Revelations that holiday-let apartments in Liverpool are being used as informal sex-work premises, with men reportedly navigating to addresses via Google Maps, have thrust the city's booming short-term rental sector into an uncomfortable spotlight. Local residents and campaigners have raised concerns that the anonymity and lack of oversight afforded by platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com are being exploited, with properties changing occupants nightly and little scrutiny of who is actually inside. For an industry that has expanded rapidly on the back of Liverpool's tourism and events growth, the story is a reputational shock — and a signal that regulatory tightening is now overdue.