Airbnb (ABNB) has urged Barcelona’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, to reconsider a widening crackdown on short-term rentals. Additionally, the online marketplace for homestays warned that the measure benefits only the hotel industry and fails to address the city’s key issues of overtourism and the housing crisis.
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Earlier this year, Collboni announced a plan to shut down all short-term rentals by 2028 to rein in rising rents for Barcelona residents. This proposal is part of an effort to tackle increasing rents and the lack of affordable housing in the city, as short-term rentals are believed to restrict local housing supply and drive up prices.
Collboni has also suggested a ban on new hotels in the city center but supports expanding hotel capacity in other areas of Barcelona.
ABNB Is Opposed to the Idea of Shutting Down Short-Term Rentals
However, ABNB opposes the idea of shutting down short-term rentals by 2028. In a letter, Airbnb’s Head of Policy for Spain and Portugal, Sara Rodriguez, stated, “The only winner from Barcelona’s war on short-term rentals is the hotel industry.”
Furthermore, Airbnb pointed out that previous measures, which limited new tourist accommodation licenses in the city center since 2014, have not been effective. Despite a reduction in short-term rentals, the company cited official data showing that housing challenges and overtourism have only worsened. For instance, long-term rents have skyrocketed by over 70%, and hotel room prices have risen by more than 60%. Meanwhile, the number of short-term rental properties has fallen by 50%, dropping to 8,842 in 2023 from 2020 levels.
In addition, the company pointed out that vacant homes outnumber short-term rentals in Barcelona by a ratio of eight to one. According to Airbnb, addressing the issue of vacant homes would do more to boost affordable housing than imposing further restrictions on short-term rentals. In fact, the company has already removed over 7,000 listings from its platform in Barcelona since 2018.
Is Airbnb a Buy or Sell?
Analysts remain sidelined about ABNB stock, with a Hold consensus rating based on seven Buys, 20 Holds, and six Sells. Over the past year, ABNB has inched higher by 2.2%, and the average ABNB price target of $138.68 implies an upside potential of 4.6% from current levels.
