Airbnb

is losing homes and gaining Airbnb apartments

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There are many shows held around the world, but few can boast the levels of popularity of the FIFA World Cup, which will be held this summer in North America. Nor to drag so many followers. In January the organization revealed that in just 33 days it had received more than 500 million of ticket requests for the sales phase of the random draw. If FIFA’s calculations are correct, more than six million of people will attend the tournament stadiums, leaving an average of 450,000 visitors in each host city. Such an avalanche of tourists is already being noticed in the housing market of Mexico City (CDMX), one of the cities involved. What has happened? That the CDMX residential market is strongly feeling the effects of the 2026 World Cup, which will be held this summer in Canada, the United States and Mexico. At least that’s what he claims Urban Memorial Projecta citizen platform that has set out to document the effects of gentrification, tourism and real estate pressure in the Mexican capital. A few days ago the organization launched a statement in which he warns that, on the eve of the competition, CMDX is suffering a flight of homes that are leaving the residential market to be offered in the tourist market, much more profitable. What does the data say? The figures come from Inside Airbnb and they are eloquent. According to your recordsin a matter of six months (December 2024-June 2025) Airbnb gained 770 “new accommodation spaces” in the Mexican capital. “On average, three apartments or entire houses were stolen from the residential rental market every two days during the first half of 2025 to be allocated to tourists through Airbnb,” underlines Urban Memorial. The organization recalls that, according to the latest update from Inside Airbnb, at the end of June 2025 CDMX had 27.51 active accommodations. Why is it important? Because the group appreciates “an acceleration in the conversion of housing from residential use to temporary accommodation” and warns that this transfer also occurs in “a critical moment” for the capital, in the midst of a residential crisis and on the eve of the World Cup. Added to these factors is that a good part of Airbnb’s offer corresponds to complete homes (17,713), the number of which far exceeds that of private rooms (8,995). The study also warns that this is the ‘photograph’ from a few months ago. “Surely it is growing at an even faster rate as we get closer to the World Cup,” remember the platform before specifying that Airbnb’s offer is not distributed evenly throughout the metropolis. 81% are concentrated in the four most central districts with the best services, with Cuahtémoc at the head. There alone, the “undisputed epicenter of the business”, there are more than 12,500 accommodations, 46% of the entire city. Are they denouncing anything else? Yes. The platform remember that although the Tourism Law (renovated in 2023) clarifies that accommodations advertised on websites such as Airbnb cannot be rented for more than 180 nights each year, this guideline is “generally violated.” To be more precise, after studying the data from Inside Airbnb, the organization found that there were 7,532 properties (about 30% of the total) that had already exceeded the limit of available nights. Who includes the standard? Especially large owners, according to Memorial. Is it the only warning sign? No. A few months ago the newspaper Reform he wondered how the World Cup was affecting the rentals of homes and commercial premises in CDMX, Guadalajara and Monterrey, venues of the tournament. His conclusion was striking: he estimated that rents in total would become more expensive between 25 and 40%. Already in December Julio César Mendoza, manager of the Inmuebles24 platform, slid the possibility that prices would rise, especially in the venues closest to the stadiums where the matches will be played, focusing on “flexible or temporary contracts” signed for the World Cup season. Does only the World Cup influence? No. Of course, not all of the increase is solely attributable to the FIFA Cup. The Spot2.mx platform remember that at least in the specific case of CDMX, the increase in the cost of commercial spaces is already coming from behind and is related to the gentrification of certain areas of the capital. In fact, there are studies that ensure that rents in the residential market they have shot up 45% between 2020 and 2025, displacing the population to the periphery. In his case the World Cup would act more as an accelerant. The truth is that there are landlords who started months ago to remodel their commercial spaces to attract brands during the months of June and July. Some Mexican media they also talk of landlords who have stopped renewing rental contracts precisely coinciding with the proximity of the World Cup. Does it only affect houses and commercial premises? No. Although recently the hoteliers of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey they assured Since the anticipated occupancy level in its accommodation is low (30%), the sector expects demand to grow as the match dates approach. In fact, they predict that during key days occupancy will skyrocket to around 80 or 90%with rates 100, 150 or 300% higher than normal in key areas. The hotels near the stadiums hope to sell out. Images | Wikipedia and Zion Arellano (Unsplash) In Xataka | Mexico has been preparing for some time to host the World Cup. He had everything except the death of his great drug dealer

