Vacation Rental Professionals Network

Barcelona protesters demand affordable rents as Spain juggles the impact of tourism. About 22,000 people protested in Barcelona on Saturday in the latest demonstration to demand lower housing rental prices and better living conditions. Housing has become a major issue in Spain as it struggles to balance promoting tourism, a key driver of its economy, and concerns over high rents due to gentrification and landlords shifting to more lucrative, short-term tourist rentals. The price of rentals signed in the second quarter of 2024 in Barcelona was almost 70% higher than in the same period of 2014, data from the Catalan Housing Agency shows. "We are spending half our wages in rent ... This must stop!," said Carme, 28, a spokeswoman for a tenants union. Smaller protests were held across Catalonia, and in Burgos, Asturias in north Spain and Jerez de la Frontera in the south. The government announced a crackdown on short-term and seasonal holiday lettings in July and planned to investigate listings on platforms such as Airbnb (ABNB.O) and Booking.com to verify if they have licenses. Demonstrations have been held this year in Madrid, the Canary Islands and Malaga, where seasonal hospitality workers struggle to find accommodation, with many sleeping in caravans or even their cars. #europe #barcelona #spain #regulations #affordablehousing #housing #living https://lnkd.in/gGRgzfQu

In Ocean Beach, California, Short-Term Rentals Are Exacerbating Homelessness. Short-term (vacation) rentals (STRs) are an innovation. Since VRBO and Airbnb came on the scene, this is a new sub-sector of the lodging industry, just as Uber and Lyft were a new sub-sector for the transportation industry. But, at least for STRs, there is a downside. Unintended consequences often accompany innovation, mostly during early adoption. STRs rely on existing homes and apartments. The more there are, the less housing there is for residential. As a result, rental prices can soar, sometimes pushing residents out of an area. My concern, because homelessness is one of our greatest crises and something I have been personally involved in addressing for decades, is that exacerbates the problem. Less stock and higher prices and/or rents are only going to cause more people to become homeless, especially if they have an unexpected financial setback and are already living on the edge. Let’s look at how this is turning thing upside down, and what might be done about it. Knee-Jerk Reactions Causing Chaos With STRs, governments have allowed market forces to reduce inventory for housing, but that came at a price. As more homes were offered up as STRs, they impacted neighborhoods, sometimes becoming party centers. Visitors don’t always act like they live there with consideration for neighbors and neighborhoods. But STRs make a lot of money for a lot of people. Among the knee-jerk reactions when things started getting a little out of hand were regulatory “experiments,” which are still ongoing. Some regulations cap the number of STRs allowed in a city. Others set conditions about length of rentals, restrictions on loud parties and other obnoxious behaviors, and even looking at visitor taxes similar to what hotels charge. The city of Del Mar, CA capped STRs in the City at a total of 129. And on Nov. 5, Del Mar voters overwhelmingly approved a 13.5 percent transient occupancy tax (what hotels pay) on STRs, expected to bring the City $775,000 annually. #california #homelessness #regulations #innovation #housing #supply #homes #affordablehousing #oceanbeach #sandiego https://lnkd.in/gDHbQUhT

Airbnb crackdown looming in South Africa. Proposed regulations for short-term rentals in South Africa could affect the entire industry, causing many to consider whether remaining in the market is viable and making others skeptical of buying into it. This is according to Only Realty Property Group CEO Grant Smee, who spoke to?Cape Talk?about the proposed regulations. “Ultimately, like any hospitality industry, your money is made on vacancy levels and the fewer nights you are empty, the more money you make,” said Smee. “If the government limits how many nights you can rent the property out, that’s going to be a massive issue for almost all Airbnb owners.” Smee is referring to regulations?proposed by Airbnb?in a report released at the beginning of October. The report provided case studies on how South Africa can regulate the short-term rental market. These included limiting the number of nights owners can rent their property for if done on a short-term basis and creating a national registry of all short-term rentals. This followed backlash from Cape Town residents after claims that many felt they were being priced out of the city due to short-term rentals pushing up property prices. #africa #southafrica #regulations #laws https://lnkd.in/gMZFHVUc

