The global short-term rental platform Airbnb has called on Barcelona’s mayor to reconsider the extension of measures restricting short-term rentals, arguing that the hospitality sector benefits from these restrictions while they fail to address overtourism and the housing crisis.
Airbnb’s head of policy for Spain and Portugal, Sarah Rodrigues, said:
“The only winner in Barcelona’s war on short-term rentals is the hotel industry,”
in a letter to Mayor Jaume Collboni, sent over the weekend and seen by Reuters.
Barcelona City Hall did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mayor Collboni’s plan: a ban until 2028
In June, Collboni announced a plan to halt all short-term rental operations until 2028 to curb rising rents for the city’s residents. This measure has been legally challenged.
In its letter, Airbnb argued that none of Barcelona’s previous measures—imposed since 2014 to strictly limit new tourist accommodation licences in the city centre—had proven effective.
“Ten years later, official data shows that while short-term rentals have decreased, challenges related to housing and overtourism are worse than ever,” the letter stated.
Rising costs in housing and tourism
The correspondence cited official data indicating that long-term rental prices have risen by over 70%, and the average cost of a hotel room has increased by at least 60%, even though the number of short-term rental properties fell by half to 8,842 last year compared to 2020 levels.
Meanwhile, the letter stated, Spain has built fewer homes over the past decade than during any other period since the 1970s, despite soaring demand. Official data shows there are eight vacant homes in Barcelona for every short-term rental property.
“Policies that tackle the issue of vacant homes are more likely to increase the availability of affordable housing than restrictions on Airbnb,” the company said, adding that since 2018, it has removed over 7,000 listings from its platform in Barcelona.
Broader moves against short-term rentals in Spain
While Collboni has said he will maintain the ban on building new hotels in the city centre, he wants to expand hotel availability elsewhere in Barcelona.
Exceltur, an association of Spain’s largest tourism businesses (including major hotel chains, travel agents, tour operators, and airlines), has sought stricter regulation of short-term rental companies since 2022, calling the rise of short-term rental properties in Spanish cities “uncontrolled.”
Other Spanish cities, including Madrid and Málaga, have also imposed restrictions on short-term rentals this year.
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Source: ANA-MPA, Reuters