While OpenAI takes all the media glory with ChatGPT, Alibaba is already taking important clients with Qwen. The latest: Airbnb

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Alibaba has been investing in its family of open language models for quite some time.qwen‘, which are gaining increasing acceptance between developers and users. Although OpenAI takes all the media glory with ChatGPT and the rest of the services, the Chinese firm is not short and already is overtaking him with some clients. The latest example: Airbnb, which has chosen to rely mostly on Alibaba’s Qwen AI model for its automated customer service, leaving ChatGPT in a secondary role. Airbnb’s decision. Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of the tourist accommodation platform, explained Bloomberg this week that his company “heavily relies” on Alibaba’s Qwen model. As he admitted to the outlet, ChatGPT’s integration capabilities “are not quite ready” for Airbnb’s needs. On the other hand, Chesky assured that Qwen is “very good, fast and cheap.” It is curious, especially considering that Chesky is a personal friend of Sam Altman, head of OpenAI. How the system works. Airbnb’s customer service agent, which the company deployed to all its users Americans in English last May, is built on 13 different AI models, including those from OpenAI, Google and open source providers. However, Chesky recognized that, although they use the latest OpenAI models, “we usually don’t use them much in production because there are faster and cheaper models.” Just like point the company, the system has allowed them to cut their human workforce by 15% and claims to have saved average resolution time, going from almost three hours to just six seconds. Open source is gaining ground. Open source models, which developers can modify as they wish, are increasingly challenging closed systems like those from OpenAI. Although the company also has an open model (gpt-oss), Chinese tech companies are releasing models much faster, more cost-effectively, and open source. Joe Tsai, president of Alibaba, declared recently that the winner in AI should be determined by “who can adopt it the fastest,” not “who creates the most powerful model.” A future integration with ChatGPT in the air. Although Airbnb is awaiting the development of ChatGPT app integrations and could consider a collaboration in the future, similar to those of its competitors Booking and Expedia, the platform is not currently among the first applications available on the OpenAI chatbot. Chesky even advised to OpenAI about its new ability for third-party developers to integrate their applications into ChatGPT, a feature that the company announced this month and which he described as a “developer preview.” And now what. Airbnb plans expand its AI agent with support in Spanish and French this fall, and 56 more languages ​​next year. Meanwhile, the company claims to be betting on new social functions to foster connections between users and improve travel recommendations within the application. For Chesky, these features are “probably the most differentiated part of Airbnb.” Cover image | Unsplash (Oberon Copeland), Wikimedia In Xataka | OpenAI is no longer a startup. Now it is a black hole of 500,000 million that threatens the world economy

London prohibited renting homes on Airbnb more than 90 days a year. You will not believe what happened: prices lowered