How Vacation Rentals Can Reach New Audiences - By?Lindsey Roeschke. Vacation rentals are gaining popularity with travelers, but still have room to grow to reach equal footing with hotels. Key Takeaways: Key Takeaways: * Since 2020, net favorability for vacation rentals has improved by 5 points, and net trust has risen by 4 points. * Travelers typically choose vacation rentals for group trips and extended stays, leaving room to grow for other trip types. * Price and safety are key areas to address if vacation rental brands want to reach new audiences. If you had asked a traveler in 2007 if they’d consider sleeping in a bedroom in a stranger’s home while on vacation, they may have looked at you as though you were crazy. But in the years since then, renting a room or home from a private owner has become an accepted and even embraced approach to travel accommodations. While Airbnb and similar brands in the category have evolved and grown notably in popularity since their initial introduction, hotels are still considered the tried-and-true option for travelers. In order to continue growing, vacation rental brands must understand what’s driving their existing customers while also broadening their base to reach new travelers. Vacation rentals are improving on all key brand metrics. Vacation rental companies have made great strides in connecting with and engaging travelers since the outbreak of COVID-19. Consumers returning to the road after pandemic restrictions were more likely to book vacation rentals than in pre-pandemic years, often due to the physical distance it allowed, compared to hotels which often found consumers in close proximity to others. And the momentum has grown — the share of travelers planning to use a vacation rental in an upcoming trip?grew?from 18% in late 2021 to 27% in early 2024. Notably, increased usage has been accompanied by an improvement in brand metrics across the board. Since early 2020, net favorability is up 5 points, and net trust has improved by 4 points. Another perhaps unexpected improvement is in net community impact — despite concerns about the negative influence of vacation rental brands on affordable housing and neighborhood safety and culture for locals, perceptions in this area have grown more positive over time.... #future #vacationrentals #audience #Audiences #new #consumers #shorttermrentals #airbnb Click here to read the entire article: https://lnkd.in/gGY9WEZw

Insolvencies In The French Hospitality Sector Are Accelerating. According to data provided by Altares, the number of defaults in the French hospitality sector rose by nearly 20% in the first nine months of this year compared to last year. There were 208 insolvencies in the "Hotels and Similar Accommodation" category this year, up from 176 last year and 160 in 2020. Summary: The French hospitality sector is experiencing a 20% rise in insolvencies due to inflation, rising costs, and increased competition following the pandemic. While state aid had kept defaults low, the financial strain from high raw material and energy prices and debt from government-backed loans have led to more business failures. The sector faces workforce stability and customer retention challenges, especially for smaller, debt-burdened establishments. Industry bodies advocate for better staff training to counter these issues. Eric's Take: This is not just a European phenomenon; this is happening all over the world. More from the article: In addition, there were 68 defaults in the "Tourist Accommodation and Other Short-Term Accommodation" category, increasing from 58 last year and 26 in 2020. Experts are not surprised by this significant rise in insolvencies. The study identifies several factors explaining this phenomenon. Firstly,?due to state aid, the post-COVID period saw a historically low level of defaults,?a trend that had persisted for 30 years and was expected to increase. Additionally, consumer spending decreased because of inflation. The hotel and restaurant sectors were among the most affected, as professionals struggled with rising raw material costs while still needing to repay their state-guaranteed loans. The escalating expenses and insufficient revenues have led some companies to fail. Lastly, during the post-COVID recovery, there was a sudden increase in available accommodation and dining options. With too many competitors entering the market simultaneously, the most vulnerable businesses could not survive. #survive #businesses #businessfailure #business #france #hospitality #decline #defaults #french https://lnkd.in/gHTjtKZz

