Tourist rentals in Spain drop for the first time in years in the country's most popular holiday hotspots

A new Exceltur report shows how tourist rentals fell nationwide as a result of the new regulations

The number of tourist rental properties in Spain’s 25 most visited destinations fell by 4.1% in 2025. This is the first nationwide drop on record, according to Exceltur, the industry association that represents Spain’s leading tourism companies like Meliá, Iberostar, Riu and Iberia.

That brings the total number of available beds down by almost 16,000 from 2024.

Exceltur said that this decline is mainly due to the introduction of Spain’s digital registry for short-term rentals, which requires properties to be officially registered before being offered to tourists. Exceltur says the system has helped more owners follow local and regional rules and has led to the removal of many illegal listings.

Even so, there are still plenty of properties across Spain that don’t fully comply, so there’s room for numbers to fall further.

The report shows that most of the tourist rentals are concentrated in five main destinations, Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Valencia and Sevilla, which together make up almost 70% of all available beds. Exceltur points out that while short-term rentals can be more profitable for owners than long-term lets, their growth has also added pressure on housing and pushed up rental prices in these cities.

Trends across the country vary from region to region. Madrid saw a 7.8% drop in beds, while Barcelona’s numbers edged up slightly, bringing total listings to 71,169. Málaga hit a record 38,848 beds in 2025 but has now introduced a three-year freeze on new licenses. Valencia lost more than 12% of its supply in a single year, while Sevilla grew by 4%, because of looser regional rules. Smaller destinations like Ibiza and Palma have seen even bigger cuts, with Exceltur reporting declines of 80% and 63% respectively since their peaks.

Exceltur’s report also looks at the bigger picture for Spain’s tourism sector. Even with the drop in short-term rentals, tourism remains strong, with around 97 million foreign visitors in 2025 bringing record spending and supporting thousands of businesses across the country. The association says tourism will continue to be a key driver of the economy, making a major contribution to both GDP and jobs in 2026 as well. 

It’s worth noting that the drop in tourist rentals may not be permanent. Some owners may have taken their properties off the market temporarily while they sorted out licenses, and they could list them again once approved. On top of that, not all communities in Spain have finalised or voted on new rental rules yet, so once those regulations are in place, the number of available properties could creep back up a bit in the coming months.

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