And finally…Scottish Airbnb hosts now taking in £86m annually

According to American company’s first ever annual UK Insights Report, each Scottish property listed with them typically produces £3,600 annual earnings for its host, with guests catered for on an average of 38 nights per year.

The firm said it has found the “staycation” to be incredibly popular in Scotland, with Scottish guests representing the highest proportion of UK users who have chosen to stay within their own region.

This means that guests are not just using Airbnb to travel to popular tourist destinations, they’re also using Airbnb to visit family and friends, or discover new lesser-travelled parts of the country.

The firm said 14 percent of guest arrivals to Scotland were families looking to discover the country together last year, during a period that also saw one million inbound guests, representing a 104 per cent growth.

Over half the guest arrivals (56 percent) were international travellers discovering Scotland.

The combined economic activity generated by Airbnb hosts and guests north of the border was estimated to be £499m, with guest spending estimated at £403m.

The findings show the UK has continued to thrive as a destination on Airbnb since July 2016, with inbound guest growth of 81 percent spread across all 12 regions, generating an estimated £3.46 billion in economic activity for local communities across the nation, the firm claims.

The data shows that every region in the UK now has at least 2,000 active spare room and entire home listings, with numbers reaching 64,000 in London.

The vast majority of hosts (76 percent) renting out their primary home, making the UK the fifth largest home-sharing community on Airbnb globally, in terms of numbers of listings.

James McClure, general manager for Northern Europe, said: “The UK continues to break records on Airbnb - both as a world-leading destination, and for the benefits that hosting generates for local families and their communities. From Exeter to Edinburgh, millennials to seniors, apartments to tree houses, there’s something for everyone on Airbnb and locals have helped countless global guests feel at home in the UK. Hosts are ambassadors for their neighbourhoods and we look forward to seeing guests discover more unique, diverse and welcoming communities across the UK.”

To read the annual UK Insights Report in full, including host stories, click here.