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In 2017 it was Airbnb itself that introduced an innovative limit in the city of London: 90 annual days as a stop for complete housing rentals. The measure, adopted after authorities pressure Local and London’s town hall, sought to prevent the platform from being used fraudulently. Today we know that the consequence, although weak, was expected: up to 4%. Airbnb and London. Airbnb’s growth in London during the 2010 made the city one of the main focus of the collaborative economy, with More than 40,000 properties offered and an annual expansion. However, what was born as a specific form of income for individuals quickly became a business for professional operators. Almost A quarter From the advertisements of complete housing they exceeded the threshold of the 90 annual rental nights without having the required permission, which took thousands of floors from the residential market. The phenomenon generated neighborhood complaints about the constant rotation of temporary tenants and additional pressure on a market already tensioning for the lack of affordable housing. The political reaction. The lack of capacity of the municipalities to monitor these excesses led to local leaders Como Sarah Haywardin Camden, to denounce that whole neighborhoods were being emptied of long -term rent. Given this situation, Airbnb recognized that the regulation was inescapable and that it should prevent its platform from being used as a way to operate undercover hotels. The measure had the support of opposition politicians, Like Tom Copleythat demanded a firm response to stop the negative effects on local communities. The 90 -day rule. Thus, given the growing pressure, Airbnb decided to introduce in 2017 An automatic limitation: No host could rent a complete home more than 90 nights per year unless it was proven to have authorization from the Consistory. It was a way of transferring the legal restriction directly to the code of the application itself, preventing the ads from remaining active once the limit is exceeded. With this measure, the company tried to stop Operators’ abuse professionals and project a commitment to urban sustainability. The change was well received by local managers, who considered that only a platform level control could guarantee the effective compliance of the norm. The impact on prices. Now, with the data of recent studiesan open secret has been confirmed: that the Airbnb expansion reduced the residential rental offer and uploaded prices in several districts in London. But not just that. The introduction of the 90 -day rule allowed for a time to mitigate part of these effects, with a registered fall around 4.1% in housing price rates after the entry into force of the regulation. In other words: the episode became a reference to analyze how digital platforms can transform urban markets and to what extent regulation itself can correct its externalities. The (great) dilemma. The London case reflects a gallimatisms present in many other large cities: How to balance the economic attraction of digital platforms with the need to protect housing as a social good. While Airbnb defenders highlight the flexibility, diversification of tourism and additional income for families, their critics underline the Gentrificationthe Tourist saturation and the loss of tissue Community London, in this way, became In a laboratory Of this tension, showing that without a robust regulatory framework (and, very important, sustained), the impact on housing can be devastating. A precedent. The introduction of The London rule He had an international impact, by inspiring other local governments to establish similar limits. European and American cities closely observed The experimentverifying that the combination of technological automation and political control could reduce adverse effects. The debate, of course, remains more than open: to what extent the platforms must self -regulate, and how far the states will impose restrictions to safeguard the right to housing. The citywith its mixture of neighborhood pressure, empirical data And political decisions, it was erected at a turning point in the relationship between digital economy and urban policies. Comparative with other “great.” As we said, the London frame was not isolated. In Berlinthe proliferation of tourist rentals led to the introduction of fines of up to 100,000 euros For those who rent more than half of their home without permission, a rule that sought to avoid the massive conversion of residential buildings into tourist accommodations. In Barcelonathe City Council has undertaken A crusade Against illegal tourist floors, closing hundreds of ads and fine Airbnb for not removing accommodations without a license, in an attempt to contain the expulsion of neighbors in central neighborhoods (while hotels prices rose). In New Yorkthe restrictions focused in limiting rentals of complete apartments when the owner did not live in the same property, accompanied by daily sanctions of up to $ 1,000to prevent whole blocks from being converted into clandestine hotels. San Francisco set sanctions from up to $ 1,000 newspapers not to register the properties. All examples that show how cities, each with their legal and social peculiarities, agreed on an essential point: the Airbnb phenomenon had overcome the border of technological innovation to become a real political and urban challenge of the first order. Image | Pexels, Pexels In Xataka | It is not that mass tourism has been installed in Madrid, Barcelona or Rome, is that it has reached the Galapagos Islands In Xataka | In 2023 New York closed the tap to Airbnb to protect his home. Two years later, only hotels are happy

It seemed difficult for the Galapagos Islands to be more threatened. And then a watchmaking pump arrived: Airbnb

