Eurobarometer on Short-term Rentals

On 20 October 2021, the European Commission published a Eurobarometer survey on short-term rentals, conducted in September 2021 across Europe.

According to the European Commission, the survey :

• reveals that short-term accommodation rentals help to improve the attractiveness of the tourism services offer in the EU but there is a need to consider the impacts on wider communities.
• provides evidence underscoring the need for a balanced development of the short-term accommodation rental sector. This implies maintaining opportunities for innovative platforms and SME service providers while respecting public policy objectives like available and affordable housing and protecting urban centres.
• shows that 25% of Europeans book short-term rentals through online platforms and that a large majority (89%) of those who have ever booked a short-term rental consider it a positive experience that they would recommend to others. 
• shows how such services can lead to a more diversified accommodation offer, providing better prices (63%), better facilities (49%) and better locations (43%).  At the same time, the rapid rise of these services can have an impact  beyond the tourism ecosystem, showing that almost half the people surveyed find that short-term rentals cause an increase in nuisance by tourists, such as noise, congestion and waste (45% of respondents) and higher prices and pressure on availability of housing (42% of respondents).

The results of the survey will feed into the Commission's assessment of the relevance of possible new regulatory measures, as announced in the recent Commission staff paper outlining scenarios for a  transition pathway in the tourism ecosystem . The Eurobarometer data will also complement the stakeholder feedback from the currently  ongoing public consultation related to short-term rentals.

The full Eurobarometer report and a factsheet with key data from the Eurobarometer survey are available  here .