Balancing local communities', entrepreneurs' and travellers' needs linked to short-term rentals

Opinion Factsheet: Balancing local communities', entrepreneurs' and travellers´ needs linked to short-term rentals
Rapporteur: CIAMBETTI Roberto, Commission: NAT

Fragmented City: International Mobility and Housing in Spain by Juan Manuel Parreño Castellano, María José Piñeira-Mantiñán, Jesús González Pérez (eds.)
Publication Date: 2022
Habitual statements in academic and journalistic fields on the growing inequality of our cities call for multiple reflections. There are numerous indicators of inequality, and territorial specificities give rise to important and subtle differences. What is less debatable is the spatial expansion of inequality (from more outlying, poorer countries to the most developed ones) and its generalization on all scales (from rural to urban areas, and from large metropolises to small cities). Mobility and housing lie at the root of many of these processes, which are represented by phenomena that are often interconnected, such as gentrification and the elite social classes; impoverishment and immigrants in search of work; and segregation and refugees; among many others. In this book, the authors try to offer a Spanish-based vision of what they call urban geographies in transition—that is, urban geographies in which the key stages, for the purpose of analysis, are the real estate bubble (1996–2007), the subsequent crisis (2008–2013), and the ensuing recovery (2014–2020), without overlooking the impact of the current COVID-19 crisis on the configuration of a new spatial order in cities.

Short-term accommodation rental in Amsterdam: An empirical investigation of statistical correlations between short-term rental, housing prices and quality of life index
This study investigates the emergence and growth of short-term rental (STR) services of accommodation in Amsterdam. More specifically, in its first part it investigates statistical correlations between the emergence and growth of short-term accommodation rentals via collaborative platforms and the development of house prices. In its second part, it assesses statistical correlations between such short-term accommodation rentals and developments in the quality of life, as measured by the “Quality of Life Barometer”. Results show that the number of STRs is statistically correlated to house price developments at local levels. Evidence for this is found both by means of a hedonic pricing model and a model with a repeat-sales specification. In areas where Airbnb activity already takes place, increasing intensity of this activity is statistically positively correlated with house prices. At the same time, the initial emergence of Airbnb listings is correlated, in certain areas, with a decrease in house prices. These results suggest that the availability of properties for STRs and house prices are subject to a complex process of co-evolution.
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EC report, June 2021
Short-term rentals in the EU
On behalf of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Ipsos European Public Affairs conducted a Flash Eurobarometer survey about short-term rentals in the EU, booked via platforms. For this Flash Eurobarometer, a representative sample of citizens, aged 15 and over, was interviewed in each of the 27 Member States of the European Union. Between 1 and 9 September 2021, 25 700 interviews were conducted over the telephone (landline and mobile phones).
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EC report, Oct 2021
Data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services
The European Commission published on 7 November 2022 a proposal for a regulation on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services. The proposal contributes to the Commission's priorities to make the EU fit for the digital age, and to build a future-ready economy that works for people and builds on the recent Digital Services Act, the proposal regulates online platforms, which connect hosts and guests for short-term accommodation rentals. The regulation should facilitate the registration of hosts and their short-term rental properties and reduce inconsistencies in how online platforms share data.
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EP Briefing, 08-02-2023
Digital Services Act - Pre-legislative synthesis of national, regional and local positions on the European Commission's initiative
This briefing forms part of an EPRS series offering syntheses of the pre-legislative state of play and consultation on key European Commission priorities during the current five-year term. It summarises the state of affairs in the relevant policy field, examines how existing policy is working on the ground, and, where possible, identifies best practice and ideas for the future on the part of governmental organisations at all levels of European system of multilevel governance. EPRS analysis of the positions of partner organisations at European, national, regional and local levels suggests that they would like the following main considerations to be reflected in discussion of the forthcoming Digital Services Act (DSA): Modernisation of EU legislation on platforms Regional and national stakeholders stress that it is high time to update and harmonise EU rules on online platforms, pointing out that the DSA should address the legal uncertainty and administrative burden stemming from the fragmentation of Union legislation.
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EP Briefing, 26-11-2020
Online platforms: Economic and societal effects
Online platforms such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook play an increasingly central role in the economy and society. They operate as digital intermediaries across interconnected sectors and markets subject to network effects. These firms have grown to an unprecedented scale, propelled by data-driven business models. Online platforms have a massive impact on individual users and businesses, and are recasting the relationships between customers, advertisers, workers, and employers. This has triggered a public debate on online platforms’ economic dominance and patterns of pervasive data collection. The report provides evidence of positive impact, and documents a set of important issues not fully addressed by existing European regulation and enforcement. The consensus is that there is a need to strengthen the current law enforcement and regulation of the platform economy. This report welcomes the proposed Digital Markets and Digital Services Acts, and offers a series of policy options for competition and innovation, working conditions and labour markets, consumer and societal risks, and environmental sustainability.
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EP Study, 10-03-2021
Cities in a globalised world: Exploring trends and the effect on urban resilience
Cities are inevitably affected by shocks and disruptions, the pandemic being a case in point. The extent of the impact however depends on cities' preparedness and capacity to adapt. By thinking ahead, cities can explore emerging or plausible developments in order to anticipate them and contain potential disruption. Drawing on a report prepared by the European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS), this EPRS paper explores the impact on and implications for cities of current global trends, such as climate change, population growth, urbanisation, economic growth, increasing energy demand, higher connectivity and a changing world order, that will have direct consequences for the future of cities and their inhabitants.
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EP Study, 07-10-2021
City characteristics that attract Airbnb travellers: evidence from Europe
This paper investigates the reviews posted by Airbnb customers in order to assess the customer satisfaction, and to understand the criteria of Airbnb customers in short-term accommodation rentals. The objective is to determine the characteristics that customers find important, and to provide the typologies of cities from the customer perspective. The analysis holds under scope the five most touristic cities in Europe.
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Burçin Güçlü, David Roche, Frederic Marimon, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR QUALITY RESEARCH (MAR 2020), Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 271 – 290

