Bowman’s Travel Brief: Cracking Down on Short-Term Rentals

25.06.2024 - 18:39 / travelpulse.com / Eric Bowman / Jaume Collboni

Another month, another story about a destination cracking down on the short-term rental market.

Late last week, Barcelona’s Mayor said the popular Spanish city is putting a plan in place to ban all tourist vacation rentals by 2028.

It’s all in an effort to battle overtourism, but also as a way to provide more housing options for young locals. "We cannot permit that the majority of young people who wish to leave home also have to leave Barcelona," said Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni.

Barcelona isn’t the first and it won’t be the last either. Europe has been quicker to make changes. Venice, Italy has pushed back against the Airbnb’s of the world. Amsterdam was one of the first to ban short-term rentals in the heart of its old city.

Here in the United States, Hawaii, New York City, and Florida have all made proposals or implemented new regulations towards short-term rentals.

Some governments are pushing back and changing the rules and guidelines of how owners can register a short-term rental. Others, like Barcelona, just want to ban them. That’s part of Hawaii’s talking points for Maui, following the fire from last year.

Some of these types of establishments have led to serious scams and unsafe houses for travelers. Others have created massive party houses, disturbing the residential homes around them.

I think a full ban is too extreme, however, stricter regulations and stipulations on how many a city can have would be a better approach. There’s certainly a place for short-term rentals in the travel industry. It just needs to improve. 

What do you think?

Let me know your thoughts and follow me on social media: @EricBowman_

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