AIRBNB Holiday Rentals in Spain: A Shift Towards Regulation
The explosive growth of Airbnb holiday rentals in Spain has finally begun to slow down, with popular destinations like Ibiza and Mallorca leading the charge. According to recent data from tourism lobby Exceltur, the number of tourist flats in Spain’s 25 main city destinations decreased by 4.1% in the second half of 2025 compared to the previous year. This decline represents a loss of 15,963 tourist beds nationwide, bringing the total down to around 366,000.
Regulation and Enforcement: The Driving Forces Behind the Decline
The sharpest long-term drops in holiday lets have been seen in some of Spain’s most saturated destinations. Ibiza, for instance, has 80% fewer holiday lets than at its peak in 2017, while Palma de Mallorca has cut supply by 63%. Barcelona is down 37% compared to its high point, with San Sebastian and Santiago de Compostela also recording steep reductions. Exceltur attributes this decline to tougher enforcement, new registration rules for landlords, and growing pressure from residents over soaring rents and housing shortages.
Ibiza has ramped up inspections to weed out illegal listings, while Barcelona plans to ban all holiday homes by 2028. Across Spain, property owners must now register tourist flats before advertising them on platforms such as Airbnb. This increased regulation has led to a significant decrease in the number of holiday rentals available, particularly in areas that were previously overcrowded and unregulated.
Varying Trends Across Spain
While some destinations are slashing holiday lets, others are still expanding. Malaga ended 2025 with a record 38,848 tourist rental beds, up 3.3% on the previous year. Sevilla also continued to grow, reaching more than 32,000 beds, a rise of 4%. Exceltur notes that Malaga, Almeria, and Bilbao all finished the year at their highest-ever levels for tourist accommodation. In contrast, parts of Andalucia such as Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada have seen only minimal reductions, reflecting a looser regulatory crackdown than in the Balearics or Catalonia.
Despite the national slowdown, nearly one-third of tourists in Spain still choose holiday homes over hotels, largely because they remain cheaper. At the same time, hotels in places like Ibiza are thriving, with the island recording Spain’s highest revenue per room at around €170 in 2025. Exceltur says Spain is now shifting towards fewer tourists who spend more, as visitor numbers rise modestly but overall spending continues to grow.
Industry Insights and Future Prospects
The tourism industry insists that illegal holiday lets have fueled overcrowding and housing pressure, but also argues that most congestion in Spanish cities now comes from rising resident populations rather than visitors. With enforcement tightening in some regions and staying lax in others, Spain’s holiday rental market is entering a new, uneven phase. For party islands like Ibiza, the Airbnb boom is being rolled back, while the Costa del Sol continues to experience growth. As the Spanish government and local authorities work to regulate the holiday rental market, it will be interesting to see how the industry adapts and evolves in the coming years.
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