Mark Stücklin
Ibiza’s local government is celebrating what it calls a historic achievement: becoming the first territory in Spain to wipe out all illegal tourist rentals on Airbnb. Whether the reality fully lives up to the rhetoric remains to be seen, but the local council insists the island has turned a corner.
Thousands of listings reportedly removed
According to the Consell, since July the platform has taken down 2,831 unauthorised listings representing 14,532 beds. “Ibiza stops being an island of pirates,” declared Vicenç Marí, president of the Consell, promising that anyone doing business outside the law “will be pursued, fined, and shut down.”
Agreement with Airbnb
This follows a memorandum signed in February between Airbnb, the Consell, and local business groups. The deal committed the platform, which accounts for around 90% of Ibiza’s tourist listings, to speed up the removal of unlicensed properties. Officials say the crackdown has almost halved Airbnb’s offer on the island – from 25,458 beds in 4,324 listings to 13,252 beds in 2,051 listings.
Inspectors and algorithms
The Consell credits its success to a combination of inspectors on the ground and new technology. The anti-intrusion unit, led by ex-Guardia Civil Enrique Gómez Bastida, now employs six inspectors supported by AI-powered monitoring tools. The system reportedly geolocates every listing and cross-checks it with the registry of licensed properties. The council claims this has prevented more than a million illegal overnight stays this season.
Tourist impact
Tourism flows, the Consell says, have shifted accordingly. Of the 6,915 visitors who stayed in illegal rentals in 2024, 4,856 are said to have moved to licensed accommodation, while just 2,059 skipped Ibiza altogether. Average daily tourist numbers between April and August were 2,059 lower than last year.
Mallorca to follow
Mallorca’s council has also signed up to the initiative, with president Llorenç Galmés announcing that more than 5,000 unlicensed rentals will disappear from Airbnb from mid-October.
Funded by ecotax revenues
The campaign is financed with €4.5m from Ibiza’s share of the Balearic ecotax, part of a €22m four-island plan to fund more inspectors and better technology. Fines for renting illegally in the Balearics range from €50,001 to €500,000, though they can be reduced by 80% if owners put the property on the residential rental market.
Caution advised
While the Consell has been keen to present the campaign as a pioneering success, experience suggests enforcement can be patchy, and unlicensed rentals often reappear under new guises. For now, Ibiza claims to have beaten back the pirates, but the test will be whether the island can keep them at bay in future seasons.
