Last year, 15.6 million tourists headed to Barcelona, one of the world’s most vibrant beach cities.
From the awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia and strolls along La Rambla, to beach parties and clubbing until dawn, there’s something for everyone in the Spanish hotspot.
But the city’s plans to ban short-term rental apartments by 2028 have left the future uncertain for holidaymakers, making headlines around the world and sparking threats of billion-euro lawsuits.
Airbnb has now urged Barcelona to ‘rethink’ its crackdown on short-term rentals in the city, claiming that its restrictions only benefit the hotel sector.
In a letter sent over the weekend to Mayor Jaume Collboni, Airbnb’s head of policy for Spain and Portugal, Sara Rodriguez, said: ‘The only winter from Barcelona’s war on short-term rentals is the hotel industry.’
In June, Collboni announced the plans to get rid of all short-term private rentals in the city, which includes cancelling the licenses of 10,101 apartments currently approved.
The city initially began the clampdown on short-term rentals in 2014, introducing a moratorium on tourist accommodation licenses, which severely restricted the ability of everyday citizens to share their homes.
Airbnb argued that none of these earlier measures had proven effective. ‘A decade later, official data shows that while short-term rentals numbers have fallen, challenges related to housing and over-tourism are worse than ever,’ it said.
It claimed that while the number of Airbnb listings has fallen over the past decade, rents have risen by 70%, while the average price of a home has increased by 60%.
Airbnb also highlighted that in the last decade, Spain has built fewer homes than at any point since 1970, despite an increase in demand, and that the city’s vacant homes outnumber short-term rentals by eight to one.
‘Policies that address this issue are more likely to boost affordable housing supply than clamping down on Airbnb,’ it said, explaining that the site has removed over 7,000 listings from the platform since 2018.
Which other European countries are cracking down on short-term rentals?
Across Europe, many countries are either restricting or banning short-term lets.
UK
Prior to news of the General Election, the UK government unveiled plans that would mean planning permission is required to rent out a property for more than 90 days per year.
Michael Gove said this would be to ‘strike a balance between giving local people access to more affordable housing while ensuring the visitor economy continues to flourish.’
There would also be a mandatory national register for local authorities to keep track of exactly how many short-term lets are in the area.
In response, Airbnb said: ‘We recognise there are historic housing challenges facing some communities in the UK.
‘While short-term lets are not the root cause of housing challenges, we want to be a responsible partner and help make communities stronger and work hand in hand to address the challenges they face.’
Paris, France
If you’ve got a short-term let in Paris, be careful: the city has a dedicated policing unit with the sole focus of catching and fining illegal renters.
Here, owners are only allowed to rent their primary residence (that’s the place you live for at least eight months per year) for a maximum of 120 days per year. However, you can rent a single room without any time limit.
Vienna, Austria
If you rent out an apartment in the Austrian capital, you can only offer it out for a maximum of 90 days per year.
Parts of Vienna had already imposed these restrictions back in 2018, but it now applies to the whole city.
Portugal
Last year, Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced that no new licenses for holiday lets would be issued. Again, Portuguese locals were struggling to afford rental costs amid a housing crisis.
Existing licenses will also be reviewed every five years, and Airbnb owners will be given a tax break if they convert their properties into standard homes.
The only exception to the rules are in rural areas which the Prime Minister said do not have the same ‘urban pressure’.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Dutch capital has particularly strict rules. Here, Airbnb owners can only rent out their homes for a maximum of just 30 days per year.
If you go above this time frame, you need a special permit.
Italy
Short term rentals are heavily regulated in Italy.
Florence has probably had the most extreme crackdown in recent years. Here, new short-term licenses have been completely banned in the city centre.
In Rome, rules are tight too: you can only rent out your short-term let for a maximum of 60 days per year.
And, in 2023, Italy’s Tourism Ministry drafted laws which would see short-term lets curbed across the entire country.
Under the proposals, there would be a two-night minimum stay requirement and a new type of identification for property listings.
‘Today in Rome there are over 25,000 accommodation facilities,’ said Alessandro Massimo Nucara, general director of the national association for hotel businesses.
‘That’s the equivalent of 10,000 hotels. In order to open a hotel one has to request an infinite number of permits. But when it comes to opening what would be the equivalent of 10,000 hotels, it’s a different story as all these permits are not required.’
Can I have a party in my Airbnb accomodation?
Last year it was revealed Airbnb owners and guests across the entire site could soon be facing sanctions if they use rental properties to throw parties as part of a government drive to stamp out anti-social behaviour.
Referencing noise problems, drunken behaviour and disorderly conduct, the plan promises the creation of a new registration scheme that would provide councils with the data to identify short-term lets in the local area.
If any short-term rental property proved ‘problematic’, local officials could take action against those deemed responsible.
What else is Barcelona doing to curb tourism?
Earlier this year, Barcelona became the latest European holiday hotspot to introduce a heftier tourist tax.
Since April 1 2024, the city’s tourist tax – which was first introduced in 2012 – rose from €2.75 (£2.36) per night to €3.25 (£2.79) per night.
The Spanish government approved plans to increase the tax to up to €4, so there may be another increase next year.
The surcharge hike will have a knock on effect on accommodation prices.
Now that guests will have to part ways with €3.25 for the tax, a stay in a five-star hotel will now cost €6.75 (£5.79) per night when factoring in the new surcharge and the accommodation-specific tax, which adds up to €47.25 (£40.51) per person to stay for the week.
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