The occupancy of tourist rental homes on the Spanish coast during this month of August drops to 84.3%. It is a high level, but far from the 90.9% of last year, according to the conclusions of a study by Rentalia, a platform specialized in this type of accommodation from the Idealista real estate portal.
The decrease of 6.6 points in the level of employment is not uniform in the main holiday destinations. Where it is practically impossible to find a tourist rental property this month is in Mallorca, where 99.5% of properties less than 15 kilometers from a beach are already booked. Other coastal destinations, such as Menorca, are also close to full occupancy, with 97.3% of rental accommodation reserved; the coast of the province of Malaga, with 91%; that of Lanzarote, with 90.8%, and that of Asturias, with 90%.
The province of Barcelona, for its part, registers a reservation level of 89.4% with respect to the homes available for August, followed by the coast of Girona, with 87.5%; that of Castelló, with 86%; that of Alicante, with 85.8%; that of Tarragona, with 85%; that of Murcia, with 84.8%, and that of Almeria, with 84.6%.
Below the Spanish average employment is the coast of Cantabria, at 83.7%; followed by the coast of the province of Cádiz, with 83.5%; of Pontevedra, with 82.3%, and the coast of the province of A Coruña, with 80.3%.
The beaches of Huelva, with an occupation of 44.6%, are the top of the classification. In a level of employment considered as improving there is also the coast of Tenerife, with 72.8%, and the coast of the province of Valencia, with 75.8%.
Asturias, Murcia, Pontevedra and Lanzarote lead the group of destinations where employment in tourist accommodation has grown in August compared to the same month last year. In the opposite corner, with a year-on-year drop in the number of reservations, are Huelva, Valencia, Tarragona, Girona and Alicante.
"During the last few months, several market agents have pointed out that the offer continues to recover and is approaching pre-pandemic figures, a fact that, since there is a stable demand, results in a slight decrease in the level of employment . We believe that this summer's results are part of a process of returning to normalcy in the sector", said the director of Rentalia, Almudena Ucha. In other words, 2022 was a totally exceptional year for the sector and in 2023 the reserves are starting to normalize.
Regulating the proliferation of tourist rental homes that do not meet minimum safety requirements for the traveler is a constant demand of the hotel sector, which this summer expects to close the best high season in history. Despite this, from Exceltur and from practically every large chain the future government is being asked to act to stop the leasing of properties outside the legality.
