THE enormous scale of Airbnb stays in Oxford has been revealed amid growing calls for a crackdown on short-term lets.

More than 80,000 people from 136 countries used the app to stay in the city last year - and it's about to get even easier to rent out your home.

The app's co-host management service Pass the Keys has been drafted in to help after it recognised the 'exciting' market in the city - which has seen people make an average £4,500 per year.

Almost 1,500 properties are believed to be available for short-term or holiday lets and it is only the tenth city in the UK the management service has been deployed in.

Last month Oxford City Council renewed its fight for more powers to control short-term rentals after reports some were being used for wild parties and as 'pop-up brothels'.

But despite the council's stance and neighbours raising concerns, the concept is set to further expand.

The Oxford Mail can also reveal that Oxford Brookes University's student union accommodation page has been encouraging parents to use Airbnb when visiting their children and has also highlighted properties in Headington for families to visit loved ones staying at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Pass the Keys co-founder Zoe Vu said Oxford's international profile was making it popular.

She said: "Oxford continues to offer an exciting buy-to-let market for investors so this is an exciting move for us. Oxford’s international profile rivals that of any university in the world. This diversity means parents who buy a property to use while visiting are looking for long term rentals to occupy the property the rest of the time.

“Oxford’s new rail infrastructure into London has also brought opportunities with investors looking to the city as a potential long term let destination."

Pass the Keys own data revealed the average price per night for a short-let room in the city was £240 and that most properties were occupied for 65 per cent of the year.

Airbnb's figures revealed the average host in Oxford was earning £4,429 a year by renting out their space 51 days a year.

The firm said Oxford was home to a 'vibrant community of hosts' who were creating connections across borders and cultures.

The company's impact study also showed that nearly 80,000 guests - from 136 countries - had been welcomed into homes and communities in Oxford in the past year.

It also showed that more than 100,000 living in Oxford made use of the app while travelling around the world.

Airbnb's global head of policy, Chris Lehane, said this had created 'offline connections across borders and cultures'.

Oxford City Council has written to the city's MPs to support more regulation over short-term rentals, which are offered by a range of sites and apps including Gumtree, after reports of ant-social parties and sex workers using them for clients.

The regulation could see short-term rentals given a separate planning class and requiring planning permission, with neighbours able to object.

It could also mean properties being licensed and registered in line with hotels and guesthouses.

Former council leader Bob Price said: "There have been documented instances of pop-up brothels and evidence of both single properties and groups of properties being used as de facto guest houses.

“They don’t need to comply with the same regulations as standard guest houses when it comes to fire risk, environmental health or safeguarding against child sexual exploitation.”

But the UK Short Term Accommodation Association said there was a regulatory framework in place, which applied to Oxford.

It said: "Safety and security is critical to the industry, we have proactively adopted long-let standards for short-term rentals; a home that is safe for someone to live in for a year, should be safe for guests to stay in for a week.

"Additionally, the STAA has produced a number of best practice guidelines for short-term rental hosts and companies, including a Host Guidance page on our website, and an industry Code of Conduct.

"There are solid regulations in place and we want to work closely with Oxford City council and others across the country to ensure the effectiveness of existing regulations."