New data shows the growth in short term lets in Birmingham rose from 11,860 to 13,420 between June 2024 and June 2025. Owners of properties listed on online platforms such as Airbnb and Bookings.com are seeing a boom in bookings from tourist and business visitors to the city.
The data is released just days after the 2025 budget announcement that local mayors will be given powers to impose tourist taxes on visitors to their cities, causing concern from the hospitality sector across England. The minimal nightly charges can be levied on all temporary accommodation from hotels to bed and breakfasts and temporary holiday lets including Airbnbs. It is not yet known if the tourist tax will be implemented by Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, in the region.
Properties currently listed on Airbnb in Birmingham feature a wide range of prices from a £26 discounted room available for one person tonight “near Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the University of Birmingham”, to a “stunning” 10-bedroom home in Solihull for £5064 a week during the August 2026 peak season.
However, advocacy groups such as Generation Rent warn that the growth in short-term lettings is having a negative impact on the availability and affordability of local housing for private rental tenants.
