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Guide · UK hosts
Holiday let occupancy rates in the UK, by region and month
The latest published occupancy rate for UK short-term lets is 47%, for June 2026. But Scotland was at 57% and the West Midlands at 42%. Here are the official numbers by region and by month, why every source gives a different answer, and how to compare your own holiday let fairly.
In short
- In June 2026, published regional occupancy ran from 42% (West Midlands) to 57% (Scotland). The UK figure was 47%.
- Seasons matter more than regions. Across the UK, August 2025 had 2.6 times as many booked short-let nights as January. In London it was 1.7 times, in Cornwall 7.7 times (our maths, ONS data).
- Official occupancy surveys show the same swing: Scotland’s self-catering ran from 21% in January 2024 to 57% in August; Wales’s from 41% to 90% in 2023.
- Sources disagree because they count different properties, define “available” differently, and change their methods.
- Compare yourself with the same month, worked out the same way, against similar listings near you.
Want to know what a good occupancy rate is, how to work out your own, and why revenue per available night matters more? That’s in our guide What’s a good Airbnb occupancy rate? (UK). This page is about the published numbers.
Occupancy by region (June 2026)
VisitBritain publishes monthly short-term rental figures from Lighthouse, a data company that tracks listings on the booking platforms. Lighthouse defines occupancy as booked nights divided by available nights, with nights taken out when a property can’t be booked because of cleaning, maintenance or the owner staying.
| Region | Occupancy, June 2026 | Change on June 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 57% | 0 points |
| North East | 50% | +1 point |
| South West | 48% | +1 point |
| South East | 48% | +1 point |
| London | 47% | −1 point |
| Wales | 47% | +1 point |
| East of England | 45% | 0 points |
| East Midlands | 45% | +2 points |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 44% | 0 points |
| North West (includes the Lake District) | 43% | 0 points |
| West Midlands | 42% | 0 points |
| UK | 47% | In line with 2025 |
VisitBritain/VisitEngland, Short-Term Rentals trends from Lighthouse, June 2026 (released August 2026). Northern Ireland isn’t shown on the report’s regional map. June 2026 is the latest month published at 17 October 2026.
That’s a 15-point spread in the same month (our maths: 57 − 42). A single UK average tells you very little about your own area.
Occupancy by month: how much your area swings
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) doesn’t publish an occupancy rate for short-term lets. It does publish how many nights short-term lets were booked through Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia Group, by month and down to council level. That shows how much each area’s demand swings between winter and summer.
| Area | August 2025 ÷ January 2025, booked nights |
|---|---|
| London | 1.7× |
| West Midlands | 1.9× |
| North West | 2.2× |
| England | 2.4× |
| UK | 2.6× |
| South East | 2.7× |
| Westmorland and Furness (the Lake District’s council area) | 3.6× |
| Wales | 3.9× |
| Northern Ireland | 3.9× |
| Scotland | 4.0× |
| South West | 4.3× |
| Highland | 5.9× |
| Cornwall | 7.7× |
Our maths from ONS, Guest nights, nights and stays for short-term lets, Table 2a “Number of nights” (Q4 2025 edition, released 24 June 2026). January was the quietest month everywhere in this table; August was the busiest everywhere except London and the West Midlands, which peaked in July.
These are counts of booked nights, not occupancy rates: some properties close for the winter, so the number available changes too. But the shape is clear. A quiet January in Cornwall says little about your listing; it’s the market.
What the official occupancy surveys show
Scotland and Wales have run occupancy surveys of accommodation businesses, including self-catering. They measure unit occupancy: the share of available units that were let.
| Self-catering unit occupancy | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland, 2024 | 21% | 26% | 33% | 36% | 50% | 48% | 51% | 57% | 47% | 56% | 40% | 29% |
| Wales, 2023 | 41% | 54% | 55% | 61% | 64% | 71% | 85% | 90% | 79% | 71% | 47% | 50% |
VisitScotland, Scottish Accommodation Occupancy Survey 2024, Table 10 (rounded; the survey was retired at the end of 2024). Welsh Government, Wales Accommodation Occupancy Survey 2023 (published June 2024, the latest annual edition).
Why the sources disagree
Ninety per cent in one source, forty-seven in another. Three reasons:
- Who’s counted. Surveys count the businesses that reply. The Welsh survey found agency-run self-catering at 74% unit occupancy in 2023 and independent self-catering at 50%, and says its results are naturally weighted by business size. Listing data, like Lighthouse’s, starts from what’s on the booking sites.
