Local news outlets in Somerset are reporting that some properties in the county are listed on Airbnb and other short let platforms for as much as £2,600 a night during this year’s Glastonbury Festival.
Houses, flats and even trailers are being advertised as over 200,000 people are set to descend on the county for the music festival June 21 and 25. The headline star this year is Sir Elton John, who will play his last-ever UK concert at the event.
According to the Somerset Live news website “a house in Pilton has been listed for £2,600 a night for the duration of the festival. Another Pilton home is being advertised for £1,988 a night, while a cottage in East Pennard has been priced at £2,061 a night, a flat in Shepton Mallet is listed at £776 a night and an old trailer in East Pennard is priced at £654 a night.”
Last June a property in Pilton – a 10 minute walk from the main stage at the festival – was on Airbnb and described as a four bedroom party property available for £16,048 for the five nights of the event. The property boasted “fresh toilets, hot baths, great beds, comfortable furniture and a private garden.”
Also last year a survey by the financial website Money suggested that Airbnb owners are charging up to 600 per cent more to stay at their properties during major events such as the British Grand Prix and other summer sporting landmarks.
The average cost of an Airbnb in the same area was also taken for the week before the event, to demonstrate the difference in price, and reveal where Airbnb hosts have hiked charges the most.