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This summer, and while Spain declared war to the sector, the holiday rental He reached levels that until recently they would have seemed more typical of a dystopia. In fact, the platforms began to do business to the Pool rental for hours. Meanwhile, in places like New York, who closed the tap to Airbnb in 2023, they had discovered that two years later Hotels are happy. With this scenario, the Galapagos Islands have encountered the problem at home. The arrival of Airbnb. I told the weekend The New York Times. In the Galapagos Islands, one of the most delicate natural environments on the planet, the rise of Airbnb after the pandemic has transformed the tourist panorama. Alicia Ayalaknown as “the queen of Airbnb”, Symbolize This turn: rent apartments at affordable prices that attract backpackers and middle -class families, in contrast to elitist tourism that dominated for decades. Figures? Today there is More than 1,300 accommodations of this type compared to about 300 regulated hotels, which has generated an explosion of low -budget visitors who spend less and, according to critics, contribute to environmental deterioration and the banalization of a declared place World Heritage. Impact and tensions. Criticisms focus on the inability of short rentals to meet the Strict environmental standards that do govern for hotels, forced to pay permits, provide conservation funds and manage waste in a territory without drinking water or sustainable energy. The proliferation of uninformed visitors multiplies harmful behaviors: garbage on beaches, protected fauna or consumption of threatened species. In fact, researchers They warn that uncontrolled tourism threatens to convert the islands into a “Venice of Nature”, where the immediate economy of the preservation of unique ecosystems. Mass tourism and local economy. The archipelago went from receiving 6,000 annual visitors in the seventies to a forecast of 300,000 in 2025driven by commercial flights, social networks and the appearance of cheap excursions replacing the traditional luxury cruises. What is happening is A stage that It is repeated in The entire planet. This massification has left family hotels with empty rooms, while competing against Airbnbs that operate with lower costs and low supervision. At the same time, the tourism sector holds 80% Of the 30,000 inhabitants, so the dilemma between immediate income and sustainability becomes more acute in an isolated environment that depends on expensive imports and limited services. The legal (and political) battle. Although the Ecuadorian Constitution and the special legislation of the Galapagos They recognize rights of nature and limit hotel development, the absence of specific regulation for Airbnb generates a void that the hosts have taken advantage of. The Ministry of Tourism He has declared illegal Many of these accommodations and has ordered closures, but lacks effective control mechanisms, while platforms such as Airbnb claim to comply with current regulations and ask for clear rules. UNESCO He has urged Ecuador to stop growth and regulate digital tourism, although the attempts of hoteliers to achieve changes have been left unworthy. Threats and uncertain future. To tensions for tourism problems are added of illegal fishing, drug trafficking And, more recently, the fusion of the Ministry of Environment with that of Energy and Mines, played by experts such as a turn towards The exploitation of resources above conservation. In this context, the dispute between regulated hotels and hosts of Airbnb reflects a deeper conflict: to what extent Ecuador is willing to sacrifice Ecological integrity of the galapagos to sustain their economy. Among the pressure of tourism growth, the lack of effective regulation and the political signals that prioritize extraction on preservation, the future of the archipelago as a natural sanctuary remains, more than ever, in question. Image | Diego Delso In Xataka | In 2023 New York closed the tap to Airbnb to protect his home. Two years later, only hotels are happy In Xataka | Airbnb has just eliminated 65,000 tourist floors. The problem is that consumption has found another 55,000

In 2023 New York closed the tap to Airbnb to protect his home. Two years later, only hotels are happy

