A property management service claims there has been an “explosion” in the number of short lets undertaken through Airbnb and similar online platforms in the past 12 months in London.

A league table has been drawn up of Airbnb actual lets compared to the numbers advertised in each borough. This includes only those lets where the ‘hosts’ – as Airbnb calls the property owners who let out – have two or more positive reviews on the site.

Tower Hamlets comes out as the most popular borough for Airbnb guests with a reported 94 per cent occupancy rate, with Hackney a close second on 90 per cent and Kensington and Chelsea in third on 87 per cent.

The survey was conducted by hospitality agency My Property Host.

Meanwhile a new online platform has started to offer insurance products to Airbnb and similar host landlords.

Guardhog claims to address a lack of appropriate insurance cover for hosts: it says it provides protection for rentals for as little as £1 per night.