Open war between Barcelona management and Airbnb. Just last summer, mayor Jaume Collboni announced that the Spanish city would ban short-term tourist rentals by 2028; in short, no more Airbnb to put residents’ homes back on the market to lower rental prices. “The days of economic activity using residences as tourist accommodation are numbered in our city,” was socialist Colboni’s response to tourist rental platform Airbnb, which called on Barcelona’s mayor to reconsider in a letter sent to the municipality last week. A widening crackdown on short-term rentals.
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A drastic decision taken by the municipal administration in June for one of Spain’s main tourist destinations, with the aim of reducing rising real estate costs and making Barcelona more livable for residents. “Barcelona cannot afford to have houses dedicated solely to tourism activities, while there is a supply gap that multiplies rental prices,” Colboni writes, according to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. “Our goal is to return these 10 thousand houses to the housing market, where more than 25 thousand citizens will directly benefit,” the mayor said.
Multinational company’s request to the mayor of Barcelona
In its letter requesting a reconsideration of the decision, Airbnb noted that none of Barcelona’s previous measures aimed at imposing strict limits on new tourist accommodation licenses in the city center since 2014 had been effective. Indeed, the short-term rental company stated that the moratorium approved by the City in recent years has not had a calming effect on real estate market prices, improved residents’ access to housing, or reduced the nuisances caused by mass tourism in the area. city.
Airbnb cited official data showing long-term rentals increased by more than 70 percent, while the average price of a hotel room increased by more than 60 percent. This all happened despite the number of short-term rental homes halving last year to 8,842 compared to 2020 levels.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
