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Tourist apartment raise residential offer by up to 19% (Original title: Los pisos turísticos elevan hasta un 19% la oferta de alquiler residencial)
By Jose Luis Aranda. Published in El Pais on 8 June 2020
Summary (translated via Google translate):
According to the industry estimates, some 200,000 apartments in Spain, usually rented out to tourists, might stay empty in the upcoming season, since the tourist demand has dropped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The apartment owners are now looking for alternative solutions, and there is a possibility that some of the apartments might return to a long-term rental market.
In the first 11 weeks of state of emergency in Spain (from March 16 to May 31), the Fotocasa portal has seen its rental ads increase by 19%. In Andalusia that peaked up to 99% and in three other communities (Extremadura, Navarra and Murcia) it exceeded 60%.
Keywords: Spain, Airbnb, short-term rentals, tourism, tourist rentals, long-term rentals, Covid-19
Spain Is Latest Battleground for Global Affordable Housing
By Todd White. Published in Bloomberg on 19 June 2019
Also available here:
Summary:
"In May [2019], two months after imposing a battery of rent-suppression measures for new leases, rents rose at a 7.5% annual pace, according to property website Idealista.com, which supplies data to Spain’s central bank. That was an acceleration from 6.6% in March when the measures were enacted.
The new rules for privately owned apartments in Spain’s $5.8 trillion home market were meant in part to counteract speculation and conversion into Airbnb-type rentals. Tourist flats now exceed a quarter of the sunny, beach-filled Andalucia market and total 18% in Catalonia, the region of Barcelona, Spain’s most visited city and a foreign-investor magnet, according to property website Fotocasa. (...)
Keywords: Madrid, Barcelona, Spain, Airbnb, short-term rental, tourist apartments, regulations, corporate landlords, investment funds, institutional investment, Idealista, Fotocasa
In Spain, the new rules limit annual rent increases for five years to the inflation rate, currently 0.8%. That’s not happy news for landlords, although after that period is over they can raise, or lower, them as they wish, in a new contract. The prices quoted by Idealista reflect what landlords are asking for in new contracts. (...)
“The big institutional investors are specialists, they’re opportunistic and will focus on where the outlook and conditions are most favorable,” said Joe Lovrics, who runs Citigroup Inc.’s Iberia markets desk in Madrid. “They look at these rules and say: ‘If this is permanent, we’ll look elsewhere.”’
In fact, the Development Ministry in Madrid plans more regulations.
Economists are divided on whether the limits will backfire. While some insist they will restrain hikes indefinitely, many say landlords will react by starting new contracts at higher initial rents, or converting more property into short-term Airbnb-type rentals, eliminating supply for permanent residents and driving up rents."
Airbnb lobbying revealed as SNP and Tories water down regulation
By Joe Lo. Published in the Ferret on 24 May 2019
Summary:
Green MSP aimed to combat some of [Airbnb's criticised] effects through an amendment to the planning bill going through parliament. This would require planning permission for anyone turning a home into a commercial let.
But Tory tourism spokesperson, , has said she plans to table a rival amendment which would mean people would only need planning permission to change a home to a commercial let in certain areas rather than the whole of Scotland.
Hamilton said her amendment would give councils control over how they deal with the issue. “Somewhere like Edinburgh can tackle problems head-on where they see fit,” she said, “while more rural areas where there isn’t that pressure can continue going about their business.” (...)
Keywords: Edinburgh, Scotland, Scottish Parliament, MSPs, United Kingdom, UK, lobbying, Airbnb, Halogen Communications, tourism, tourist apartments, Andy Wightman, Rachael Hamilton, Marie Lorimer, Graham Simpson
Now new data from the Scottish Parliament’s lobbying register shows that Airbnb’s policy officer, Marie Lorimer, met twice with Hamilton and Conservative housing spokesperson, Graham Simpson MSP, to discuss the amendment – once in December 2018 and once in February 2019. Lorimer also discussed the planning bill with Simpson in August 2018.
In November 2018, Lorimer also met with Scottish business minister, Jamie Hepburn MSP, to discuss “regulation of the collaborative economy – including tourism and short-term rentals”.
Airbnb also employs a specialist Edinburgh-based agency called Halogen Communications to lobby on their behalf. According to one of their clients listed on their website, Halogen’s “contacts are excellent”.
A fake profile with 208 apartments: the business behind being 'authentic'
Original headline in Dutch: Nepprofiel met 208 appartementen: de business achter de 'authentieke'
Published in NRC on 9 November 2018
Summary:
NRC estimated that around 20% of Amsterdam rentals listed on Airbnb were managed by intermediary companies.
These use fake Airbnb user profiles to list hundreds of tourist rentals as if they were 'authentic' local travel experiences in line with Airbnb's original narrative.
Keywords: Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Airbnb, fake users 60Days, Bnbmanager, AwayKey, IamB&B, L'Easeaway
Exposed: Airbnb lobbying to stop laws on lets
By Ally Tibbitt. Published in the Ferret on 18 January 2019
Some of these fake profiles give positive reviews to each other, which helps their listing appear earlier in searches.
Using fake profiles goes against the terms of use of Airbnb, and it contradicts Airbnb's stated philosophy.
Summary:
The online lodging firm claims to add almost £1.5 million a day to the Scottish economy. But critics say the rapid growth in short-term letting is exacerbating a housing crisis, causing rising levels of anti-social behaviour and enabling some landlords to evade tax.
As MSPs at Holyrood consider a new planning bill that could give councils more powers to regulate landlords using Airbnb, documents from the Scottish Government show the firm has had extensive contacts with senior government ministers and civil servants.
The Scottish Parliament’s also shows that a public relations firm hired by Airbnb, , has met 28 times since March 2018 with MSPs [Members of the Scottish Parliament], ministers and special advisers to discuss the company’s policy positions or the wider short-term letting sector.
Keywords: Scotland, Scottish Parliament, MSPs, United Kingdom, UK, lobbying, Airbnb, Halogen, tourism, tourist apartments
'I'm a stranger in my own city': Prage takes on Airbnb to dam flood of tourists
By Robert Tait. Published in the Observer on 1 February 2020
Summary:
As the number of short-term and tourist flats in Prague available on Airbnb increases, residents are unhappy and feel overwhelmed and priced out of many areas.
The mayor, Zdeněk Hřib (Zdenek Hrib, liberal, Pirate Party), is planning to barr property owners "from leasing out entire flats except when it was their own home and they were temporarily vacating it", and "(t)ourists demanding Airbnb rentals would be limited instead to single rooms in accommodation where the owner also lived".
Keywords: Prague, Czech Republic, Airbnb, Apolena Rychlíková (Apolena Rychlikova, film-maker and journalist), Janek Rubeš (Janek Rubes, vlogger)