Short term lets: FOI release

Information requested

1) Over the last 3 years how much has the Scottish Gov and Edinburgh City Council spent on short term let accommodation like Airbnb and other such platforms?

2) With the now decimated short term lets industry due to new legislation presumably this is still a requirement so where are these people getting accommodated?

3) If hotels are now being used in place of short term lets has the Scottish Gov entered in to any negotiations with hotel operators to offer preferable rates?

4) Over the last 3 years how much has the Scottish Gov and Edinburgh City Council spent on hotel accommodation?

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested. The answers to your questions are given below.

1) The amount spent per calendar year by the Scottish Government on short term let accommodation is as follows:

Year	Amount
2020	£19,404
2021	£2,195
2022	£36,417

The term "Scottish Government" in this case and below means the seven Directorates General of the Scottish Government. It excludes other public bodies of the Scottish Ministers, such as Executive Agencies, Executive non-departmental public bodies, non-Ministerial offices and nationalised public corporations.

2) The Scottish Government has a travel management contract in place that offers a wide range of travel services, including the booking of accommodation for business needs, within the UK and internationally. The accommodation offered ranges from guest houses and B&Bs to international hotel chains. Short term let accommodation is used only in exceptional cases.

3) The Scottish Government's travel management contract includes access to a negotiated accommodation programme with special pricing arrangements. This programme offers cost savings, added value benefits, and access to a wide range of accommodation providers.

4) The amount spent per calendar year by the Scottish Government on hotel accommodation, excluding short term lets, is as follows:

Year	Amount
2020	£648,158
2021	£574,393
2022	£1,257,567

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. The reason is that the information relating to City of Edinburgh Council is not held by the Scottish Government. However, you may wish to contact City of Edinburgh Council using their Freedom of Information web page in order to request the information. The address is: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/foi.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.