Airbnb, appeal to the EU: "Hotels are the real cause of overtourism. Build fewer hotels and more homes"

Airbnb is calling on governments and citizens to address the “overwhelming impact” of hotels on overtourism in the ten most visited capitals of the European Union. According to a report, “ Overtourism in the EU,” which is based on official data from Eurostat and the World Tourism Organization, as well as industry data and the company itself, the leader in the online tourism market, overtourism in the Union is driven by hotels, which accounted for almost 80% of overnight stays in the region in 2023 and 2024.

Furthermore, the report shows that between 2021 and 2023, overnight stays in the ten most visited cities in the EU increased by more than 200 million (a 2.5-fold increase), with hotels responsible for 75% of this growth.

"Hotel, overwhelming impact"

“If cities are serious about reducing overtourism, they need to address the overwhelming impact of hotels,” said Theo Yedinsky, vice president of public policy at Airbnb.

"Europe needs more housing - not more hotels - yet cities continue to build hotels while home construction approaches a decade low."

"When talking about overtourism," Airbnb notes, "it is essential to adopt a comprehensive view of the phenomenon, which goes beyond the impact of hotels alone. Other entities also contribute significantly to the pressure on the most popular tourist destinations. The number of day trippers and cruise ship passengers has grown significantly, fueling the perception of overcrowding.

Cruise effect on Barcelona and Amsterdam

In Barcelona, ​​for example, the port recorded 3.59 million cruise passengers in 2024, while in the whole of Catalonia there were 8.5 million day-trippers. From 2022 to 2023, cruise passengers increased by more than 50% in iconic cities such as Barcelona (+53%), Amsterdam (+63%) and Lisbon (+54%, a historic high).

Added to this dynamic is the role of airlines, which have exceeded pre-pandemic levels with a strong recovery in flights and the opening of new routes: Ryanair has exceeded 200 million passengers in a single year for the first time, while in the first months of 2025 United Airlines and Delta have increased connections from the United States to Europe by 23% and 13% respectively compared to 2019. Numbers that demonstrate how overtourism is the result of a combination of factors and must be addressed with policies that take into account the entire tourism ecosystem.

The report aims to show that overtourism is largely driven by hotels. In 2024, a record 3 billion overnight stays were recorded in hotels and similar accommodations in EU destinations. Hotels and similar accommodations account for almost 80% of overnight stays in the EU. As tourism recovered after Covid, the total number of overnight stays in the 10 most visited cities in the European Union grew by more than 200 million – or 2.5 times – between 2021 and 2023 alone. Hotels and similar accommodations accounted for more than 75% of this increase. In 2023, hotels recorded five times more overnight stays than Airbnb in these European cities.

250,000 Hotel Rooms Under Construction in Europe

Hotels are also almost exclusively concentrated in city centers. The center of Amsterdam has 15 times more hotel rooms and similar accommodations than Airbnb listings. In the historic center of Barcelona, ​​there are about seven hotel beds for every bed available for short-term rental. In 2024 alone, nearly 40,000 hotel rooms were opened in Europe. At the end of 2024, nearly 250,000 hotel rooms were under construction or planned across the continent.

In some EU neighborhoods, such as Praha 1 in Prague and Santo Antonio in Lisbon, there are now around 3 hotel rooms for every 5 local residents. In Spain alone, authorities have approved over 800 new hotel projects, for a total of 75,000 new rooms across the country. Airbnb, for its part, is chosen precisely to avoid tourist traps and discover new destinations, with a record 110,000 locations visited worldwide in 2024. While hotel guests are concentrated in the same cities year after year, the majority of Airbnb stays in the EU – almost 60% – took place outside of cities.

Airbnb in slow areas

In 2024, Airbnb guest nights in the EU grew faster in locations outside cities than in urban centers. In total, over 260,000 Airbnb guests stayed in neighborhoods without hotels in the top 10 most visited cities in the EU in 2024. Airbnb stays in neighborhoods without hotels increased by around 60% between 2022 and 2024, signaling a growing interest by Airbnb guests in areas outside crowded city centers. Half of Airbnb guests in the EU say they would not have visited the neighborhood they stayed in if there had not been an Airbnb listing.

“Overtourism is worsening where Airbnb is limited,” the report says. After short-term rental restrictions were introduced in Amsterdam and Barcelona in 2018, the number of overnight stays continued to grow. By 2024, overnight stays had increased by 2.4 million in Amsterdam and 4.8 million in Barcelona. During the post-Covid recovery period — from 2021 to 2024 — hotels accounted for 93% of the increase in overnight stays in Amsterdam and 76% in Barcelona. With fewer accommodation options, hotel occupancy and prices have skyrocketed: between 2019 and spring 2025, rates have risen by 50% in Amsterdam and 35% in Barcelona.

Support for local communities

Because hotels are concentrated in city centers, they contribute to overtourism and generate fewer economic benefits for families living in residential neighborhoods. In addition to offering an alternative to hotel-driven mass tourism, Airbnb helps families pay for their homes and supports local communities. When guests stay in hotels, they spend primarily in the hotels themselves. For every dollar spent on Airbnb in the EU, guests spend an average of $2.50 in the local community.

In 2024 alone, Airbnb-generated tourism contributed a total of $44.6 billion to GDP and supported 627,000 jobs in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Nearly half of hosts globally report that income from hosting helps them afford their own homes.["When guests stay in Airbnbs, they discover new communities, help families with housing costs, and support local businesses," said Theo Yedinsky. "Where Airbnb is limited, visitor numbers continue to increase, more guests are staying in city-center hotels, and travel becomes more expensive, with fewer benefits for resident families. We urge leaders to look beyond hotels and embrace tourism that supports families and local communities."