Holiday flat rentals in Spain surged by 20 per cent in summer 2024
Spain ranked second in the EU for holiday bookings as summer rentals grew significantly
Holiday flat rentals in Spain soared during the summer of 2024, making the country the second most popular destination for this type of accommodation in the European Union (EU), behind France. According to data released by Eurostat, Spain accounted for 18.4% of the total nights booked online in the EU during the third quarter, a period that saw a significant 20.1% increase compared to the previous year.Between July and September 2024, a total of 67.3 million overnight stays were registered in Spain’s holiday flats, reflecting the growing appeal of short-term rentals. Across the EU, bookings during the same period rose by 18%, reaching 366.2 million nights, driven by platforms like Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor. This trend has consistently outpaced pre-pandemic levels, with holiday flat bookings in Spain increasing by 65% since 2018.
Spain’s popularity as a holiday rental destination is closely tied to its prominence as a leading tourist hotspot, alongside France and Italy. While France recorded the highest number of nights booked (81.6 million), Spain and Italy followed with 67.3 million and 55.7 million respectively. At the regional level, Andalusia emerged as the top EU destination in the second quarter of 2024, with 10.9 million nights booked.
The rapid growth of holiday rentals has raised concerns about housing availability and community dynamics across Europe. In response, the EU introduced regulations last year to oversee short-term rentals, aiming to prevent fraud and ensure compliance with housing laws. Spain has been proactive in implementing these measures, recently launching a national registration platform for short-term rental properties. As of January 2, 2025, properties can voluntarily register, with mandatory compliance set for July. Each verified property will be assigned a unique identification number to ensure legality.
In some parts of Spain, the proliferation of unsightly keyboxes – that marker of tourist rental apartments – have been banned in an attempt to curb the rise of this type of property usage, while other cities have just outlawed the registration of new tourist accommodation licences altogether.
While Spain’s growth in holiday flat rentals mirrors broader trends across the EU, some countries have experienced even sharper increases. Malta, Germany and Sweden saw the most significant year-on-year rises in bookings, while Croatia and Austria reported more modest growth.
The surge in short-term rentals underscores their growing importance in Europe’s tourism economy, but also highlights the need for balanced policies to address the potential downsides of this booming market, for instance on rising house prices, long-term rental costs and the availability of permanent housing for residents.
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