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Reining in Airbnb rentals and stag parties: Andalucia wants to further regulate tourism on the Costa del Sol
Hotel rooms in Malaga will be fitted with noise monitors while the local government wants to apply stricter regulations to holiday lets
Homeowners renting out their properties for the summer season is nothing new, but the birth of Airbnb has caused an explosion in the market in Andalucía and the government has felt itself forced to heavily regulate the practice.
Renting out houses and apartments can be a source of easy money for property owners and for tourists it is often a cheaper form of accommodation than hotels, but it can also be a real headache for neighbours who often have to deal with rowdy holidaymakers staying next door. Now, with an influx of visitors and an increasing number of stag and hen parties flocking to the region, the mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, is adamant that he will not “tolerate an uncontrolled city”.
One of the solutions being examined is the installation of noise monitors in hotel rooms and holiday apartments after receiving “an increase in complaints in certain areas of the city, around five a day, around the centre, concerning bachelor parties”.
Other places in Spain, including Mojácar, Longroño, Madrid, Tarifa, Salamanca and Tossa de Mar, have already implemented measures to control hen and stag dos, ranging from increased police presence to fines of up to 3,000 euros, while the Balearic Islands this summer will crack down on “drunken tourism” by limiting alcohol consumption in all-inclusive resorts and banning happy hours.
Carlos Carrera, president of the Neighbourhood Association, supports the idea of limiting noise pollution created by holidaymakers but doubts that the city has the capacity to enforce it, considering the huge amount of tourist accommodation which, in his opinion, the city council has failed to regulate.
This issue is being addressed, but it’s not without its critics. The Ministry of Tourism wants to combine the current regulations that govern tourist accommodation and private housing rented to holidaymakers so that they will be subject to the same rules, but the Andalucían Association of Tourist Housing and Apartment Professionals fiercely opposes the measure, claiming that it “criminalises” homeowners.
The group has also argued that such a move would greatly reduce the availability of accommodation for holidaymakers to Andalucía, since the owners of tourist homes would be limited to renting out just two properties in the entire community.
Image: Archive
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