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To desperate problems, imaginative solutions. A few years ago New York decided to stop the housing crisis which has long dragged with a measure that put the focus directly on Airbnb. The baptized as Local Law 18 made renting floors to tourists, for short stays, of less than 30 days, results Much more complicated and thus achieve a double objective: enforce the sector regulations and protect the low housing offer in the city. The norm premiered just two years ago. And the balance is far from being the ideal. A name: Local Law 18. New York is not the only city that has proposed to limit the supply of holiday rental. Something have done in Florence, London, Barcelona either Madridto name just a handful of examples. The attempt of the Big Apple resulted in particularly media, both because of the repercussion that the city has and its content. The known as Local Law 18approved in September 2023, imposed limitations to those who were dedicated to lease their houses for periods of less than 30 days. From entry NY demanded that the Caseros register and prohibited AirbnB (and similar platforms) to manage reservations if the accommodations did not meet that requirement, a measure similar to that incorporated with Spain with their “Single record“Not only that. In addition to registering, the law established that the landlords must comply with certain guidelines That in practice it limits who (and especially how) can be put in the market: nothing to rent whole houses, only rooms, the hosts must be present and the number of guests is also very restricted. A double objective. With the new standard the New York authorities pursued two goals. The first, to facilitate the coexistence in the apartments blocks in which residential and holiday floors lived. The second (and most important) Palliar The housing crisis that dragged the city. Two years later the communities of neighbors of the Big Apple may have fewer problems with groups of noisy tourists, but there are serious doubts that the second purpose, the really ambitious, has been achieved. The best test was left a few days ago by the newspaper The Wall Street Journal in A broad analysis With a title that is at the same time a sentence and demonstrates that (at least) the debate remains open: “The campaign against Airbnb in New York has not improved the housing offer.” Although since September 2023 New Yorkers have more complicated to offer their floors in Airbnb or Booking does not seem that this has translated into a distension of the residential market. On the contrary, The newspaper affirms Conservative: “It is more difficult than ever finding an apartment to rent in the city.” And that is something that can be checked by consulting both prices and housing stock available in NY. What do the data say? That New York floors have not stopped becoming more expensive in the last two years. Zillow shows for example that the average long -stay rental price is now in $ 3,750150 more than a year ago. “The law does not seem to have a significant impact on getting leases more affordable,” confirms a TWSJ Jonathan Miller, manager of a real estate appraisal company. According to its calculations, the market has even reached a historical maximum of $ 4,700 per month in Manhattan, although it acknowledges that factors such as lack of new work influence that figure. Airbnb also handles data that show that NY tenants do not have it easier today than before the local law 18. The platform is an interested party and that must be taken into account when driving Your figuresbut they are eloquent: the New York City rental index rose 8.1%, that of Manhattan 8.6%, Brooklyn 7.7%and Queens 6.5%. The portal also warns of the “load” involved in rental for the pockets of the periphery families. “Almost three million New Yorkers pay more than 30% of their income for rent,” prevents. A percentage: 2.45%. It is not just about the cost of rent. The housing stock available in NY still is not what is said Boyante, which a priori would facilitate prices to soften. Miller assures That last July the vacancies for residential rental in Manhattan marked a meager 2.45%, near the historical minimum. In that same idea affects Airbnb, which a few days ago launched A statement regretting that, despite the fact that short -term rentals in New York have fallen more than 90%, “rental vacancies have dropped 0.5%” with respect to 2023. And everything, insists the platform“without signs of a significant improvement in housing availability.” But … how is it possible? The million dollar question. And it has no easy answer. To start there is something obvious and that is that the NY market It takes time facing challenges such as the rise of rentals or the shortage of the stock, which do not respond to a single factor. In addition the Big Apple is not the only US region that has dealt with The increase of housing, aggravated by the lack of new work. In your analysis TWSJ It provides data Interesting that helps to understand why local law 18 has failed to reverse the trend and its effect has barely appreciated: although two years ago there were thousands of floors available to tourists on Airbnb, they actually suppose only a small part of NY’s huge real estate cake. In early 2023 in the city there were around 38,500 Airbnb units, As needed The economic newspaper, a very low fact if one takes into account that in the free market there were more than one million residential units. Right now the special compliance office has registered only 3,000 rentals in the short term that the strict requirements of the law meet and can be announced legally. That does not mean that the remaining thousands of floors are leased by New York families that use them as stable and permanent homes. Another fact: 35,000 homes. There are owners who, not being … Read more

Airbnb has just eliminated 65,000 tourist floors. The problem is that consumption has found another 55,000

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Spain has been living for years in a free bar of tourist floors, so in May, the Ministry of Consumer He pressed a red button against Airbnband activated it in more than 65,000 floors that considered that they breached legislation. The reasons? Do not include license, include a erroneous, or lack all the necessary information. The government finally has achieved its goalalthough it has a new almost equally ambitious. Goodbye to 65,000 floors. The Ministry of Consumption led by Pablo Bustinduy has announced that Airbnb has retired the more than 65,000 illegal ads whose elimination had been demanding for months. Three resolutions had been sent from the Ministry, and They specified That “in all cases these are complete housing for tourist use, no individual room ads appear” Yes, but. After this first batch that has ended the publications outside the platform, the Consumer Analysis Unit has communicated the existence of another 54,728 illegal ads that do not have “rental registration number”, the tuition that since July 1 they need to announce and operate on platforms such as Booking or Airbnb. The government has been firm on its road map, and has announced That will not stop: “The Consumer Analysis Unit will continue working to identify and report potential illegal ads on different digital platforms specialized in the rental of tourist accommodations.” The problems for Airbnb are not over. In the absence of knowing if after the agreement with Housing Airbnb it will proceed with this new list of ads as with the more than 65,000 retired ads, the company is still immersed in problems with the Bustinduy Ministry. At the end of the year, consumption opened a sanctioning file to the company, for illicit advertising (ads without license number). It remains subject to a formal investigation that can end in an economic sanction if the infractions attributed to them are confirmed. In that case, it faces fines of up to 100,000 euros, although according to the file, it can become between 4 and 6 times higher than the money obtained with illegal practices. Justice supports government (for the moment). After requesting the elimination of the more than 65,000 ads, the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid had backed twice that Airbnb withdraw with immediate effect 5,800 ads. Despite the requested precautionary measures, the company was forced to eliminate these ads, located in Andalusia, Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Valencian Community and the Basque Country. The reason for not stopping the legal procedure was that the court did not consider that there were “irreparable damages” for Airbnb. A consequence of the war to Airbnb: more expensive hotels. Barcelona has been limiting tourist floors since 2014, looking for the rental market. However, the rental price has not stopped in the city: 72% shot from that date until 2023. But also The price of hotels has risen: 8% from 2023 to 2024 and 30% since 2019. From Xataka we have contacted Airbnb to know its position on the new government application. We will update if we receive more information. Image | Kaspars Upmanis in Unspash In Xataka | Neither air conditioning nor fan: the best thing to cool in summer is a pool. In these platforms they are rented for hours