- What counts as available. Lighthouse takes out owner stays, cleaning and maintenance. One commercial dataset (AirDNA) also counts a listing’s nights only if it has had a reservation in the past 28 days, which leaves quiet listings out and pushes its figures up.
- Methods change. In July 2026, Lighthouse changed how it calculates occupancy and applied it to past months too. It says the new rates “may be higher than those previously published”. So don’t set an older report beside a newer one.
The ONS adds its own caution: because the data are so seasonal, “changes over time should generally be compared year-on-year”.
How to compare yourself fairly
- Work yours out the same way. Booked nights divided by the nights you actually made available (Airbnb’s definition in its Insights, Help Centre article 2715). The full method is in our occupancy rate guide.
- Compare month with month. Your January against January, and against your own last January, not against a yearly average.
- Compare against your region’s swing. A Cornish cottage and a London flat shouldn’t have the same calendar.
- Benchmark against the listings your guests choose between. Similar places, near you. Airbnb’s Insights compares you with similar listings in the area; PeakRate lets you pick those listings yourself.
Questions hosts ask
What is the average holiday let occupancy rate in the UK?
The latest published figure is 47% for UK short-term lets in June 2026 (VisitBritain, from Lighthouse data). Regions ranged from 42% in the West Midlands to 57% in Scotland that month. There’s no published full-year figure for 2025, and winter months run much lower.
Which UK region has the highest holiday let occupancy?
In June 2026, Scotland (57%), then the North East (50%). The lowest were the West Midlands (42%) and the North West (43%), which includes the Lake District.
Which months are busiest for UK holiday lets?
August is the busiest month and January the quietest across the UK in ONS data for 2025. August had 2.6 times as many booked short-let nights as January across the UK, 1.7 times in London and 7.7 times in Cornwall (our maths from ONS Table 2a).
Why do occupancy figures from different sources disagree?
They count different properties (survey respondents or every listing on the platforms), define available nights differently (some leave out owner stays or quiet listings), and change their methods. Lighthouse changed its occupancy method in July 2026 and says the new figures may be higher.
How do I compare my holiday let’s occupancy fairly?
Calculate it the same way (booked nights ÷ nights you made available), compare the same month and the same month last year, allow for your region’s seasonal swing, and benchmark against similar listings near you.
Check it against your real competitors
Regional figures set the scene. The fair benchmark is the listings your guests choose between. PeakRate lets you choose those competitors and see, night by night, when they’re booked next to your own calendar.
- 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 £19 a month for one property (£49 for up to 3), with a 30-day free trial and no card. It sends approved prices through Hospitable today, with more systems coming soon (see the latest).
More guides
- Holiday let income
- Airbnb Guest Favourite
- Easter and summer 2027 pricing
- Short-term let pricing
- England’s short-term let register
- How to price your Airbnb
Sources
- VisitBritain/VisitEngland, Short-Term Rentals trends from Lighthouse – June 2026 (released August 2026; republished with supply data removed): UK occupancy 47%; regional occupancy map; occupancy definition; July 2026 method change
- ONS, Guest nights, nights and stays for short-term lets, monthly, UK (Q4 2025 edition, released 24 June 2026), Table 2a “Number of nights”
- ONS, Short-term lets through online collaborative economy platforms, UK: July 2023 to December 2025 (24 June 2026): definition of nights; platforms; compare year-on-year
- VisitScotland / Moffat Centre, Scottish Accommodation Occupancy Survey 2024 (final report, April 2025), Table 10; VisitScotland self-catering research page (survey retired end of 2024)
- Welsh Government, Wales Accommodation Occupancy Survey 2023 (SRN 42/2024, 6 June 2024), self-catering sector
- AirDNA Help, “How does AirDNA calculate occupancy rate?” (20 August 2026): a reservation within the past 28 days (vendor)
- Airbnb Help Centre, article 2715: occupancy is “the number of nights booked divided by total nights available to be booked”; compare with similar listings in the area
- Our maths: August ÷ January booked nights from ONS Table 2a (UK 4,399,580 ÷ 1,666,890 = 2.64); 57 − 42 = 15 points
PeakRate makes pricing and competitor-benchmarking software for hosts. Where this guide mentions it, we say so; everything else is sourced above.