Study on the Assessment of the Regulatory Aspects Affecting the Collaborative Economy in the Tourism Accommodation Sector in the 28 Member States (580/PP/GRO/IMA/15/15111J) European Commission - Directorate General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) Task 4 Cross-analysis report This study was carried out for the European Commission by Spark Legal Network and Valdani Vicari & Associati. Spark Legal Network Patricia Ypma Mariana Chaves Peter McNally Kaja Kazmierska María Domínguez Gaitán Network of legal experts Valdani Vicari & Associati Julia Rzepecka Marius Dragulin Lison Rabuel Ricardas Juskevicius Vilma Kuuliala Timothe Peroz Iva Plasilova Adriana Rodriguez Diaz DISCLAIMER By the European Commission, Directorate General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. The information and views set out in this study are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. ISBN 978-92-79-84013-5 doi: 10.2873/697265 © European Union, (2018). All rights reserved. Certain parts are licensed under conditions to the EU. TABLE OF CONTENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 5 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 8 1.1 Aims and objectives of this task............................................................................. 8 1.2 Methodological approach ...................................................................................... 9 1.3 Issues and mitigation strategies .......................................................................... 11 2 OVERVIEW OF THE ACCOMMODATION SECTOR .............................................................. 13 2.1 Main players in the short-term rental sector .......................................................... 13 2.2 Overview of the economic development of the short-term rental sector .................... 18 3 REAL ESTATE AND HOUSING AVAILABILITY ................................................................... 29 3.1 Overview of average rental market prices ............................................................. 29 3.2 Overview of number of vacant properties .............................................................. 35 3.3 Overview of impacts on traditional accommodation providers .................................. 38 4 INCOME AND OTHER TOURISM INDICATORS .................................................................. 45 4.1 Income indicators .............................................................................................. 45 4.2 Tourism indicators ............................................................................................. 50 5 IMPACT ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES................................................................................. 56 5.1 Development of ancillary services ........................................................................ 57 5.2 Housing supply changes ..................................................................................... 60 5.3 Inhabitants’ perception of collaborative short-term rental platforms ......................... 61 5.4 Impact on public services ................................................................................... 63 6 FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS ............................................................................................. 65 7 ANNEXES ................................................................................................................... 67 FIGURES Figure 1: Map of the 11 EU cities within the scope of Task 4 ..................................................... 8 Figure 2: Share of GDP accounted for by the travel and tourism sector ..................................... 14 Figure 3: Share of tourism local units out of all local units - NUTS 2-level .................................. 14 Figure 4: Evolution in the number of AirBnB listings in five cities .............................................. 20 Figure 5: Current and forecasted revenues for the vacation rentals industry .............................. 21 Figure 6: Growth in the number of AirBnB listings for high-growth cities ................................... 23 Figure 7: Current and expected growth rates of revenues in the vacation rentals sector .............. 27 Figure 8: Variation in share of entire properties out of total AirBnB listings between November 2014 and April 2017 ............................................................................................................ 34 Figure 9: Percentage point change in quarterly average daily rates for AirBnB listings ................. 41 Figure 10: Net occupancy rate of hotel bedrooms, at NUTS 2-level ........................................... 43 Figure 11: Percentage point change in quarterly AirBnB occupancy rate .................................... 43 Figure 12: Percentage point change in quarterly revenue/listing for AirBnB listings ..................... 48 Figure 13: Total number of nights spent in tourist accommodation facilities, at NUTS 2-level ....... 51 Figure 14: Percentage of nights spent in holiday and short stay accommodation facilities out of total nights spent in touristic accommodation facilities, at NUTS 2-level .................................... 52 Figure 15: Current and forecasted penetration rate for the vacation rentals sector ..................... 55 Figure 16: Share of tourism employment out of all employment - NUTS 2-level ......................... 58 TABLES Table 1: List of indicators ..................................................................................................... 9 Table 2: List of consulted EU stakeholders ............................................................................. 10 Table 3: Overview of available platform listings in the 11 cities under study, for the main EU-level collaborative platforms ................................................................................................ 15 Table 4: Evolution of average rent prices, in EUR ................................................................... 31 Table 5: Number of conventional dwellings ............................................................................ 35 Table 6: Percentage of vacant conventional dwellings out of total ............................................. 36 Table 7: Comparison between hotel rooms and AirBnB listings in average price/listing ................ 40 Table 8: Comparison between AirBnB and hotels in terms of occupancy rates ............................ 42 Table 9: Platform-specific information retrieved through desk research ..................................... 45 Table 10: Average monthly revenue on AirBnB per peer provider (EUR) .................................... 46 Table 11: Comparison of revenue per room/listing between AirBnB and hotels ........................... 47 Table 12: Share of AirBnB arrivals and nights spent out of the traditional accommodation sector . 52 Table 13: Availability of short-term rental market impact studies at local and national level ........ 56 Table 14: Percentage of regional GDP out of national GDP at NUTS 2-level ................................ 57 Table 15: Total economic impact of AirBnB ............................................................................ 59 3 Annex 5 DEFINITIONS USED in TASK 4 REPORT The key terms used in Task 4 are defined below. It should be noted that these definitions may differ from the definitions used by the European Commission. Primary residences: those residences (dwellings) where the person resides more than 180 days per year. Secondary residences: those residences (dwellings) where the owner spends at least some days per year. Short-term rental: the rental of an accommodation (room or entire property) on a short-term basis. “Short-term” can be defined by local laws as the maximum period per year during which an accommodation provider can rent out their property or part thereof under specific circumstances. Long-term rental: the rental of an accommodation (room or entire property) on a long-term basis. “Long-term” can be defined as a period exceeding any short-term threshold imposed by local, regional or national laws (see definition of “short-term rental”). Vacant property: A residence (dwelling) that is not occupied by their owners or any tenants. Peer provider: For the purpose of this study, the term is used to designate all providers of short- term rentals on collaborative platforms. In certain cases, where data are available, the text makes a distinction between “peer” and “professional” provider. In this case, “peer provider” refers to individuals who do not conduct such activities on a professional basis, i.e. earning the majority of their income through to short-term rentals. Conventional dwelling: The term is defined according to its definition on EUROSTAT, namely a room or a suite of rooms and its accessories in a permanent building or structurally separated part thereof which by the way it has been built, rebuilt or converted; it is designed for habitation by one private household all the year round and is not at the time of the census used wholly for non- residential purposes. Vacant conventional