PROPERTY owners with short-term 'airbnb-style' lets are being offered a year’s rent for two-week stays during this year’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
City centre based AirUs said all 73 of its registered hosts were booked up for the event, which is being held from November 1-12 and will welcome world leaders and according to the US president Joe Biden - Pope Francis.
The company has appealed for more owners to sign up to meet demand for rentals.
A spokesman for the firm declined to say how much properties were being marketed at but said the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom property in Glasgow was £500, which means owners could rake in thousands at a time when bookings are generally quieter.
Another firm, BNB Host, said all its city centre properties were booked up and said it had not seen the same level of demand since the city hosted the Commonwealth Games.
READ MORE: Airbnb to donate £5 for every Edinburgh booking to 'rebalance tourism'
Some owners were said to be charging up to £1000 a night for accommodation during the event in 2014.
There is evidence that the number of short-term lets in cities including Glasgow and Edinburgh dropped significantly during the pandemic lockdown as travel bans were enforced and many owners switched to the more sustainable rental market.
Professor John Lennon, Director of the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development at Glasgow Caledonian University, says some owners will be unable to take advantage of lucrative COP26 rates because they are tied into longer-term leases.
He said: “The way it has worked in the cities in Scotland is that a lot of owners have moved back into the private rental sector.
“That happened in a very pronounced way in Edinburgh but it also happened in Glasgow. Owners are trying to get revenue as the visitor market dried up, which is good for rental stock.
“But it reduces supply (of short-term lets). For them to get it back you are dependant on what kind of lease you have gone into with your tenants.
READ MORE: Scotland's tourism industry warns SNPs new Airbnb crackdown plan falls short
“I think many landlords will be thinking, well that’s COP26 but what is the rest of the year going to be like. That is their genuine concern because the recovery of cities has been much slower than the recover of the rural Highland and Island parts.
"We’ve seen a complete reversal. Normally Scotland is led by its cities.”
Thousands of delegates from around the world are expected to attend COP26, depending on the public health situation, including official negotiators, representing 197 different countries.
About 10,000 police officers will be deployed each day during the summit.
Prof Lennon said COP26 would provide a welcome short-term boost for hotels in Glasgow which he said had been “one of of the hardest hit cities.”
READ MORE: Glasgow joins scheme to cut fossil fuel use in run up to COP26
A spokeswoman for the Kimpton Blythswood and the voco Grand Central hotels said both were fully booked and said its Edinburgh hotels were also taking COP26 bookings because of limited availability in Glasgow.
"Realistically that’s great but it's what follows," said Prof Lennon. "You need a more sustainable medium to long-term demand."
A spokesman for AirUs said: “Glasgow has a proven track record of successfully hosting big events on the world stage, with Glaswegian hospitality second to none.
“This is a great time to list your property with AirUs - our hosts are pulling in the same rental amount over the two conference weeks as they normally would in a year.”
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