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Guide · UK hosts
Airbnb slow season: how to get bookings in winter
Empty January? Don’t cut your price yet. In the UK, winter books late: December fills early, but January and February fill from December onwards. Here’s what the official figures show, what Airbnb itself says to change when it’s quiet, and how to price winter nights without giving money away.
In short
- January is the UK's quietest month for short lets and August the busiest: about 2.6 times as many nights booked in 2025 (our maths, from ONS data).
- Winter books late. About half of February's bookings came in from December onwards (our maths, from VisitBritain/Lighthouse data). An empty January in November is normal.
- Change how people can book first: shorter minimum stays, late bookings, discounts guests can see, and room for long stays.
- Then price from your floor and your competitors. Hold Christmas, New Year, half term and local events.
How quiet UK winter really is
The ONS publishes monthly figures for short-term lets booked through Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia. In 2025, January was the quietest month and August the busiest.
| Occupied nights, 2025 | January | August | August ÷ January |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 1,666,890 | 4,399,580 | About 2.6 times |
| Westmorland and Furness (the Lake District's council area) | 20,790 | 74,130 | About 3.6 times |
ONS, short-term lets dataset, Table 2a (24 June 2026). The ratios are our maths.
So winter is quieter everywhere, and in holiday areas the swing can be much sharper. But winter is growing. Occupied nights from October to December 2025 were up about 10% on the same months of 2024 (our maths: 10.3%, from the same ONS data).
Winter books late
Winter doesn't just book less. It books in a different way. VisitBritain publishes monthly short-term rental reports using data from Lighthouse, and they track how much of each month was already booked at the end of the months before.
| Stay month | Booked by end of Nov | By end of Dec | By end of Jan | Final occupancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | 39% | 40% | ||
| January 2026 | 23% | 28% | 35% | |
| February 2026 | 18% | 23% | 34% | 37% |
VisitBritain/VisitEngland, "Short-Term Rentals trends from Lighthouse", November 2025 to February 2026 reports. Occupancy on the books is measured against the nights available at the time.
Our maths: about 98% of December's final occupancy was booked by the end of November (39 of 40 points). February had only 18% by then: about half of it (19 of 37 points) was booked from December onwards.
Christmas books early. January and February book late. One industry analyst, Sally Henry of the data company Key Data, put it simply: "Demand hasn't disappeared, it's just arriving later." The same report noted that operators weren't reacting by lowering prices.
So if your January looks empty in November, that's normal. Don't panic-discount. Use the time to change how people can book.
Before you touch your price: four Airbnb settings
Airbnb's own article for quiet periods opens with: "Even the most popular listings have quiet periods with fewer bookings." Its advice, and the settings in its other help articles, come down to four changes.
1. Shorten your minimum stay
Short breaks are most of the market. Sykes Cottages says 51% of its 2025 bookings were short breaks of six nights or fewer (the agency's own data). A three-night minimum shuts all of those out.
- Set your minimum by day of the week. Airbnb lets you do this, and suggests "you might allow one-night stays during the middle of the week", but not on a Friday or Saturday. For example: one night midweek, two at weekends.
- Fix single gap nights. For one empty night stuck between two bookings, Airbnb lets you set a custom trip length that's shorter than your minimum, for just those dates.
2. Let people book late
Winter fills late, so make sure late bookers can find you.
- Advance notice: Airbnb lets you choose the same day, or 1, 2, 3 or 7 days. Airbnb suggests a lead time "as short as the same day", depending on how much preparation you need.
- Availability window: you can open your calendar 3, 6, 9, 12 or 24 months ahead. Airbnb says going beyond the 3-month minimum puts your listing in more search results.
3. Use discounts guests can see
- Weekly and monthly discounts (7 nights or more, and 28 nights or more) of 10% or more get a callout in search, with your original price crossed out.
- Last-minute discounts work for bookings made from 1 to 28 days before check-in.
- Only one discount applies to a booking. A new-listing promotion, custom promotion, length-of-stay, early-bird or last-minute discount don't stack with each other.
- It must be a real discount. Airbnb's Host Discount Policy requires "a true discount": the price before the discount has to be a genuine selling price. Airbnb may audit, remove the discount styling or suspend listings that break it. So don't raise your winter price just to knock it back down.
4. Make room for longer stays
VisitBritain's Lighthouse reports say "The longest length of stay each year tends to be seen in January". A monthly discount covers stays of 28 nights or more. Airbnb also sometimes adds its own Monthly Stay Savings to stays of 28 nights or more, which Airbnb pays for: they don't come out of your payout.
Now price: start with your floor
Your floor is the lowest price a stay can sell for without losing you money. Add up what a winter stay costs you, with cleaning, laundry and heating, then allow for Airbnb's fee, which comes out of your payout. Most UK hosts now pay a single 15.5% fee (see Airbnb's 15.5% host fee).
Our maths (illustrative costs): if a two-night winter stay costs you £84, the floor is £84 ÷ 0.845, about £99.40 for the two nights. If you aren't VAT-registered, the fee plus 20% VAT is about 18.6% of your price, so the floor is £84 ÷ 0.814, about £103.20.
Never sell below your floor. Then compare your winter dates with your competitors' on Airbnb:
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| They're booked, you're not, and you're dearer | Your price is the likely problem | Move closer to their price, staying above your floor |
| You're all empty | It's the season | Don't race them to the bottom. Check the four settings above |
Hold the nights that sell anyway
Some winter nights sell without help. Christmas and New Year book early. Half-term weeks and local events can fill too. Those are not the nights to discount: keep your normal price, or higher, and save discounts for the quiet midweek nights.
