Remember when Barcelona made headlines last year because angry locals shot tourists with water guns?
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It looks like there’s finally been a comeuppance.
Let me break down last year’s shocking headline for you. Locals took to the streets to beam water at unsuspecting tourists to protest rising housing costs, among other tourism-related issues.
Like many people pointed out, the protests seemed a little misplaced—after all, isn’t the local government responsible for regulating Airbnb and other private rental companies? Why focus the brunt of frustration on innocent tourists?
It’s a fair point.
However, the reason tourists carried the brunt of that particular demonstration is because locals have—for well over a decade now—regularly protested rising housing costs and city projects that seem to overwhelmingly benefit visitors over locals.
In an act of guerrilla protesting, locals in Barcelona shifted tactics, targeting tourists instead of their city councilors. From water gun drive-bys to massive signs reading tourists go home, it’s been a campaign designed to make visitors uncomfortable and dissuade a return trip.
The craziest part? It looks like it worked, meaning the private rental landscape in Barcelona and other parts of Spain is changing in a big way.
66,000 Airbnbs have been delisted in Spain
For years, Barcelona has pledged to minimize the number of Airbnb licenses and similar private, short-term rentals to improve the housing crisis. This process was slated to begin in 2027, when no new private, short-term rental licenses would be sold.
It was a bit of a moot point.
Historically, having the right short-term rental licenses wasn’t actually necessary. Up until now, anyone with an empty apartment could list it on Airbnb and start earning money. So long as tourists didn’t ask about the license and neighbors wouldn’t make a fuss (or even if they did), no one cared.
Then, in March 2025, Spain’s Constitutional Court upheld Barcelona’s plan to eliminate all short-term rental licenses by 2028.
In late May, news hit the airwaves that the nation had already delisted over 66,000 illegal Airbnb rentals in the city, with thousands of those focused on the Barcelona area.
Originally, I was prepared to see how that headline would actually pan out.
Were the listings really taken down?
If they were, would they stay down?
And how long would it take for savvier businesspeople to find a legal loophole?
I didn’t wait long for an answer. The day after the news broke, someone rang my doorbell. It was an official from Barcelona’s city government. They showed up at my building on the hunt for an illegal Airbnb. He’d located it from the website, then worked by identifying the balcony in the photos. (Impressive detective work.)
You should have seen the way my jaw dropped when I realized my neighbor had listed his apartment on Airbnb.
Illegally, of course.
So, the crackdown is happening, and at lightning speed, it seems.
Now what? Should you rebook your Spain rental on another rental site?
I’m overjoyed that Barcelona is taking its Airbnb and private rental licensing seriously.
At the same time, I understand how frustrating it must be for travelers who have already booked their trips to Barcelona and other parts of Spain.
Along with Barcelona, other tourist-heavy spots have seen large crackdowns, meaning Airbnbs that were once live (and available for bookings) might no longer be listed.
If you had booked an illegal rental on Airbnb (as in, there’s no official license number listed) for your Barcelona trip this year, it’s most likely already been de-listed and taken down from the site.
Worst case scenario, you no longer have the rental reserved and need to find a new place to stay. If that’s the case, Airbnb will refund your booking. If you’re in this boat, I highly recommend following up on your refunds; this is a very unprecedented case given just how many rentals have been taken off the site.
Here’s the bigger question: once your refund hits, where should you look for lodging in Spain?
Other platforms like Booking and VRBO are also up for review—so this isn’t an issue that’s only for Airbnb users. If your Airbnb is canceled, you’re better off booking a hotel instead of rebooking on another rental platform site. Consider it your chance to fall in love with hotels again.
