Staycationers warm to the charms of a cold, rainy night in Stoke

STOKE-ON-TRENT does not spring to mind as one of Britain’s most obvious staycation hotspots.

The Staffordshire city is perhaps better known for its pottery, oatcakes and a football club that inspired the quip “Can he do it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke?”, rather than as the location for an idyllic getaway.

However, according to figures just released by Airbnb, that reputation deserves to change. The online home rental platform has placed Stoke top of a list of key UK destinations.

When it comes to booking a few nights’ stay in a “unique” property – somewhere distinctive like an old windmill, lighthouse, converted barn or treehouse – the city came out on top, ahead of more traditional holiday loca- tions such as Scarborough, Paignton and the Isle of Lewis.

According to the Airbnb research, Stoke’s abundance of attractive barn conversions in the nearby countryside is one of the major factors.

But even outside the “unique” category, the city, which narrowly missed out on being 2021 City of Culture, has been gaining in popularity on Airbnb.

Over the past two years, the number of listings in its Shelton neighbourhood, an area of Victorian terraced houses, jumped from 22 to 267, the biggest increase in the country.

Part of the increased turnover may be down to the presence of Bet365, the gambling giant, which regularly requires employees to visit its HQ.

And Stoke has gained an increased political importance in recent years, emblematic of the kind of area the Conservatives need to win to stay in power.

It has hosted Cabinet awaydays and one of the hustings in the current leadership contest.

Bookings for Airbnb stays at unique locations in the UK more than doubled – rising 113 per cent – between 2019 and 2021, compared with 50 per cent globally. Other types of property that make up the category are farmstays, houseboats, domes, earth houses and castles.

Shepherd huts, which have become increasingly popular, also count. David Cameron, the former prime minister, is among those to have bought one.

Among the most popular properties on Airbnb in the UK are a Ufo-style “flying saucer” in Pembrokeshire, and a “Tree Tent” treehouse in Somerset.

In 2021, total Airbnb earnings for unique stays were higher than for regular listings, earning nearly $1billion (£822million) on the platform globally.

In the UK, the figure is more than £134 million – representing over 16 per cent of the global take.

Although barns and farm stays were among the top 10 most booked unique listing types in the UK last year, socalled “tiny homes” were the most popular, accounting for a total of 250,000 nights and £20million in earnings.