A woman has been able to stay in her late mother's home amid the cost of living crisis by renting out part of it on Airbnb.
This summer some holiday lets have come under fire, as the poor state of the economy, rising rent prices and landlords looking to make more money squeeze locals out of their homes in staycation hotspots.
One person whose story pushes back against the narrative a little is Jean Cowsill, who started letting out a small annex on the side of her Carlyon Bay, Cornwall home in April.
Since then she's made £1,700 profit from letting it out to nine families - enough to cover the mortgage she took out to buy her brothers' shares of the home when their mum died last year.
Jean admits that while the holiday let set up has been perfect for her and allowed her to meet lots of kind people, she gets embarrassed when telling people she's a landlady due to their reputation as profiteers in the area.
"I get a bit embarrassed when I tell people, but I'm not doing what they're doing," she told The Mirror. "I think it's a nice way to make a bit of money and stay in my bungalow. I feel extremely grateful that people want to come and stay with me."
Jean started caring for her mum seven years ago when her dad died, and they moved in to a cottage in Penzance together.
When her mum's walking difficulties got too bad and her dementia too acute, she was looked after in a care home.
During Covid, Jean "broke her out" of the home following a bad fall and they moved back into their family bungalow together in Carlyon Bay.
"I brought her back home to the bungalow, got the bedroom and utility room changed so it was a disabled friendly space," Jean, a retired conveyancer, said.
"She was back for a year before she died last year. When she died I was caring for her full time."
Jean "was very lonely" following the death of her mother and long-term friend last year, but was determined to stay in the home where both her parents.
Because the family decided to sell the bungalow following years of rapidly rising house prices in the area, Jean's only option was to take out a mortgage and buy them out - something she knew would require income on top of her pension.
Jean found that by hiring a builder to add an accessible kitchenette to what she calls "the pod", her own holiday let which she rents out for between £75 and £95 a night.
"I started in April and so far it's been quite popular, I've had nine bookings," Jean said.
"I think it's fantastic. I've made £1,707. That's quite good I think, and I really I like people coming here and having a bit of company."
Jean loves living in her part of Cornwall, which is full of "beautiful beaches and coastal walks", she says.
"I live 20 minutes from where Poldark is filmed and Daphne de Maurier's house is really close by. There are loads of Cornish coves as well."
"I had two young girls and their mum to stay. They found the garden really magic. There are trees and flowers and hedgehogs and loads of wild birds."
Jean is not too worried about the rising cost of energy bills as she uses an electric blanket, wears a jumper and is frugal with the heating.
When it comes to her guests, she asks them to turn the radiators off when they're out and is hopeful the extra people won't push the bills too high.
Airbnb is currently pitching itself as a means for Brits struggling to get by at the moment to offset their bills.
On average, Brits can share their home for just over one night a month to earn enough money to cover the £1,578 surge in annual energy bills, the company claims.
The drive, and the way in which Jean is letting out her bungalow, is more in line with how Airbnb originally launched - as a way for people with spare rooms and extra beds in their homes to make a little extra money.
In recent years the model has faced increasingly noisy criticism as professional landlords snap up residential homes, convert them into holiday lets, and rake in the cash while pushing up local rents.
The problem is particularly acute in Cornwall, which had more than 12,000 second homes by the end of April of this year, according to ITV documentary Priced Out: The Truth About Holiday Homes .
With 20,000 people currently on the housing registrar, the number of holiday lets is also rising, with locals now saying they are being thrown out of homes to make way for them.
In recent months, locals have been targeting second homes with giant graffiti in protest.
One second home in St Ives was daubed with huge letters that read: “Second homeowners give something back: rent or sell empty houses to local people at a fair price.”