Explaining the diversity of policy responses to platform-mediated short-term rentals in European cities: A comparison of Barcelona, Paris and Milan
Short-term rentals facilitated by online platforms (like Airbnb) have recently become a subject of intense debate, leading many city governments to pass new regulations attempting to control both their proliferation and platform activities. While these policy responses vary greatly from city to city, there is little comparative research to explain this diversity. This paper employs a sociological approach to public policy analysis to compare the politicization process, collective action around and regulation of platform-mediated short-term rentals (PM-STR) in three cities – Barcelona, Paris and Milan.

Thomas Aguilera, Francesca Artioli, Claire Colomb, Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, Volume 53, Issue 7.
Regulating Airbnb: how cities deal with perceived negative externalities of short-term rentals
In recent years, home-sharing platform Airbnb has developed into a major player in the tourism sector. It allows tourists to have authentic, off-the beaten-track experiences in neighbourhoods previously unvisited. Although neighbourhoods can profit from increased attention and income, Airbnb and other short-term rentals (STRs) can also be disruptive to the traditional lodging industry and trigger gentrification processes; housing affordability and availability are jeopardized when housing units are turned into vacation rentals. Local governments worldwide are struggling to regulate STRs and their negative externalities. This paper focuses on key challenges cities face when dealing with STR platforms and the rationale behind different regulatory approaches.

Shirley Nieuwlanda and Rianne van Melik, CURRENT ISSUES IN TOURISM, 2020, VOL. 23, NO. 7, pp. 811–825.
The changing determinants of tourists’ repurchase intention: the case of short-term rentals during the COVID-19 pandemic
This paper aims to explore repurchase intentions among short-term rental users and changes in determinants of repurchase intention in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data for the research was collected via a cross-country quantitative survey in five European countries: Croatia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK during 2020.
Perceived value and authenticity are the key drivers of a positive attitude to repurchase of short-term rentals even after the pandemic. The pandemic modified the role of perceived risk in determining attitude towards short-term rentals as perceived risks could negatively affect attitude and repurchase intention after COVID-19. Trust in the platform and the host became a significant determinant of repurchase intentions after the spread of COVID-19.

Ivana Nacinovic Braje et al., International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 25/10/2021