Keystone
The Spanish government has imposed a fine of over 64 million euros on Airbnb. The main reason for this was advertisements for more than 65,000 apartments that did not have the required license, according to the Ministry of Consumer Protection in Madrid.
The platform for tourist accommodation must also delete the irregular advertisements promptly. A statement from Airbnb was not initially available.
The fine for “unfair commercial practices” is the second highest ever imposed by a consumer protection authority in Spain, said Minister Pablo Bustinduy. Only the fine of 108 million euros imposed on the airline Ryanair in 2024 was larger.
The amount of the fine corresponds to six times the profits that Airbnb had made from the offending advertisements since the first warning until their removal, it was said.
The penalty is legally binding and an appeal by the platform to the ministry has been rejected. The left-wing government had previously repeatedly asked Airbnb’s European headquarters in Ireland to remove the advertisements that were classified as illegal.
“Thousands of families living on the breadline”
The mass rental of vacation apartments is criticized by many in Spain as one of the main causes of the increasing housing shortage. The government in Madrid and the various regions have been trying to regulate and curb this type of rental for some time.
Particularly in large cities and tourist strongholds such as Mallorca, Ibiza and the Canary Islands, the demand for housing significantly exceeds supply, causing rents to rise sharply. As a result, protest rallies are taking place time and again. The number of vacation homes offered via platforms such as Airbnb is now estimated at more than 400,000 in Spain.
“There are thousands of families living on the breadline because of the housing situation, while a few are getting rich with business models that drive people out of their homes,” said Bustinduy. In Spain, no company, “no matter how big or powerful, should be above the law.”
Bad news for tourists
The apartments that Airbnb had previously advertised illegally would soon be added to the regular housing market, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had previously assured. This is not good news for tourists. The measure could make it much more difficult for visitors to book affordable vacation accommodation in the popular vacation destination in future.