Illustration by Tracy Worrall 9 min read29 min Short-term holiday lets are a major part of Britain’s tourism industry – but many Labour MPs want tighter controls on their number. Will the government listen? Noah Vickers reports Across the world, politicians are getting tough on short-term holiday lets. Barcelona plans to ban all self-catering rentals from 2028, while in New York it is already illegal to list your property online unless you are staying with your guest throughout their visit. Concerns about holiday lets have grown as their popularity – and importance to tourism economies – has soared. Platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com have been variously blamed for hoovering up housing supply, hollowing out communities and driving up prices among the few homes that remain. Neighbours, meanwhile, complain about holiday lets being used as party houses, pop-up brothels or drug dens. While still in opposition, Labour promised to establish a “licensing system” for holiday lets, though details of how it would work were never fleshed out. In a 2022 speech, …