Spain’s home rental services outdo hotels for beds
Print Edition
THE number of beds listed by online home rental services like Airbnb in Spain surpassed the number on offer by hotels last year, according to a study by Spanish tourism sector body Exceltur.
Airbnb and similar sites listed 2.7 million beds in Spain at the end of last year, compared to 2.4 million beds available at hotels and other traditional regulated lodgings, according to the study by audit firm EY on behalf of the association.
The sites let people rent out their homes for a fee by marketing them online.
“This is a highly lucrative business which has seen rampant growth,” Exceltur, which groups Spain’s hotel chains, travel agents and airlines, said in a statement on Thursday.
In the northeastern city of Barcelona, where a surge in visitors numbers in recent years has triggered a backlash from some locals, 64 percent of the available rooms are offered by online home rental services, the study said.
Spain is the world’s most popular tourism destination after the United States and France, according to Madrid-based United Nations World Tourism Organization.
The country received a record 65 million foreign visitors last year, up more than 7 percent from the previous year.
Tourism is crucial to Spain’s slowly recovering yet jobs-scarce economy, accounting for about 11 percent of all economic activity and one in nine jobs, the tourism ministry said.
But Exceltur said online home rental services generated fewer than 10 jobs per 100 tourist beds compared to more than 53 jobs per 100 tourist beds at a hotel.
It also warned that they could cost state coffers up to 800 million euros (US$894 million) in lost tax earnings due to undeclared earnings.
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