Airbnb fined €64 million for advertising unlicensed holiday rentals in Spain
Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and the 2030 Agenda has fined Airbnb more than €64 million for advertising thousands of unlicensed holiday rentals, following a lengthy consumer protection investigation.
The sanction, totalling €64,055,311, was approved by the ministry headed by Pablo Bustinduy and is now final after Airbnb’s appeal was rejected. As well as the financial penalty, the company has been ordered to remove the unlawful listings and to publicly acknowledge the fine.
According to the authorities, consumer law breaches were detected in 65,122 listings published on the platform. Investigators found that Airbnb had advertised tourist properties without the required licences, included licence or registration numbers that did not match official records, or failed to clearly state the legal status of the hosts. These practices were deemed to be misleading for consumers.
The main fine accounts for the most serious offence and was calculated as six times the profit the platform is said to have made while the illegal listings remained online. The ministry explained that this period ran from the moment Airbnb was formally warned until the adverts were finally removed.
In addition to the main sanction, smaller fines were imposed for other breaches. These included not clearly explaining who the hosts were, failing to reply to consumer authorities during the investigation, and ignoring temporary measures put in place to protect consumers while the case was being examined.
The ruling comes as Spanish authorities continue to tighten controls on short-term holiday rentals. Officials say the measures are aimed at protecting consumers, improving transparency in the holiday rental market, and ensuring that accommodation offered to visitors complies with existing regulations.
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