Holiday Rentals: The New Gentrification Battlefront

Abstract

In this paper, I explore the impacts of holiday rentals in the historic centre of Barcelona. The intention is to contribute towards a conceptualisation of this unexplored phenomenon with the aim of better understanding why it represents the new gentrification battlefront in several tourist destinations. I suggest that the rhetoric of the sharing economy conceals the fact that holiday rentals are actually a new business opportunity for investors, tourist companies and individual landlords and, for this reason, long-term residents represent a barrier to capital accumulation. I show that there is an increasing conversion of housing into accommodation for visitors and that such conversion involves different forms of displacement. Importantly, when residents move out, the only buyers tend to be tourist investors. In such a context, I suggest that the growth of vacation flats produces conditions that solely enable the reproduction of further accommodation for visitors, rather than for long-term residential use. I call this process ‘collective displacement’, that is to say, a substitution of residential life by tourism. Ultimately, throughout this paper I suggest the importance of undertaking critical research relevant to those experiencing urban inequalities. Documenting and producing data about the way in which displacement takes place can be a crucial political tool for those who are fighting for staying put.

Regulating Airbnb: how cities deal with perceived negative externalities of short-term rentals

“…Researched aspects range from motivations of hosts and guests to use Airbnb (Guttentag, Smith, Potwarka, & Havitz, 2017;Ikkala & Lampinen, 2015;Stors & Kagermeier, 2015;Varma, Jukic, Pestek, Shultz, & Nestorov, 2016) and the economic impact for the wider community (Fang et al, 2016;Holm, 2016) to the spatial pattern of Airbnb in cities (Arias-Sans & Quaglieri, 2016;Cócola Gant, 2016;Gutiérrez et al, 2017). Airbnb's quick development can be placed within the context of postmodern tourism.…”

“…Fang, Ye, & Law, 2016;Holm, 2016). However, complaints about increasing rents, neighbourhood changes and nuisance are widespread (Espinosa, 2016;Oskam & Boswijk, 2016); for example concerning the liveability and housing availability in Barcelona (Cócola Gant, 2016) and Berlin (Füller & Michel, 2014).…”

Cultural Heritage and Urban Tourism: Historic City Centres under Pressure

“…In more recent studies, a frequent theme is the spread of tourism rental accommodation in urban centres. This surge, linked to the activities of P2P platforms, is the direct cause of residential displacement [57]. At the same time, this displacement reinforces commercial gentrification and puts the functioning of urban amenities intended for the local population at risk [58].…”

Performing “home” in the sharing economies of tourism: the Airbnb experience in Sofia, Bulgaria

“…In recent years, civil society and grassroots movements and housing advocates have raised serious concerns over Airbnb's role in accelerating gentrification and the disruption of housing markets. In line with these developments, scholars have started to take stock of the "Airbnb effect" in/on cities (Arias Sans & Quaglieri Domínguez 2016;Cocola-Gant 2016;Cocola-Gant & Pardo 2017;Wachsmuth et al 2018) while other studies aim at informing future urban policy and planning in response of these recent trends (Lee 2016;Gurran & Phibbs 2017). These interventions have provided important evidence of the growing impact of the platform on a local, national and global scale.…”