1 week Ago By [email protected] (Max Chesson)
Independent hotel and B&B owners in Canterbury say they are being “squeezed out” by a flood of unregulated short-term lets - including properties listed on Airbnb and university rooms rented to tourists. They claim a “rampant explosion” of alternative, low-cost accommodation is threatening their survival, with more than 1,000 rooms currently available in the city on Airbnb alone. Meanwhile, they say both the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) are further eating into their trade by offering empty student accommodation to non-students.
Unlike the majority of Airbnb operators, traditional B&Bs and small hotels must pay business rates, VAT, commercial waste fees, and a mandatory levy to the city’s Business Improvement District (BID). Among those hardest hit is Sandie de Rougemont - owner of the House of Agnes in St Dunstan’s Street - who says her business has run at a loss for seven consecutive years. “We have to do everything by the book, and I have absolutely no problem with doing all that,” she said.
“But the Airbnbs, who are no longer what they were supposed to be, have literally stolen our business. “I know people who have bought properties and divided them up into Airbnbs - for one person or two people - and that is literally their income. That's what they live on.
” Terry Fulton, the owner of the Wincheap B&B, says universities renting out empty student rooms - in some cases even during term time - is further impacting trade. “If we look back at our room prices over the last 10 years, they’ve hardly moved at all,” he said. “I think the university situation is another layer that's been added to press us down even more.
“They said that they have permission to let their rooms out of term time, which for a few years we've had to absorb. “But now every day there are one or two of the university halls of residence that are offering rooms for £70 with breakfast.” Lisa Dellaway, who runs Canterbury Lodge in London Road, agrees, adding: “We're not saying we don't want competition - we're used to competition and we've invested - but it's now totally unfair.
It’s not a level playing field at all.” They argue that many Airbnb hosts and university lets are exempt from the overheads traditional providers face - including business taxes and the BID levy - while also bypassing planning regulations. “There is nothing in place that says Airbnbs have to contribute to the city,” said Mr Fulton.
“There's no regulation - you don't have to pay any more council tax. “At the moment, you can just buy a property, let it out, and that's the end of it.” And while it may be tempting to convert their own properties into Airbnb homes to benefit from the relaxed rules, it is easier said than done.
Mr Fulton said: “Say you're no longer viable as a B&B and you want to turn it back into a house - the council is making you jump through probably two years of hoops and provide tons of documentation before they will let you. “They're aiding and abetting the damage, then they're saying we're a very important part of the tourist make-up of the city. “How can they be supporting one without the other? It doesn’t make any sense.
“There's that imbalance, which is really so unfair.” A one-night stay costs at least £100 at the House of Agnes and £75 at Canterbury Lodge, while Wincheap B&B only offers a minimum of two nights, at £154 – all of which come with breakfast, internet and “a personal touch”. In contrast, Airbnb has rooms in Canterbury available for as little as £29 a night, and empty student rooms on the University of Kent campus are currently being advertised during term-time for £90 with breakfast.
It could be argued there is plenty of business to go around, with 7.2 million people now visiting the city a year and generating £392 million for the local economy. But smaller hotels say they are not reaping the rewards, with occupancy rates at less than 60%.
And things could soon get even tougher, with Canterbury City Council (CCC) soon to host a Hotel Investment Summit in a bid to boost the number of purpose-built hotel rooms in the district. A spokesman for the authority told KentOnline: “Several leads that could result in new hotel investments are being explored in the district, including both boutique and branded hotels, and these would complement the existing hotel and bed and breakfast sector, holiday period accommodation at universities and the short-term let market. "This competition drives up standards across the industry, which can only be a good thing for consumers and will make them want to come back again and again.
"Our message is positive and simple - Canterbury is the place to invest in new hotels. By all pulling together with an upbeat message, the district's tourism industry will continue to thrive." It is not currently mandatory for homeowners to inform authorities when they list properties on platforms such as Airbnb - prompting calls for a local registry to monitor the sector.
“We want to keep the people in power aware,” said Mr Fulton. CCCU says it only rents out rooms to non-students during the summer break, but noted that many large student accommodation blocks in the city, such as Palamon Court and Riverside, are privately owned and outside of university control. The University of Kent also defended its practices, saying term-time bookings are usually for conference or group stays and that guests often spend money in the wider community.
A spokesperson added: “Guests frequently go on to explore Canterbury and the wider region while they are with us and we regularly refer people to local accommodation providers when our own offer is unsuitable. “Given the challenges facing the hospitality sector we can all benefit from increased visitor numbers in Canterbury, with a range of accommodation options important to attracting more people to the county.”.
