A study by data analysts Mabrian indicates that 32.2% of holiday lets advertised in the Balearics do not have a licence number. In other words, they are illegal. For Spain as a whole, 38% do not have a licence.
Mabrian is a Barcelona-based company that provides data intelligence services to tourism authorities in numerous countries and can count the Balearic Government among its list of clients. Its study was conducted using artificial intelligence and Big Data and therefore allowed for comprehensive and detailed monitoring of the available supply marketed on common platforms such as Airbnb, Booking and Tripadvisor.
The analysis was based on listings collected in March, although the results are not dissimilar to those given by Spain's consumer affairs minister, Pablo Bustinduy, in February. The ministry's study showed there were some 7,000 properties without a licence in the Balearics, roughly 30% of the total.
Mabrian says that the results would be even more glaring if the analysis were conducted in mid-August. "These are numbers that should set off alarm bells." The company argues that the websites should be responsible for filtering their listings and not leave this task to public administration inspectors.
The study tracked the identifier of property owners. Cases were detected of major property owners hidden under the name of an individual, such as a student with 116 properties listed in Madrid, or estate agencies presenting their properties under the profile of a married couple, supposedly to generate trust or a sense of proximity with the client.
Although Mabrian does not provide absolute figures, cross-referencing the data with those from the ministry shows that small property owners (two to ten properties) have around 6,000 holiday rental homes in the Balearics, while major property owners (eleven and more) hold around 1,000. The remainder, just over 16,000, are individual property owners. These are figures for legal and illegal lets.