A simple winter plan
- Now: work out your floor for a one-night and a two-night stay.
- Now: shorten your midweek minimum, shorten your advance notice, and open your calendar well ahead.
- Now: set a weekly and a monthly discount of at least 10%, if the numbers still clear your floor.
- Now: mark Christmas, New Year, half term and any local events as nights to hold.
- Every couple of weeks through winter: check your winter dates against your competitors'. If they're booking and you aren't, move closer to them. If nobody is, wait: winter books late.
Not sure where your price should start? Read how to price your Airbnb. And the box below shows how PeakRate can track your competitors' winter prices for you.
Questions hosts ask
When is Airbnb slow season in the UK?
Winter. ONS figures show January 2025 was the quietest month for UK short-term lets and August the busiest, with about 2.6 times as many nights booked (our maths). December is the exception: it books early, around Christmas and New Year.
Should I lower my Airbnb price in winter?
Not straight away. January and February book late, so an empty calendar in November is normal. Change your minimum stay, advance notice and discounts first. Then compare with your competitors: if they’re booked and you’re not and you’re dearer, move closer to them, but never below your own floor.
How do I get more Airbnb bookings in winter?
Shorten your minimum stay (for example one night midweek, two at weekends), let guests book as late as the same day, open your calendar more than 3 months ahead, and offer weekly or monthly discounts of 10% or more, which Airbnb calls out in search.
Can I combine Airbnb discounts?
Mostly no. Airbnb says only one of these applies to a booking: a new-listing promotion, custom promotion, length-of-stay, early-bird or last-minute discount. Discounts must also be real: Airbnb requires a true discount, not a raised price knocked back down.
Check it against your real competitors
The deciding question in winter is whether your competitors are booking and you aren’t. You can check by hand on Airbnb, or let PeakRate track their prices for you.
- Free listing audit (Airbnb listings). Paste your Airbnb listing link and PeakRate compares your price and listing with similar ones nearby.
- PeakRate, for the full picture. You choose the competitors that count, PeakRate tracks their prices night by night, and puts a suggested price next to the typical competitor price. Nothing changes until you approve it.
- Built for UK hosts, priced in pounds. From £49 a month for up to 3 properties, with a 14-day free trial and no card. It sends approved prices through Hospitable today, with more systems coming soon (see the latest).
More guides
- How to price your Airbnb
- Airbnb’s 15.5% host fee
- Airbnb bookings down?
- Airbnb cleaning fee
- Airbnb minimum stay
- Airbnb occupancy rate
- Airbnb conversion rate
- Airbnb Smart Pricing
- PriceLabs vs Airbnb Smart Pricing
Sources
- ONS, "Guest nights, nights and stays for short-term lets, monthly, UK" dataset, Table 2a, and bulletin "Short-term lets through online collaborative economy platforms, UK: July 2023 to December 2025" (24 June 2026): occupied nights by month, UK and Westmorland and Furness (area E06000064)
- VisitBritain/VisitEngland, "Short-Term Rentals trends from Lighthouse", November 2025 to February 2026 reports: occupancy on the books and final occupancy; the longest stays in January
- Key Data (Sally Henry), reported by ShortTermRentalz, 19 March 2026: “Demand hasn’t disappeared, it’s just arriving later”; operators not lowering prices (vendor)
- Sykes Cottages, Sykes Staycation Index 2026: 51% of 2025 bookings were short breaks of 6 nights or fewer (agency data)
- Airbnb Resource Centre, "Finding success when it’s slow" (article 704, updated 19 March 2025, re-read 9 October 2026): minimum stay by day of the week, one-night midweek stays
- Airbnb Resource Centre, "Updating your availability" (article 708, updated 14 July 2025, re-read 9 October 2026): custom trip length, advance notice options, availability window options
- Airbnb Resource Centre, "Setting your pricing strategy" (article 15, updated 14 July 2025, re-read 9 October 2026): lead time as short as the same day; beyond 3 months means more search results
- Airbnb Resource Centre, "Using Airbnb pricing tools" (article 707, updated 14 July 2025, re-read 9 October 2026): weekly and monthly discounts, 10%+ callout with the original price crossed out, last-minute 1 to 28 days
- Airbnb Help Centre, article 3421 (re-read 9 October 2026): only one discount applies per reservation
- Airbnb Help Centre, article 1233 (re-read 9 October 2026): Airbnb Monthly Stay Savings, not deducted from your payout
- Airbnb Help Centre, Host Discount Policy (article 2980, re-read 9 October 2026): discounts must be a true discount
- Airbnb Help Centre, "Airbnb service fees" (article 1857): most hosts pay a single 15.5% fee; article 436: 20% VAT on Airbnb’s service fees in the UK
- Our maths: 4,399,580 ÷ 1,666,890 = 2.64; 74,130 ÷ 20,790 = 3.57; Q4 2025 up 10.3% on Q4 2024; 39 ÷ 40 = 98%; (37 − 18) ÷ 37 = 51%; £84 ÷ 0.845 = £99.41; £84 ÷ 0.814 = £103.19
PeakRate makes pricing and competitor-benchmarking software for hosts. Where this guide mentions it, we say so; everything else is sourced above.