Tourist Rental Homes Generate Almost €14,000M In 2 Years

10 July 2017 – Expansión

HomeAway, one of the main tourist rental home companies, estimates that the economic impact generated by this activity in Spain during the period from June 2015 until June 2017 amounted to almost €14,000 million. That amount exceeded the impact generated during the previous two-year period by €2,824 million, when it amounted to €11,120 million, according to the IV Holiday Rental Barometer in Spain, compiled by HomeAway.

The use of tourist homes has increased by 25% in the last two years, given that they were used for more than 22 million visits.

On Thursday, the professor of Marketing at the University of Salamanca and author of the study, Pablo Muñoz, highlighted the consolidation in the sector amongst clients, given that 32.6% of those surveyed use both hotels and tourist apartments, depending on their requirements. 61% of the people surveyed only ever stay in hotels.

The report reveals that the users who stay in these types of homes spend more during their stay (€477) than guests who sleep in hotels (€331). The Director General of HomeAway in Spain, Juan Carlos Fernández, underlined that this economic impact is reflected, in particular, in those businesses located close to tourist homes.

On the other hand, HomeAway confirmed that its legal team is analysing a draft bill that is being promoted by the Ministry of Finance to analyse “the extent to which a national Administration has the power to request data about users” and to establish its position before communicating it to the Tax Authority.

Collaboration

The Communications Director at HomeAway, Joseba Cortázar, said that “HomeAway is open to collaborating with the Tax Authority to provide greater transparency in terms of tax collections”. And he reiterated that the veto of neighbouring communities is a possibility that is already reflected in the Horizontal Property Law: “This activity cannot be carried out if the community bylaws prohibit it”.

Original story: Expansión (by Miriam Vázquez)

Translation: Carmel Drake