Tourism Spain investigates Airbnb
The Spanish government has launched an investigation into the tourist apartment rental platform Airbnb. The platform is accused of not removing thousands of accommodations without a tourism license from its website.
19.12.2024, 02:20
SDA
This was reported on Wednesday by consistent sources. The investigation, which was carried out by the Directorate General for Consumer Protection, was launched after several requests for compliance were made to the platform and were not complied with, the Ministry of Consumer Protection said in a press release. The company concerned was not named in the press release.
In June, the Ministry had sent a request for information to all tourist rental platforms regarding the ads offered on their websites and asked one of these platforms to "urgently" remove thousands of ads deemed illegal.
The Ministry regrets that "several months" after this request, "the ads have not been removed" and "this platform" has offered "no solution to the problem". Fines of 100,000 euros or "four to six times the unlawfully obtained profit" will be imposed.
Airbnb announces countermeasure
A source familiar with the investigation confirmed to the French news agency AFP that the platform in question was Airbnb. The California-based company also confirmed this and said it would appeal against the opening of the investigation.
"Airbnb always requires landlords to confirm that they have the necessary permits and comply with local regulations before placing ads on the platform," a spokeswoman for the short-term property rental website assured.
The announcement of the investigation came at a time when criticism of tourist apartments is on the rise in Spain. This anger prompted the city council of Barcelona (northeast) on 21 June not to renew the licenses of around 10,000 tourist apartments in the city, as these would expire in November 2028.
In Málaga (south), the city council decided that no more new vacation apartments should be approved in 43 districts.
"Industry often works under illegal conditions"
The Spanish left-wing government, which is working on the creation of a register for tourist accommodation in order to take better action against illegal rentals, has supported this move and has initiated more administrative proceedings against the sector in recent months.
Last Thursday, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs announced the launch of another investigation, this time against rental companies accused of posing as private individuals when creating their advertisements in order to seduce potential customers.
Consumer Protection Minister Pablo Bustinduy declared on Wednesday that no company should be "above the law": "The tourist apartment sector often operates under illegal conditions (...) This is something we cannot accept, regardless of the sector".