How the forgotten tourist homes of the 1930s predicted Airbnb. The article traces the history of tourist homes from the 1930s, showing how these early short-term rentals, similar to today’s Airbnbs, served travelers with affordable and community-focused accommodations. Tourist homes offered safe lodging for Black travelers during segregation, supporting social functions and economic opportunities, especially for Black women. The article reflects on how highways and hotels replaced these homes but suggests a renewed interest in local, personal hospitality reminiscent of the tourist home experience. From the article: Before highways, hundreds of thousands of short-term rentals served a growing class of American traveler. At a cozy table inside a 19th-century farmhouse, the clink of ice cubes against cocktail glasses punctuates the lively jazz that plays over the stereos. A pendant lamp casts an amber glow over yellowed wallpaper printed with pink and blue wildflowers. If not for the Honda CR-Vs and Toyota Priuses parked outside the Airport Rooms, this might be the 1940s, when the restaurant in North Adams, Massachusetts, was a tourist home — a category of accommodations based in a private residence, where passing travelers could rent a room for a few nights during the first wave of automotive travel. If the concept sounds familiar, it’s because Airbnb, Vrbo and other short-term rental platforms have the same business model. Hailed as innovators and disrupters when they first came online in the late 1990s, short-term rentals made up 20 percent of the U.S. accommodations sector in 2023, according to an?annual report?from the travel business site Skift, generating $66 billion that year. “I like to say that tourist homes were among the first Airbnbs,” says Candacy Taylor, who wrote about the category in her book?“Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America.” Tourist homes functioned similarly to the original iteration of today’s short-term rentals, offering an affordable alternative to the traditional hotel. In many places, especially the Jim Crow South, certain tourist homes served a crucial safety and social function for Black road trippers, who were frequently refused service or subjected to violence while traveling... hashtag #history #touristhome #shorttermrental #vacationrental #str #airbnb #businessmodel #highway Read the article: https://lnkd.in/gDj-fSfx

Taxpayers in Canada Who Sell or Who Have Sold Airbnb Units: The CRA is Watching. The market for Airbnb houses and condos is likely to take a significant hit in the wake of a ruling earlier this year by the Tax Court of Canada, which held that the sale of a used residential property rented out on Airbnb is subject to HST on the entire sale price.? ? The court decision came in an appeal of a tax assessment by 1351231 Ontario Inc. The company is owned by brothers David and Dean Ross. In February 2008, the company purchased a resale condominium on George Street in Ottawa. For the following nine years it rented the unit to tenants under long-term leases. For the last 14 months of its ownership, the corporation leased the condo under a number of short-term leases through the Airbnb platform. The rental income was $11,200 in 2017 and $43,179 for the first two months of 2018. HST was payable on the rents for that period. On April 11, 2018, the condo was sold to MLJFS Holding Inc. for $670,000. Neither the seller nor the buyer paid HST on the transaction, presumably treating it as a resale residential property, which would be exempt from the tax. Sometime after closing, the minister of national revenue assessed the former owner $77,079.64 for HST payable on the sale of the condominium. An appeal of the minister’s ruling to the Tax Court of Canada was heard by Justice Steven K. D’Arcy in September 2023. In his judgment released in March, the judge ruled that at the time the company sold the property, it was not a tax-exempt residential complex, since for tax purposes it was similar to a hotel, motel, inn, boarding house or lodging house. All of the condominium leases for the 14 months before the sale were for periods of continuous possession of less than 60 days. As a result of the commercial rental operation during that time, the entire sale price of the condominium was not exempt from HST. #Canada #tax #taxauthority #HST #CRA #realestate #homes #homesales #realestatesales https://lnkd.in/gReDrBTS

