What is killing communities is housing affordability & availability. Self catering makes up less than 1% of all Scotland's housing. Second homes are much larger. Airbnb is a symptom not the cause. We need affordable housing not scapegoats. #SaveSC

And there you have it, Edinburgh Council have engineered an unlawful ban through planning.

@scotgov bureaucratic and pointless STL licensing scheme, thats damaged local businesses, has now been considered illegal by a leading KC. @MairiMcAllan @_KateForbes @JohnSwinney @Ivan_McKee bit.ly/4aOUrj7

Time to listen to the evidence... Lisbon has moved to reverse its long-standing restrictions on short-term rentals, allowing new licences to be issued following evidence that previous controls failed to improve housing affordability. shorttermrentalz.com/news/li… @scotgov @FionaCampbell74 @SaveSCScotland

Lisbon has reversed restrictions on short-term rentals as controls have failed to improve housing affordability. In 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 we have STL 'control zones' which damage the local economy and deliver zero benefit. bit.ly/4pprOfO @MairiMcAllan @IvanMcKee @_KateForbes

Edinburgh's leaders can't have it both ways: claiming to back tourism while admitting "tough" STL licensing / planning is designed to close the sector. No balance - it's deliberate contraction, dressed up as policy, with real damage to self-catering and the city economy. #SaveSC

Merry Christmas to all our STRA industry friends from around the globe.

FACT: Nightly Caps on STRs don't work. Properties now sit empty when they could be offering an economic benefit to the local economy. Why? 7news.com.au/news/airbnb-hos…

YOU CANNOT SOLVE A HOUSING CRISIS BY CREATING A TOURISM CRISIS. This week, @HighlandCouncil is voting on a proposal to impose a region-wide short-term let (STL) control area. Let me be clear: this is regulatory overkill. It adds yet more red tape to an already heavily regulated sector and will do nothing to address the root causes of the housing crisis. * A Fundamentally Flawed Policy Objective: Having spoken to the councillors behind this proposal on the radio over the last couple of days, it’s clear even they cannot define the specific mischief this policy is meant to address. Is it ‘overtourism’? A lack of housing? Too many ‘Airbnbs’? The rise in second homes? Long-term empty properties? This confused rationale leads to a blunt intervention that will address none of these issues - while actively harming the local economy. * No Evidence That STLs Are the Problem: The facts don’t lie. Across the Highlands, there are nearly 11,000 long-term empty and economically inactive homes - far outnumbering self-catering units. * BiGGAR Economics confirms: in every Scottish local authority, including Highland, empty homes have a far greater impact on housing supply than STLs. * Failed Policy in Practice The Badenoch & Strathspey control area, introduced in March 2024, is a cautionary tale. Over 200 applications overwhelmed the planning system, causing confusion and cost - with no evidence of even one new affordable home as a result. Why replicate failure at scale? * The self-catering sector contributes £200 million annually to the Highland economy and supports almost 7,000 jobs. These are not faceless corporations. They're local families and microbusinesses, 70% run by women, 50% by people over 50, and 55% operating just one unit. *A Sector Under Strain Operators are already navigating complex licensing and planning regimes. Many are still reeling from recent changes. * We Need Better Focus STLs are an easy target, but not the real issue. The real challenges are: - Chronic under-delivery of affordable housing - Lack of new supply - Thousands of empty homes We need an evidence-led, joined-up housing strategy, not a knee-jerk response. *To Highland Councillors: Please Think Again. This vote will not solve the housing emergency. It will damage small businesses, undermine rural economies, and worsen the situation. We need proportionate, targeted, effective regulation - not performative measures. *Tourism and housing should work in balance, not in conflict. It’s time to stop scapegoating the self-catering sector and start addressing the true root causes of Scotland’s housing crisis. hashtag#HighlandCouncil hashtag#SelfCatering hashtag#TourismMatters hashtag#STLs hashtag#HousingCrisis hashtag#Scotland hashtag#RuralEconomy hashtag#ResponsibleTourism hashtag#EvidenceBasedPolicy hashtag#ASSC @ASSCnews @st_alliance @SaveSCScotland

Local self catering was never the cause of a lack of affordable homes but politicians needed a scapegoat to deflect from their decades of policy failure. It's local people now paying the price. Still no homes & visitors paying more than ever. What a mess. #SaveSC @ASSCnews

Now you can Airbnb more than an Airbnb

Tomorrow we're unveiling Airbnb's next chapter

Your STL licensing scheme has actually increased the number of empty second homes across 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿.. while impacting local communities by shutting down B&Bs and Self Catering.

As 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 staycations plummet across the country due to the @scotgov botched STL licensing scheme cutting of supply and ratchetting up prices there is at least one couple who can afford a stay in self catering... @_KateForbes bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c99p…

Will anybody in power ever be held to account for the botched STL licensing scheme that has damaged the visitor economy and ruined countless livelihoods? @_KateForbes @PaulMcLennan7 scotsman.com/news/politics/h…

You know the worst part of Airbnbs? •300 square feet of space •$8 bottled water •Paying for daily WiFi •Waiting 20 minutes in line to check in •Paying a resort fee for amenities you can’t use •Eating powder eggs Oh Wait……….Those Are Hotels

219 High Street used to be a maternity hospital. You need to keep your imagination under control.. and perhaps rely on facts for once.

Record levels of council owned properties lie empty.. while multiple councils decimate the self catering sector in a doomed attempt to address the affordable housing crisis using STL licensing. Comments? @PaulMcLennan7 @_KateForbes @RichardLochhead

Edinburgh council’s claim to restrict Airbnbs and other short lets in order to improve the city’s housing situation has been a failure. @cllrcammyday @CllrWhyte @jomowat @CllrChasBooth lettingagenttoday.co.uk/brea…

Reported 13% slump in '24 Fringe bookings linked to the botched STL licensing scheme. The economic damage continues while @thesnp do nothing to remedy the problematic legislation. @_KateForbes @RichardLochhead @paulmclennan_7 scotsman.com/arts-and-cultur…