Many accusations are made against Airbnb short lets diminishing long term rental housing stock and the one major reason why landlords opt for this route is illustrated by a recent example of a property near to the Glastonbury Festival, which is being rented out at £3,209 a night.

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The property in Pilton is only a ten minute walk from the festival’s main Pyramid stages which is described as a four bedroomed property costing £16,048 for the five night event and has “fresh toilets, hot baths, great beds, comfortable furniture and a private garden.”

The Somerset Live website’s recent investigation into properties advertised on short lets sites quotes one landlord saying on Airbnb: “The people renting our house in Glastonbury have had to pull out so it’s available again to rent. Regarding price, let’s just clear a few things up. The majority of rented property in Pilton and surrounding areas during the final is booked out for crew, news teams, etc.

“Therefore the prices are high. So yes, if it’s you and a few mates staying it will seem a lot of money whereas the larger companies are more than happy to pay these amounts, which is why you see properties in Pilton go for £5,000-plus. I do appreciate the comments about it costing a lot but these are the prices that the properties fetch which is why it’s set at the amount it is.”

It is expected that around 200,000 people will be attending the festival in the Glastonbury area next week with many camping on the festival site, however hundreds of properties, some of which may have been rented to long term tenants, are now advertised on short term letting sites.

Airbnb has just issued a statement which says: “The average nightly price paid for a stay on Airbnb during the festival is just £205, providing affordable accommodation and helping local families boost their income and benefit from visitors to the festival. We would encourage anyone in the local community thinking about hosting to sign up to make some extra money and help offer additional accommodation around the event.”

In a survey held earlier in the year it suggests that Airbnb owners are able to hike up prices by as much as 600 per cent and in some cases more during major events such as the British Grand Prix and the Glastonbury Festival.

The Money website’s analysis shows the expected average nightly charge for an Airbnb property in two events’ surrounding areas in spring and summer one week before and the difference during the British Grand Prix and Glastonbury.