BRADFORD has been revealed as the best city in the UK in which to be an Airbnb host, according to new research on the holiday lettings firm.

Analysis of Airbnb holiday rentals in Bradford and 27 other major cities in the UK found Bradford is the best place to let your property to holidaymakers.

The research, by international payment firm RationalFX, looked at data from Airbnb itself and the Office for National Statistics and found that the combination of low property prices in Bradford high revenue from Airbnb rentals make it the ideal location.

It found that it would take just nine years to pay off the median house price in Bradford - £135,000 – based on the average monthly revenue an Airbnb in the district generates - £1,229, the best figures for any city in the country.

And with occupancy rates of 83 per cent – the highest in the country - income is regular for hosts and with only 518 Airbnb rentals in the district, there is space in the market for new hosts to get involved.

There has been a spike in Airbnb rentals in the past 12 months, triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic making staycations a preferred option for Brits rather than going abroad.

Research found 42.7 per cent of people would rather holiday in the UK, compared with just 24.7 per cent who want to go overseas.

Bradford was followed in the list by Swansea and Stoke-on-Trent as the best cities to make money from Airbnb.

At the other end of the scale is Luton, where monthly earnings from Airbnb mean it would take 42 years to pay off an average house in the town. This was followed by London, where profitability was hit by high house prices and low monthly income made it less profitable especially with occupancy rates of less than 50 per cent.

Leicester was third last, with occupancy rates of just 33 per cent and monthly income of just £600 meaning it would take more than three times as long to cover the cost of the property in the Midlands city.

Commenting on its study, a spokesperson for Rational FX said: “The demand for staycations has risen dramatically in the last year amid the pandemic, showing that the private holiday rental business is an area of interest for investment.

“With the easing of restrictions in the UK, it will be interesting to see how UK Airbnb bookings compete with the option of foreign holidays.”

Airbnb rentails can be booked, or properties can be listed by visiting the firm's website or app, and for more information about Rational FX, visit their website.