Property owners can access a global customer base at low transaction costs, while consumers can easily search and compare accommodation options, they argue. In turn, the travel platforms point out that they have brought substantial economic benefits to cities by contributing to the booming tourism industry twofold. “The expansive growth of short-term holiday rental in cities and popular tourist destinations is extracting housing from the market, driving up prices and has a negative impact on the liveability of European cities,” Kim van Sparrentak, the lawmaker who initiated the letter, told EURACTIV. “The Commission is currently working on a specific legislative proposal to further increase transparency in the short-term accommodation rental sector, as part of its efforts to promote a balanced tourism ecosystem,” reads the Commission’s reply, dated 15 September. In July, a coalition of MEPs, mainly from the centre-left, and several European cities wrote to the Commission to reinstate the urgency of regulatory action at the EU level following the uncertainty surrounding the proposal. The public consultation received almost 5,700 replies, a sign of great attention towards the proposal. Initially expected in June 2022, the proposal was pushed to October, which will likely be pushed further to mid-November. The European Commission’s proposal to regulate the short-term rental market, dominated by travel platforms like Booking and Airbnb, has seen repeated delays and is subject to a number of hurdles EU policymakers will have to solve. This article is part of our special report Short-term rental: upcoming rules and existing trends.
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