Spain has declared the Airbnb war. So hotels have uploaded prices

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Last week the Ministry of Consumer claimed Airbnb that Block about 66,000 “illegal” ads of tourist apartments spread throughout Spain. The fight against Break of Tourist Floors In our country it continues to give many headaches, but blocking those ads points to a direct consequence already known and feared by tourists. New York is more exclusive. The city that never sleeps He planted face to short -term rentals offered by Airbnb, VRBO or Booking. The goal was to alleviate the abuses and exorbitant prices with which the New Yorkers dealt every time they had to look for residence. Eighteen months later the conclusions of the measures were worrisome and universal: the prices of the floors that were maintained in that catalog of services rose, and what people did when looking for rentals to live (not holidays) was New Jersey end. And the lesson of Barcelona. The city is the only one that has limited tourist floors since 2014. This would allow many of them to return to the traditional rental market and thus the average rental price would fall. As indicated in In the countrya PWC report demolishes those two myths after analyzing what has happened since 2014 to 2023 in that city: The accumulated growth of traditional rentals has been 2.2%, totally insufficient. Much of the homes that were rented via Airbnb have not returned “to the traditional market The rental price has fired 72% in that period More expensive hotels. And those who have benefited from the situation have been hotels. In 2024, the average price per room and night It was 187.8 euros In Barcelona, ​​8% more than in 2023 and 30% more than in 2019. Barcelona is already the third most expensive destination in its hotel offer in Spain only behind Marbella and the Balearic Islands, according to a study by Cushman & Wakefield’s consultant. 12,000 empty homes. The Apartur Association of Tourist Apartments in Barcelona indicates that there are 12,000 empty homes that do not go on the residential rental market. They do not according to them for two reasons: the price limitation, which reduces profitability, and the High Okupation. The solution would be to offer both legal certainty and tax incentives for owners. Otherwise, those responsible for the association say, the situation will continue to be equally problem or more. Madrid points to the same (worrying) destination. The housing problem goes beyond tourist floorsand although the intention of the Ministry of Consumer is good, it is not likely that these more than 65,000 homes will pass to the residential market to relieve the situation. A report From ESADEECPOL reveals how homemade prefer seasonal rentals (between 1 and 12 months) because it does not force signing five -year contracts or limiting prices as in some areas (Caraluña, the Basque CountryNavarra and Asturias). The other consequence: empty houses. Adolfo Meras is the president of Madrid, an association that represents 5,000 homemade housing housing. According to him, “there are many homemade who They leave their empty houses due to the lack of guarantees and because they are not willing to do without their homes during the five years that the Law of Urban Leases marks. “They prefer to have their empty houses to be able to dispose of them occasionally and if they need it, to rent them with the conditions imposed by the law currently. My apartment like bonus. The Mabrian firm has conducted a tourist offer monitoring study, and according to data cited in the country, the photo of the tourist rental is different from the one that We imagined. Tourist floors are not controlled by large funds: large holders (more than 11 homes) represent 2% of total hosts. Individuals (a home), 74.1% and small holders (two to 10), 23.9%. Three out of four hosts, therefore, “use their properties as a route to obtain additional income, while extending the ability to accommodate tourist accommodation in the destinations,” emphasizes Carlos Cendra, partner of Mabrian. Tourism punishment. The limits that have been imposed on Airbnb in the past in cities such as Barcelona or New York, and that gradually leave extending to other citiesthey are not relieving the housing problem because those tourist floors They do not become residential rentals. The direct consequence is the rise in prices in the existing tourist offer, both in Airbnb or Booking and in hotels, something that ends up being a problem for tourism. It can reduce it, which will placate the anger of those who criticize mass tourism, but it does not seem to be causing these cities to solve their housing problem. Image | Jorge Fernández Salas In Xataka | After expanding throughout the planet, touristification has reached Antarctica. And it is already taking its toll

