Vacation rentals are a supplement to the income of many families in Lanzarote and attract customers who spend on all types of services throughout the island.
They also face criticism that blames them for reducing the availability of regular housing or relates them to deficient accommodations, such as the tents on a rooftop in Arrecife that were advertised on Airbnb.
The president of Ascav, Doris Borrego, in an interview with Ekonomus, breaks down the main characteristics of this business and responds to the criticisms they receive.
- What defines a vacation rental and what are the requirements to have it in order?
The fundamental requirement is that the property is legal, that it has a certificate of occupancy. It is also necessary to have an energy certificate, a data protection system, and registration with the IGIC.
In addition, there is a whole series of services that must be offered to the client such as wifi, a list of rules, local information in several languages, telephone assistance at least until 8 pm, etc. Therefore, is renting a tent on a rooftop a vacation rental? No, obviously it is not. Is a street vendor small business? No, neither is it.
- What are the travelers like who choose vacation rentals?
The pandemic has changed the way of traveling. Tourists are increasingly aware of sustainability and have no interest in being in a complex with 800 countrymen to sunbathe and go to the beach exclusively. More and more travelers are looking for vacation rentals and carry out a cross-cutting expense in all the companies on the island: they rent cars, eat in restaurants, and have a much higher awareness for the care of the island.
The increase in demand for vacation rentals is unstoppable. It represents 32% of the total tourist beds in Lanzarote and its spending stays entirely on the island, it is invoiced and taxes are paid here. In contrast, when a tourist buys a package at origin from large chains, that money mostly remains in foreign hands.
- How much money impacts the economy of Lanzarote thanks to vacation rentals?
There is a study from 2016 that calculated the impact of vacation rentals in the Canary Islands, with 28,000 homes then, at more than 1.5 billion euros. With the 40,000 homes that exist today, we would be talking about more than 2 billion euros that go directly to the real economy. In Lanzarote it would be more than 250 million, with 2016 prices.
- How many vacation rentals are there in Lanzarote?
There are about 5,000 vacation rentals on the island, although I would like to emphasize that not all of them are owned by private owners, which are the ones Ascav defends, but there are also entire buildings of vacation rentals on residential land, which we call pseudo-hotels, a new model.
Vacation rentals of private owners are a supplement to income, or in many cases, the only income, of many families, not only for the owners of the property, but also for the children, grandchildren, etc.
- What type of accommodation offer do you call pseudo-hotels?
This is one of the reasons why we have promoted the Chair of Sustainable Territories, Socioeconomic Development and Tourism with the University of La Laguna. To have data that distinguishes them from the vacation rentals of families.
I can give a very clear example, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the Councilor for Urban Planning issued an ordinance saying no to vacation rentals of private owners, and promoted entire buildings, with all the vacation rentals concentrated in the hands of businessmen. Plots of land intended for the construction of housing were used, that is, residential land for the construction of entire blocks in vacation rentals.
"There has been a total and absolute lack of a protected social housing plan for more than 20 years"
- Are those who blame vacation rentals for the lack of regular housing right?
It cannot be that we are blamed for the lack of housing when there has been a total and absolute lack of a protected social housing plan for more than 20 years.
Now there is a plan until 2025, but it is totally insufficient. We have in the Canary Islands a deficit of 40,000 social homes, practically impossible to meet in that period.
Vacation rentals generate about one job each and our staff also cannot find housing, we are all affected.
For a politician, prohibiting vacation rentals is like counting your chickens before they hatch: if 40,000 homes are needed and there are 40,000 vacation rentals, I prohibit them and they go to the market. It doesn't work that way.
"The main reason why an owner decides on a vacation rental is because they remain in possession of the property"
- Why are there not more owners who rent long-term? Is more money earned with vacation rentals?
Because despite the fact that there is a 60% tax exemption for all those who put a home for long-term rent, the legal insecurity is so great that they are not going to risk it.
They want to make people believe that the benefits of vacation rentals are excessive compared to a long-term rental and this is not the case, because it has many more expenses. The manager, the platforms, the IGIC, the maintenance, cleaning and laundry expenses. The expenses of a vacation rental are very high.
The main reason why a private owner today decides on a vacation rental over a long-term rental is, simply, because they remain in possession of the property. That is, they can enter at any time, they can cancel the contract with their manager, or they can say I don't want any more vacation rentals, and they will always be in possession of the property.
- Do platforms contribute to the existing confusion about what is and is not a vacation rental?
Ascav has been asking for many years that the platforms have to publish the tourist registration number of the accommodations they offer, so that the illegal offer and barbarities such as the tents on the roof are expelled.
Also so that a distinction is made between vacation rentals and other businesses such as rural houses, tourist apartments, etc. When a client looks for a vacation rental, they have to receive a vacation rental. We have had people who have called and said: hey, I have booked a vacation rental because I don't want a tourist complex and I have arrived and found a tourist complex. This is not a vacation rental. We have been asking for a differentiation between pseudo-hotels and vacation rentals of private owners for some time.
"I think there are 16 inspectors for the entire Canary Islands, this is not enough"
- How do inspections work? Who do they depend on?
The inspectors belong to the tourist police of the Government of the Canary Islands. When there are complaints, they move and review. I am not aware of any inspections being carried out ex officio due to the lack of inspectors that exists. I think there are 16 for the entire Canary Islands, as far as I know there is no permanent tourist police in Lanzarote.
In addition, they not only inspect accommodations but also bars, restaurants... So it is not enough. Something that is so simple, not like doing a search on the internet and tackling cases like the tents, is done through the media, but not through the inspection, and it would be good for all of us if this were done.