How Airbnb rentals are affecting Isle of Skye

Its rugged landscapes have provided the backdrop to many a Hollywood blockbuster, but as the worldwide fame of the Hebridean island of Skye continues to rise, it risks joining the likes of Venice, Barcelona and Amsterdam as a tourist hotspot in danger of being overrun.

Now new figures show the scale of private houses and rooms being rented out to visitors through apps and websites such as Airbnb, but the limited number of homes on this most idyllic of holiday destinations means islanders are at risk of being squeezed out.

(Click to subscribe for more Channel 4 News videos.

[alexrobinson]

I’m Scottish and I moved to Skye 15 yrs ago, I own my wee house and work hard, have absolutely nothing to do with tourism . When I came the holiday season was May to September and we got the island back to ourselves for the winter, now it’s 12 months a year, even January when there’s only 6 hrs daylight and the weathers horrendous! A huge majority of the holiday let’s are owned by absentee landlords, long term rent for locals is impossible . The place is totally ruined and it’s like living in a Theme Park

[borderlands]

It isn't an exclusively Skye problem, or a Scottish one. Most property in the national parks and AONBs in Britain are owned by the wealthy and or retirees. The islands are smaller so the effect is more concentrated, but trying to find affordable homes for locals anywhere attractive is virtually impossible.

[gregmacdonald]

skye used to be a great place every local shared the land and built their own houses worked off the land and even spoke their own language of gaidhlig but ever since these big companies started investing in skye the only way of making money nowadays is in the tourist industry and then the whole way of life of the gaels blew away as well their language and nowadays its very hard to find a local with gaidhlig

[davidkerr]

Hi folks I was raised in Isle of Skye for way over 20 years with my parents brother and sister was amazing to get brought up there I would never change it for the world. But we moved to Glasgow and me and my brother to New York.
Anyways about Skye the problem 1 was building the bridge where it let to any ***hole heading over that wasn’t bad at first but as some one mentioned the the incomes started seeing the place a profit to them self so would buy 2 houses to sit empty for most the year to have there share in what doesn’t belong to them and take the money away from Skye. And the ones that are in charge of Skye yous should be ashamed of yourself as yous are the reason for what has happened on Skye so your hotels houses get the money and all the farmers that sold land to the incomes for a small dime take a long look at yourselfs yous are the ones who have ruined the island throwing locals out there places to stay yous are sick hang your heads in shame . Skye will never be the way it ever was until you get the incomers and the greedy away. After having such a good life getting brought up there it so had to see what Skye has become. Maybe as soon as the greed has gone, Skye can be its self again.

[williameddy]

There are roughly 10, 000 people on the Isle of Skye . I was told that 6, 000 are involved in tourism in some capacity . While there is fishing, aqua culture , farming, forestry and sheep farming I get the impression that they are marginal industries . In a sense they exist to provide a backdrop to the tourist industry . They provide "colour" for the tourists . If the  tourists weren`t coming some of these other industries would disappear or at least be diminished .

[gillmacnamee]

Having visited this stunning unspoilt(at the time) island over 40 years ago, it is just horrible to watch it being 'picked over' by the selfie hordes. All instagrammable beauty spots in the world now ruined by people checking off their must see lists. In both Paris and Venice this year the same sad story. The only answer is to visit less wwll known/less dramatic places before they too are discovered and ruined. Truly horrible.

[bluecroth]

As a Skye resident I can confirm that there are virtually 0 homes available let alone affordable ones

[storegga]

Speaking to a friend of mine on Skye, who sees a large influx of English residents/Londoners selling up with an idea of "im going to be rugged and leave the city" approach, Land rover purchase etc lol. He says "give them 6 months or a winter, and they soon sell up or Airbnb". Admittedly even he now ventures to the continent in the winter, and returns seasonally.

I can't imagine the AirBnb Tourist problem being that bad in winter. I wonder if it's seasonal that these poor people and families are without a home.

Its a tough one the world over. Does Skye have a tourist tax like Venice that can be put into small scale housing developments for year round and locals all together? but what's stopping those new houses being on Airbnb... Tourism is great, but also destructive to many things.
Thank goodness for the islands residents that see the bigger picture.