The government has a red button against Airbnb and has activated it in 65,000 floors

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At the doors of summer, with the influx of international travelers in record levels and housing and Tourist massification converted into almost daily debate issues (yesterday motivated A protest In the Canary Islands), the government wanted to launch a resounding notice to the holiday rental platforms. The Ministry of Social Rights and Consumption has just claimed Airbnb to block Around 66,000 ads “illegal” tourist apartments spread throughout Spain. The message is clear: the State has the tools to regulate the offer in the holiday rental market. And has decided to use them. What happened? That the Ministry of Consumer He just remind you to Airbnb that must block almost 66,000 ads of tourist floors offered on its website. To be more prices 65,935 publications that, in the opinion of the technicians of the department of Pablo Bustinduy, can be considered “illegal.” It is not the first time that the Government is aimed at the rental platform to claim that you eliminate those publications, but now it does so with a draft argument in its favor: a favorable sentence of the Superior Court of Justice. Why’s that? As Remember from consumptionover the last months its technicians have sent three resolutions to Airbnb in which they order the platform that eliminates 66,000 ads of floors. Those responsible however share the consumption criteria and have resorted to the order before justice. Now the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid has ruled. And he does so giving him consumption in a resolution that affects a first batch of 5,800 ads of houses distributed by Andalusia, Madrid, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Basque Country and the Balearic Islands. Enough for the government to have launched a statement emphasizing the need for Airbnb to block all the ads that it considers “illegal”, the 65,935, something that has already demanded from the offices of Ireland. Why do you want to block them? Because in the opinion of the Government these publications do not respect the rules that holiday accommodations must comply with if they want to announce. “Specifically, the regulations of the different autonomous communities are violated where consumption has detected these ads. In all cases it is complete housing for tourist use, advertisements of individual rooms appear,” specify From the ministry. To be more precise, consumption considers that they fail three key guidelines. The main one is not to include the license or registration number, an obligation collected in several autonomous regulations and that supposes “the most common infraction” detected by the Ministry. The second is that the ads do not require whether the house is renting a company or particular. Finally, officials have also detected that (at least in some ads) a license is included that does not correspond to that issued by the authorities, the third infraction. What does Airbnb say? Which is willing to battle. In statements collected by The reasonthe platform says that “it will continue to resort all the decisions that affect this case” and accuses consumption of having used an “indiscriminate methodology”, including both “ads that show licenses” and “others that might not need it, as seasonal leases.” “He has also deliberately ignored resolutions of the supreme that make it clear that not all Airbnb ads require registration number.” Is it the first touch of attention? No. The Government (as well as other administrations regional) It has been aware of tourist floors, among other reasons for Tensions which generates in the residential market. One of its most ambitious initiatives is A unique registry of holiday rentals that seek to centralize the management, that all the registered floors have a license and that platforms such as Booking or the Airbnb Velan itself because the homes announced comply with the guidelines set by the Law for Rent. The notice launched by consumption is important for another reason, beyond the possibility of withdrawing almost 66,000 homes from the tourist rental market. It is a new touch of attention that is added to the sanctioning file open to late 2024 to a tourist floors rental platform for breaching advertising or activated regulations Last February. Why is it important? For the debate generated over last years around tourist rental and its impact on the price of housing and for the legal situation in which there are many apartments that are leaving for travelers. Just two months ago The country It echoed of a calculation of consumption that reveals that only 7% of the tourist housing ads offered in Madrid have a license. The Executive crossed the advertising of 16,335 tourist apartments in the city with the information of 1,131 permits in force granted by the City Council. Its conclusion: there are 15,204 homes outside the law. Image | Erwan Hesry (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | “My savings were there”: Spanish cities are already beginning to regulate their tourist floors

