Analyzing the influence of short-term rental platforms on housing affordability in global urban destination neighborhoods

Abstract

In the last decade, global urban destinations have witnessed an unprecedented wave of tourism growth based on the development of short-term rental platforms (STAP) and of a particular platform, Airbnb. Literature has demonstrated this growth’s influence in different contexts, highlighting its impact on housing markets, mostly at the city level and through correlation or regression analyses. This study goes a step further, focusing on the neighborhood level for the case of Barcelona (Spain) and using k-means clustering. Results show how the concentration of Airbnb listings in “highly touristified” and “trendy” neighborhoods has been associated with an increase in rental prices in these areas. Moreover, the subsequent increase in the demand for tourism-related services in these neighborhoods has led to a displacement of residents to peripheral neighborhoods, which has also put pressure on these areas’ housing prices. These processes have been accompanied by an increasing reaction from local anti-tourism movements. Based on these findings, we suggest that global urban destinations managers need to manage STAP and tourism-related service development not only in relation to the tourism industry but also regarding its impact on the conditions of residents and should consider the neighborhood as a primary management unit when designing the necessary regulations.