Anti-tourism group Terraferida in Mallorca claim 70% of holiday-rentals on the island have no licence.
Terraferida (Wounded Land in Catalan) researched the number of private homes offered for rent on a short-term basis (tourist rentals) on the home-sharing platforms Airbnb and Homeaway and found accommodation for 120,000 people advertised on Homeaway, and 81,000 on Airbnb, whilst the registered capacity on the island is just 38,000.
“Every week thousands of new beds are added, in all neighbourhoods,” says Jaume Adrover, one of the spokesmen for the group, who railed against the authorities for not doing enough to clamp down on tourist rentals.
Terraferida are demanding the regional government (Govern), which is currently working on a new tourism law, takes a stand against holiday rentals in general, stamps out illegal rentals, and starts to reduce the supply of legal rentals.
The Aptur Association of Holiday Rentals in the Balearics points out the Terraferida study “lacks rigour”. For a start, many of the holiday rentals advertised on Homeaway are also advertised on Airbnb, so duplication means the true number of holiday rentals is much lower.
“Terraferida once again confuses commercial [platforms] with owners to make people think there are big magnates of holiday rentals, in place of small owners, which is the reality.”
