Emailed in by MBK, from The Times:
It is billed the “best last chance to save the planet” but Cop26 has given Glasgow landlords a chance to save for the future by charging extortionate rents. Rates have soared above £100,000 for the two-week summit as politicians, scientists and activists vie for accommodation, in what has been dubbed the Glasgow gold rush.
An investigation by The Times found 20 properties on Airbnb and 30 on Booking.com that are going for more than £20,000 for the fortnight. The average nightly price for a rental on Airbnb during the two weeks is over £600, a threefold increase on the same dates in the following two months.
Well of course. Location rents are determined by what's going on in the area, if there's more going on, then rents go up.
What they overlook is that while this an extreme example of landowners cashing in on the efforts of others, their baseline rents also just represent landowners cashing in on the efforts of others. There's no moral or economic difference.
Debate Magazine
