Airbnb has welcomed progress towards EU-wide short-term rental rules, as EU policymakers voted in favor of proposals to make hosting rules more simple and proportionate across the bloc.

The EU’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee adopted its position with 31 votes in favor, none against and one abstention.

Under the proposals, new rules will provide eligible authorities across the 27 EU Member States with access to data to help build and enforce local rules, as long as those local rules are fair, simple and adhere to EU law.

Airbnb has led our industry in calling for an EU-wide approach to regulation that is more clear, simple and consistent across the bloc. We have worked with individual authorities on smart rules, including France, Greece and the Netherlands; we also see that disproportionate local rules exclude many Europeans from the opportunities offered by hosting.

According to the EU¹, short-term rental accommodation – booked through platforms like Airbnb – represents around 25% of tourist accommodation in the EU. It said that policies should foster short-term rental services while respecting local communities, but that divergent local rules were leading to fragmentation in the EU.

A press release from the European Parliament today said:

“MEPs believe that new policies regulating STRs should give platforms opportunities to grow while respecting policy objectives like affordable housing, protection of urban centers and rural areas, and lead to safer and more sustainable tourism.”

The position adopted by the EU’s IMCO committee today includes measures that mark a significant step towards more clear, simple and harmonized short-term rental rules in the EU, including:

• A simple, online registration procedure for short-term rental properties in jurisdictions that require it
• A streamlined data sharing framework to support evidence-based policymaking
• Obligations for platforms to help ensure that information shared is correct, in-line with the provisions in the Digital Service Act (DSA).

Airbnb wants to help make new EU rules a success for everyone and earlier this month, we launched a roadshow to meet with local and national policy makers, business groups and Hosts to discuss EU-wide short-term rental rules and how they can support a sustainable tourism industry in their communities.

The EU is home to more Hosts on Airbnb than any region in the world, and the vast majority of Hosts share one listing. The typical EU Host earned just under €4,000 in 2022 – equivalent to more than two months additional pay for the median EU household – and nearly half say hosting helps them to make ends meet².

Notes:

1. europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20230918IPR05421/short-term-rentals-increasing-transparency-and-curbing-illegal-listings
2. news.airbnb.com/more-eu-hosts-rely-on-airbnb-income-popularity-of-rooms-grows/