Balearics expects removal of illegal short-term rentals following Ibiza clampdown

A clampdown on illegal short-term holiday rentals in Ibiza has seen more than 14,500 beds removed from the island’s accommodation market.

 

The action by the island government’s Illegal Short-Term Rentals Taskforce covered a total of 2,831 listings.

 

It was conducted with the support of Airbnb, reinforcing a commitment to eliminating irregular tourist rental listings in Ibiza.

 

Balearic Islands government president Margarita Prohens highlighted that the action will “allow us to extend these results to the rest of the islands more quickly,” while confirming Airbnb’s commitment to remove unregistered listings across the Balearics by this month.

 

Travel intelligence and tourism advisory firm Mabrian supported taskforce by providing an advanced tourism intelligence model designed to detect and screen unregulated short-term rentals. 

 

The tool enabled officials to systematically monitor and inspect listings, owners, and hosts - allowing Airbnb to remove those that failed to comply with current regulations.

 

Ibiza government president Vicent Marí said: “Ibiza is the first destination in Spain to have fully removed illegal short-term rental listings from the Airbnb platform.” 

 

The initiative “allowed us to base decisions on data rather than subjective perceptions, enabling us to defend the island’s legal supply, strengthen a quality tourism model, manage visitor flows, and address the sense of overcrowding experienced during the high season,” he added.

 

The first two phases of this project, carried out over 17 months, began with five months of preparatory work and concluded in July 2024 with the deployment of a final analytical model. 

 

This process led to the removal of low-quality listings that could not be considered valid rental properties, as well as those failing to provide a legitimate license number.

 

“This approach has allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the short-term rental market in Ibiza, and to refine the analytical model incorporating geolocation layers and profiling of hosts and owners, to compare these insights with official records, ensuring greater accuracy and effectiveness,” said Cristina Panizo, head of insights and tourism advisory at Mabrian.

 

A total of 2,831 irregular listings between July 2024 and September 17, 2025 were identified under these criteria and removed from the market.

 

In terms of capacity, this represents the elimination of 14,532 illegal short-term rentals beds on the island. 

 

“These results represent a significant milestone for this initiative, which will continue to foster the legal short-term rental market in Ibiza through the use of data intelligence - supporting the tourism industry while enhancing the quality of life for the island’s residents,” said Panizo.