[-mu]

the locals on skye and prettymuch everywhere else in the highlands have been pushed out at a slower pace over decades by a big influx of primarily english incomers, often retired people and more generally people who've profited from selling their expensive houses in england to buy relatively cheaper (but rapidly climbing) property up here. anyone who's familiar with the highlands could tell you at the drop of a hat that most of the tourist industry here is run by english people too. even in this vid, most of the "locals" arent from skye or even the highlands.

in a place like skye and many other parts of the highlands there is very little for the locals, unless you're ok to be complicit in seeing your home trampled by hordes of tourists and sell your soul for tourism money (the crofter, you could see he was a bit ashamed... "supply and demand") there is little work. things that arent tourist related get no investment, the land itself is bare and supports little to no primary sector economic activity, because it's all owned by estates who keep such high amounts of deer and grouse that trees cant grow, it's a victorian situation. half of the real locals moved to the central belt because they feel alienated in their own areas because most of the local institutions are run by people with little knowledge of their culture, that and they cant afford the inflated house prices on 10 hour per week jobs as B&B cleaners.

[KWfirewood]

Bring back the bridge tolls!! With the money raised spent on local projects.

[barbara]

I, a Scottish person, went to Skye a number of years ago and felt like a total outsider as English people owned the b&bs, hotels and pubs. They treated me like I had horns.

[sayn]

I was there in June of 2013 and there were relatively few tourists. I remember climbing a mountain with my girlfriend and we were all alone... We stayed in an Airbnb too, I think it had a Broadford address. The owner said he built the house himself. I have fond memories of Scotland. I hate to hear people being forced out of their apartments to make room for tourists though. I hope they build affordable new housing soon. There should be plenty of new tourist money to do it if it's shared. The same thing happened in Barcelona Spain, the city was overrun with an avalanche of tourists. A relative few get rich at the expense of many. Skye is still in the early stages I think so there's time to take corrective action. Encourage tourism but be more fair about the allocation of the new found money. Maybe small inconspicuous tourist taxes here and there...

[CONVINCED-lesr]

Fishermen Ryan That boat is now abandoned in the same spot pretty sad

[RobsHIKES]

Sadly this is the same everywhere, most of n wales tourist areas have there homes bought off rich pensioners from england, nowhere for locals to live and are forced to leave the area they grew up in, disgusting realy, gov should only allow a certain percent of holiday lets per area

[bearclaus]

Met a very rude english woman on the Isle of Skye. A local, it seemed assured. She was rambling on about her new car tyres as id tactfully tried to stop her from colliding with a road worker on a passing spot as he was on foot with a wheelbarrow and the squeeze was tight. I understand the right of way in the situation, but his safety felt threatened.

The owners of the accommodation were English as well. Mind you, there was a lack of warmth and hospitality from them also....

I'd dearly love to buy back my family home in Breakish. Sadly, I'll never be able to afford to. A notion kept soley in my dreams.

[wcbibb]

City of San Diego, California, has decided that residential zoning does not currently permit non-specified uses such as short-term vacation rentals. All uses must be specified. The City Council has not been able to come up with ordinances that will balance all the interests of the community and those who wish to make money by AirBNB, etc. Lot's of luck. Hermosa Beach outlawed short-term vacation rental out of single family residences. The Court of Appeal upheld the City ordinance. Carmel is fighting short-term rentals, too.

[CasselGerard]

If people are letting out their spare rooms on AirBnB the money is directly going into the islanders pockets. Glad the council is building more homes. At 135 that’s a much higher proportion of the population than many other places. This clip doesn’t really spell out what the impact of AirBnb is. Apart from inferring that it stops some local people from finding somewhere to live. The solution is a restriction on the number of cottages that can be let out to tourists whether AirBnB or some other system. Landlords were doing this anyway, now they are just taking advantage of an easier system to book and advertise. I can’t see that a room In a household can be a problem. However this has always been an issue in summer in Devon and Cornwall where lets are winter only to make room for the more lucrative tourists long before AirBnB was invented.

[HDCYT]

typical biased reporting. Pick a subject, pick a villain, make 'news'. Yes tourism is a problem for the Island, is it AirBNB that is the problem, I doubt it. 4% of tourists. Not even statiscally important. The problem is Skye cannot cope full stop.

[brucebrown]

Interesting. Same thing is happening across the pond in Prince Edward Island Canada.

[jabbermocky]

Sorry, Skye natives, you'll just have to find a life elsewhere. A former Martha's Vineyard islander, myself, I know how this familiar script goes. Somebody gets the idea that tourist money is more important than family, the real estate wheeler/dealer vultures come swooping in, the locals begin to fight each other and - whoops - there goes the family home. End of family, end of story. Wish it had a cheerier ending. Sincerely.