Spain report shift towards shorter stays and alternative accommodation as campaign against STR strengthens

The average holiday rental stay has fallen to 4.96 days from 5.31 days
Traditional accommodation overnight stays have declined 3.6pc
Over 50,000 unlicensed rentals have been removed from booking platforms
Barcelona is phasing out tourist licences by 2028
VAT on holiday rentals may increase to 21pc

Spain’s tourism sector has been experiencing shorter average tourist stays and a heavily regulated transition regarding alternative accommodation, with data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute and travel data firms showing shifting patterns in visitor behaviour. The average length of stay in popular holiday rentals has dipped to 4.96 days, down from 5.31 days recently, as rising prices have compressed travel budgets.

Traditional “extra-hotel” listings including holiday apartments, rural homes and hostels are seeing a drop in overnight stays, with apartment nights declining 3.6pc due to a combination of high prices and reduced supply. More than 21m visitors in the first half of the year did not stay overnight. Escalating costs for traditional beach holidays have priced out many local travellers and caused a shift toward alternative travel models such as home-exchanging, which saw over 2m users in Spain. Spanish authorities have prioritised housing availability for residents over short-term tourist lets, with over 50,000 unlicensed or non-compliant short-term rentals being purged from online booking platforms following strict national and local mandates.

Barcelona has initiated a plan to phase out tourist-use home licences entirely by 2028, while Madrid has banned tourist apartments in residential buildings across its historic centre. The Spanish government has proposed increasing VAT on holiday rentals to 21pc, alongside a pan-European database taking effect to enforce monthly booking data shares.

Tourism industry representatives shared: “The regulatory changes affecting short-term rentals and the shift toward shorter stays represent fundamental structural changes in the Spanish tourism market that demand strategic adaptation from hospitality businesses.”