One-in-three rental properties in Westport listed on Airbnb

The concentration of Airbnb listings in Westport is among the highest in Ireland with one in three private rented properties in the west Mayo town listed on the popular homesharing platform.

A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) into Airbnb usage across Ireland found that outside of Dublin, the largest numbers of Airbnb listings are found in coastal areas, chiefly in or near to key tourist hotspots along the west coast.

In Mayo, there were 1,096 entire units in 2023 listed on Airbnb which is an increase of 42.2 percent on the figure since 2019.

The report found that there is no correlation between increases in Airbnb activity and falls in new tenancies between 2019-2023 at the Local Electoral Area level.

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“This does not mean that Airbnb activity has not had a detrimental impact on the PRS [Private Rental Sector] in specific local markets, but it does not appear to be the root cause of the observed falls in available PRS accommodation nationwide,” the report read.

When comparing the ratio of Airbnb listings to private rental properties, the study found that in the Belmullet Local Electoral Area, which includes Erris and Achill, there is approximately one Airbnb listing for every 1.5 private rentals.

The study also found that although the highest relative incidence of Airbnb listings is generally found in non Rent Pressure Zone areas, Westport was one of the outliers. Westport has been a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) area since 2023 and according to the study there is approximately one Airbnb listing for every three private rental properties in Westport.

The ERSI stated in the report that to be designated an RPZ, private rental inflation for new tenancies has to be persistently high and rent levels have to be above a reference rate.

“While it is not possible to ascertain from our analysis whether the short-term let markets in these areas had an impact on their designation as RPZs, any reduction in properties available for the PRS [Private Rental Sector] would likely have contributed to higher PRS rental inflation.

“We also cannot rule out impacts in localised parts of urban areas with sizeable Airbnb markets given the increased crossover between the STL [Short Term Let] and PRS markets in urban areas,” the report read.

The number of properties in Mayo which are being let for short-term tourism has been criticised in recent weeks with the homeless charity Threshold claiming that these houses should be brought back to the long-term market.

Castlebar-based Independent councillor Harry Barrett claims that young people are being priced out of the rental market due to the number of homes listed on Airbnb but Louisburgh-based councillor Chris Maxwell defended people who avail of it to make money.

“In my area a lot of people are into Airbnb and they think they are getting a lot of negative press about the situation. There are no hotels back our side and they are providing a service for tourism and a place to stay. All they are doing is trying to make a living and provide a service but they seem to be getting bad press and they are not too happy about it,” said Cllr Maxwell.