Perceived Impacts of Short-term Rentals in the Local Community in the UK

This study explores the perceived impacts of short-term rentals (STRs) in the UK through a quantitative analysis. A 57-item questionnaire covering sociocultural, economic, political, environmental and technological impacts of STRs was distributed online among guests, hosts and aware non-users. Apart from descriptive statistics, the data analysis included a principal component analysis to explore the dimensionality of the perceived impacts, and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to assess differences in the community-related dimensions among the included groups. The results reveal that: (i) STRs are perceived relatively ambivalently but slightly more positively than negatively; (ii) environmental care, urban transformation, social capital and lifestyle, housing, infrastructure and events, and antisocial behaviour and crime are the key dimensions of the perceived impact; and (iii) stakeholder groups who were more involved in STRs perceived the impact of such rentals positively. We discuss the findings in the light of the literature on community resilience.