Ibiza, Spain, and holiday rental platform, Airbnb, have made a ‘historic’ agreement to tackle illegal tourist accommodation, with over 300 properties already removed from the site
A Spanish island has signed an ‘historic’ agreement with Airbnb over tourist flats, amid growing tensions.
Ibiza and Airbnb have struck a deal that will see illegal tourist accommodation remove from the platform. The new plan means that ‘flagrantly’ illegal properties will be taken down from the website, including caravans, tents, yurts and boats. Under the agreement, properties will be removed ‘without discussion or appeal’, in order to prevent costly and legal delays.
In the first 15 days of the agreement being enforced, more than 300 adverts have been taken off the platform. Any Airbnb users who violate the law will also face being blocked from the platform entirely.
In Ibiza, there are currently 100 open cases, which is expected to grow to over 200 with the introduction of the new measures.
Ibiza’s council leader, Vicent Mari and Airbnb’s Spanish director, Jaime Rodriguex de Santiago, both signed the agreement. Other entities have also been involved in the talks, including the Ibiza Tourist Accommodation Association (AVAT), the Ibiza and Formentera Hotelier Federation (FEHIF) and the Ibiza Tourism Board.
“Airbnb has chosen Ibiza to establish their fight against the intrusion of tourist flats,” Mr. Mari said. “The island is small but a big player in Spain’s tourism industry,” reports The Olive Press.
Mr. Santiago also expressed his wish for Ibiza to be the “first of many” councils to collaborate with Airbnb. He said: “This is the start of a long relationship.”
The council added that the agreement will help to ensure environmental, social and economic sustainability for the island, in addition to enhancing the quality of tourism. Mr. Mari added that the agreement is “a milestone in the roadmap that we set out more than five years ago to lead a relentless fight against the island’s unregulated supply”.
Short-term holiday lets, including Airbnb properties, in Spain have faced increasing criticism over the past year from locals. Ibiza in particular, is popular with British tourists heading to the destination for its club scene and serene beaches.
In June last year, it was announced that there would a citywide ban on all short-term rentals in Barcelona, by November 2028, including Airbnb and Booking.com properties.
The city’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, said that there are over 10,000 apartments registered as rentals for tourists and plan to stop issuing licenses will see many properties return to the open market. At the time, he stated: “We are confronting what we believe is Barcelona’s largest problem. More supply of housing is needed, and the measures we’re presenting are to provide more supply so that the working middle class does not have to leave the city because they can’t afford housing.
“This measure will not change the situation from one day to the next. These problems take time. But with this measure we are marking a turning point.”
