Airbnb calls on Barcelona to rethink short-term rental rules as legacies of 10-year clampdown revealed

On the 10-year anniversary of Barcelona’s clampdown on hosting¹, Airbnb is calling on the city to rethink its approach to short-term rentals, as new analysis shows its policies are failing to ease housing and overtourism challenges.

In 2014, the City of Barcelona introduced a moratorium on tourist accommodation licenses, which severely restricted the ability of everyday citizens to share their homes. Advocates said a clampdown was necessary to address housing and overtourism challenges. A decade later, official data shows that while short-term rentals numbers have fallen, challenges related to housing and overtourism are worse than ever.  

In the last decade, Spain has built fewer homes than at any point since 1970². While levels of construction have remained stagnant, demand for new homes has increased. In 2023, data from the Ministry of Housing³ shows that the creation of new households in Spain outpaced the number of new homes built by three to one.

As the number of listings on Airbnb has fallen over the past decade⁴, rents and house prices have risen to record highs. Since Barcelona’s clampdown on short-term rentals began, rents⁵ have risen by 70 percent, while the average price of a home has increased by 60 percent⁶.

Vacant homes in Barcelona outnumber short term rentals by eight to one⁷. Policies that address this issue are more likely to boost affordable housing supply than clamping down on Airbnb.

According to Barcelona Tourism official figures, 75 percent of tourists in 2023 stayed in Hotels and Hostels⁸. In the Old Town of Barcelona, where the impacts of overtourism are most apparent, there are six times more hotel beds than short-term rentals. A third of hotel beds in Barcelona (22,375 units) are concentrated in Old Town⁹, compared to just 3,253 beds of short-term rentals in that area.

As concerns on the impacts of overtourism in Barcelona rise, the city is growing its already vast and dominant hotel supply. Across Spain, local governments – including in Barcelona – have authorized plans to build over 800 new hotels, which will create 75,000 new hotel rooms, with almost 90 percent of them allocated to existing tourist hotspots. And while the Mayor of Barcelona said a clampdown on Airbnb is necessary to address overtourism in the city, he also said¹⁰ that there is potential for 5,000 new hotel rooms in Barcelona, which “will be boosted by the end of short-term rentals” in Barcelona.

With few competitors and a near monopoly on tourism in Barcelona, hotels have increased their prices to record highs. Official data shows that over the past decade, the average price of a hotel room¹¹ in Barcelona has skyrocketed by more than 60 percent. 

“Just like in New York City, Barcelona’s decade-long clampdown on Airbnb is failing to deliver on its promise to combat overtourism and the housing crisis,” said Theo Yedinsky, VP, Public Policy at Airbnb. “The only winner from Barcelona’s war on short term rentals is the hotel industry, which is rapidly expanding and increasing prices. We encourage Barcelona to rethink its approach, because it’s clear that Airbnb is not the cause of historic challenges in the city. We are eager to work with leaders on new rules that support local families who host, and make tourism more sustainable for everyone.” 

Authorities in the EU, Spain, and Catalonia have criticized the rules in Barcelona as not fit for purpose, raising concerns about their necessity, fairness and efficacy. Local hosts are currently challenging these rules in court, underscoring the need for a balanced approach that considers the interests of all stakeholders.

Airbnb has worked diligently with Barcelona to enforce existing regulations and has removed over 7,000 listings from the platform since 2018. However, it is clear that these measures have not produced the desired results. Airbnb is committed to working with governments worldwide to promote responsible tourism that makes communities stronger.

¹El País: Barcelona Barcelona suspends granting of licenses for tourist apartments.

²Source: Banco de España: Total supply of homes and development of new homes: Housing creation during the last decade has been the lowest since 1970.

³Sources: INE (National Statistics Institute), the Ministry for Housing. 272.000 new households were created while only 89.000 housing units were built. Note: (1) The new housing units include both completed free-market housing and final certifications of protected housing. (2) For the housing projection over the next two years, the housing units started two years earlier are shown. 

⁴Spanish Official Statistics Office (INE). From August 2020 to February 2024 total number of STR listings in Barcelona fell from 17,280 units to 8,842, or almost 50%.

⁵According to City Hall data, the average monthly price per housing unit in Barcelona has increased from 688€ in 2014 to 1.166€ in 2024.

⁶Also according to City Hall data, the average buy price per square meter to buy a home has increased from 2.304 €/m2 in 2014 to 3.788 €/m2 in 2024.

⁷INE. (Page 9): Censos de Población y Viviendas 2023.

⁸Observatori del Turisme a Barcelona 2023: Percentage of tourists staying in hotels, hostels and pensions vs total tourist stays in the city.

⁹Observatori del Turisme a Barcelona 2023: This refers to the sum of number of hotel, hostel and pension beds in Ciutat Vella (page 7, 10 and 13) vs number of STR beds in Ciutat Vella (page 16).

¹⁰Diario.es: Collboni Collboni says Barcelona has the potential for 5,000 more hotel beds.

¹¹Barcelona City Hall data portal: Average room price per booked room (ADR; €) in October 2023 188,8€ vs 116€ in October 2014.

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Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.