Airbnb does not want to be just the place where you reserve the floor of your vacation. Now you want to look for chef and coach

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Airbnb no longer wants to be (alone) the place you go to search and book the house where you will spend your next vacation. That, He assured Tuesday His co -founder and CEO, Brian Chesky, has fallen short. With the tourism market upthe recent memory of pandemic and regulatory challenge every time More presentAirbnb has decided to undergo one of the biggest changes he has lived in its 18 years of history. Its objective: to be a comprehensive tourist platform. And that happens to facilitate the search for accommodation, but also offer Hairdressers, chefs, masseuses, or even a plan to learn flamenco in Madrid or riding a horse in Cuzco. Everything you need for your trip. “Much more than Airbnb”. The phrase is from Chesky and although it could perfectly go through a commercial slogan, it captures well the essence of the change that the company wanted to apply to the summer doors of 2025. After 18 years of travel, Millions of active ads And more than 2,000 million registered stays, Airbnb has decided to undergo an image change and expand its scope. His idea is very simple: he no longer wants to limit himself to accommodation management. Now the app will also allow to hire services and experiences. Do you want a personal coach? You have it. Do you want to resort to the services of a chef, a masseuse or an original experience, such as a gastronomic route, a horse ride or shopping with a stylist? You have it too. Airbnb’s goal is to make the leap to services and complete the experience of tourists. Why’s that? The company assures who wants to stand up to his main competitor: the hotels. “Often people decide Explain. The truth is that its new business turn arrives in a stage marked by other factors, not only the competition that accommodations can exercise. Challenges on the horizon. After almost 20 years of accelerated expansion and add millions of offers in much of the planet (in 2024 Statista spoke Of almost eight million advertisements in 100,000 cities), Airbnb has seen how its regulatory scenario has been complicated. In New York They have put limitsin Norway it applies A ratein cities like Madrid or Florence Its expansion has been stopped by Moratory and restrictions on the opening of new tourist floors and in Barcelona directly wants to end With them. And that to quote just some examples of territories that have moved to paliar tab The impact of the sector in its residential market. The company has also suffered A fall In the stock market Regarding 2024 before business and BBC precise That, despite the strength of his latest profits, Airbnb has warned that the increase in reserves could slow down this quarter. Two ideas: services and experiences. Airbnb has decided to articulate its new offer around those two groups: services and experiences. The first has in turn divided it into 10 categories among which are chefs that prepare food at home, photographers, masseuses, coaches, hairdressers or catering. Airbnb says that it has “evaluated the knowledge and reputation” of all its “hosts” and guarantees that they have an average of ten years of experience, have contributed the necessary permits and also verified their identity. “Best of all, it is not necessary assures. Regarding prices, options are included for less than 50 euros. Airbnb presumes in addition to having recognized professionals (chefs with Michelin stars) and offers that can only be hired through the platform itself. Go out of route or go shops. The other leg of the new Airbnb offer are the “experiences”, available a priori in several hundred cities. As an example the company quotes A route For the Parisian heritage with an architect who has documented the reconstruction of Notre-Dame, Kitchen classes With a Japanese chef, excursions on horseback by Inca sacred places with an anthropologist or a Fight class in a Mexican ring with a professional fighter. Again, Airbnb presumes that part of those experiences are “Airbnb Originals”. And how do you intend to do it? Airbnb Clarify That the services will start in 260 cities with a dozen different categories, “although new types of offers and additional locations will appear in the app every so often,” he says. As for the experiences, they will be launched in more than 650 cities in the world. The country Precise that services and experiences will be available in destinations such as Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Malaga or Seville. For example, flamenco classes are included, a visit to the meadow, wines and oils or tapas routes. To articulate the new Airbnb offer, it has also decided to “totally renew” its app to facilitate that it becomes a comprehensive travel platform: a tool with which to reserve stay, services and plans. “When users reserve accommodation, the application will suggest services and experiences depending on where they are going to stay and who will accompany them,” Clarify. The change comes more than two years later that Chesky proposed to transform the company and an investment that would be around 250 million dollars. Images | Zed Mendez (UNSPLASH) and Airbnb In Xataka | Norway implemented a 22% rate for Airbnb floors years ago. It has only served to raise more

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