'We need to take bold action': Canmore, Calgary, Canada introduces new taxes for tourist homes. The Town of Canmore is moving forward with its plans to phase out "tourist homes" by implementing a new set of rules for short-term rental properties. The new rules will require current owners offering short-term vacation rentals to acquire a business licence, increase the fee for the licence and introduce fines for violators of the bylaw. The change follows the introduction of a vacancy tax approved by council over the summer and stems from recommendations of a Livability Taskforce, which was tasked with tackling the housing crisis in town and increasing vacancy for permanent or long-term residents. “The message is we need to take bold action to save our community as we know it,” said Mayor Sean Krausert. “If we continue on the way we have been going or the way most mountain towns have gone, and that’s not doing anything bold or different to address the situation, we will go the way of other mountain towns before us of becoming simply an enclave of the very wealthy, we’ll lose a lot of young families.” Business Registry License Bylaw requires a license for tourist homes operating as a business, such as offering rentals through Airbnb and Vrbo, but also allows fines for anyone operating without a license. The change is expected to add around 650 to 700 licences which will generate $97,500 in revenue for the town annually. The business licence fee is also being hiked 15 per cent, which is the first time it has been increased since 2015. Operating a tourist home for short-term rentals without a license could result in a $2,500 fine for the first violation, $5,000 for a second violation, and up to a maximum of $10,000 for third or subsequent offenses. #canada #canmore #calgary #regulations #affordablehousing #homes #residents #community #license #tax #revenue https://lnkd.in/g4MqYTvB

Barcelona’s housing crunch: calls to ease restrictions and protect investors. Barcelona’s?housing crisis, intensified by restrictive legislation and mounting opposition to short-term rentals like Airbnb, mirrors the struggles faced by other Spanish tourist cities and has sparked calls for government intervention to protect property investors and stabilize the market. The housing crisis in Barcelona, as in other major tourist hotspots like Madrid and Malaga is problematic. Added to this is the proliferation of legislation which seems to be targeting landlords across the country, especially growing contempt towards?Airbnb?and its tourist entourage. There are current appeals to the Government to end the war on property investors and to rein in tax hikes and new reforms which could drive landlords out of the market. Consequences of the housing crisis in Barcelona generating social problems What is most concerning of course are the secondary and even tertiary consequences of such a housing crisis provoked by mass tourism and a hand-over of investment opportunities to foreign capital. In the most extreme of cases, the minimal supply of housing at affordable rental prices is generating a growing population of squatters like the predicament of Moroccan immigrant, Chaymae, who with her four-year-old son faces eviction from a building that she was granted by a tenant’s union that had been uninhabited for two years. The question niggles: what options does she have now? Barcelona’s residents struggle to find a rental property as overrun by visitors to the city. This is not an isolated case. Nor is it a remote possibility for some who face the worrying burden of extortionate rent prices in Barcelona and a massively reduced supply. Barcelona has 1.7 million residents, but every year, it is flooded by 32 million visitors from across the globe. As its global renown has grown and foreign investment has soared, locals are struggling to afford property in their city as rent prices are inaccessible against a backdrop of stagnant wage top-ups. #europe #barcelona #regulations #tax #housing #affordablehousing https://lnkd.in/gHJdtFdp

Look at our friend and fellow group member Nico Molino and his company,?Live In Luxury, which was Featured on Staycation's three-time Emmy Award-winning show! Congrats, Nico! Live In Luxury's premier property in Dallas, TX, has been featured on Staycation's 3-time Emmy Award Winning show! This episode features the 7 best Airbnbs to stay at while visiting the Dallas Fort-Worth area. The property is a 110-year-old Piggly Wiggly grocery store turned 6 Bedroom, 4 bathrooms, 5,000 Sq. Ft. Duplex. The exposed brick and air ducts give that beautiful rustic and industrial feel. The luxury finishes, giant murals, 9-foot plant walls, and incredible design make your stay a one-of-a-kind experience! #liveinluxury #vacationrental #airbnb #tv #tvshow #texas #unique #luxury #shorttermrental #Staycations Watch the video here: https://lnkd.in/gjW69GJY