ask

Why are my Airbnb bookings down?

Check the listings guests would weigh against yours, on the same dates. If they’re booked and you’re not, it’s your price or your listing, and you can fix it. If they’re mostly empty too, it’s the market or the season.

Is the UK Airbnb market down in 2026?

Not nationally. The ONS counted 100.9 million guest nights in UK short-term lets in 2025, up 11.5% on 2024. June 2026 occupancy was 47%, in line with 2025, while listings grew 3.5% this summer (AirDNA). Some areas are softer: Key Data had North West England occupancy down 7% in April to June 2026 for agency-managed holiday lets.

How do I compare my Airbnb with similar listings?

Pick five to eight real competitors: same bedrooms, same guests, the same key features, and close by. Open each on Airbnb for your next four weekends, note which nights are unavailable and the total for two nights, then do the same for your own listing.

How do I know if my Airbnb is underpriced?

A general rule of thumb: if you sell out much faster than the listings around you, your price is probably too low. Test a higher price on your next busy dates.

Should I lower my Airbnb price when bookings are slow?

Only if comparable listings are booked and you’re dearer than most. Then move towards the middle of their range on the nights that aren’t selling. If they’re empty too, don’t race them to the bottom: work on gaps and minimum stays.

Check it against your real competitors

The answer is in how you compare with the listings guests weigh against yours, on the same dates. You can check by hand on Airbnb, or let PeakRate track their prices night by night.

Audit your Airbnb listing free Or start your free 14-day trial →

Sources

  1. ONS, "Short-term lets through online collaborative economy platforms, UK: July 2023 to December 2025" (24 June 2026): 100.9 million guest nights in 2025, up 11.5% on 2024
  2. VisitBritain/VisitEngland, "Short-Term Rentals trends from Lighthouse – June 2026" (August 2026): occupancy 47%, in line with 2025
  3. AirDNA, "European Review August 2026" (15 September 2026; vendor data): UK listings up 3.5% in summer 2026
  4. Key Data, reported by Property Reporter (3 August 2026): North West England occupancy down 7% in Q2 2026, agency-managed holiday lets
  5. Airbnb Help Centre, "How search results work" (article 39): what shapes ranking; listings priced below comparable listings tend to rank higher; ratings and reviews
  6. Airbnb Newsroom, "Total price display is now standard globally" (21 April 2025): total price shown by default
  7. Airbnb Resource Centre, "Simplifying service fees" (22 March 2026, article 761) and "Simplifying service fees on Airbnb" (7 July 2026, updated 24 August 2026, article 771): the 15.5% fee, the UK switch on 22 June, the £100 / £84.50 / £115 / £97 example
  8. Airbnb Resource Centre, "Finding success when it’s slow" (updated 19 March 2025, article 704): a different price for weekdays than for Friday and Saturday nights
  9. Host reports on r/airbnb_hosts, September 2026 (anecdotal)
  10. Our maths: £84.50 ÷ £97 = 0.871, so about 12.9% less; £115 ÷ £100 = 1.15

PeakRate makes pricing and competitor-benchmarking software for hosts. Where this guide mentions it, we say so; everything else is sourced above.