Airbnb Challenges Barcelona's Short-Term Rental Restrictions

Airbnb has urged Barcelona's Mayor Jaume Collboni to reconsider his plan to eliminate all short-term rentals by 2028, arguing that such measures primarily benefit the hotel industry while failing to address the city's housing crisis and over-tourism. In a letter, Airbnb's head of policy for Spain and Portugal, Sara Rodriguez, noted that despite prior restrictions since 2014, challenges related to housing have worsened, with long-term rents rising over 70% and hotel prices increasing by more than 60%. The company highlighted that vacant homes in Barcelona outnumber short-term rentals by eight to one, suggesting that addressing vacant properties would more effectively increase affordable housing than restricting Airbnb. This crackdown is currently being challenged in court, and while Collboni aims to limit new hotel construction in the city center, he seeks to expand hotel capacity elsewhere. Airbnb claims to have removed over 7,000 listings from its platform since 2018 in response to these ongoing issues.