“Whether there is a virus or not, the illegal supply is the same as always, out of control,” says Manuel Sendino, manager of the Ibiza Hotel Federation, confirming that despite the pandemic the supply is “the same as always”. “Maybe some people who rented space this year are not doing so due to lack of demand, but for the vast majority it is worth it,” said Sendino, who reiterated the strict infection prevention measures that hotel establishments must follow.
So far this summer, some hotels have already been subject to several inspections to check compliance with these measures, explains Manuel Sendino, who noted that establishments have had to adapt cleaning and disinfection routines that he doubts are being carried out in illegal tourist rentals. José Antonio Llano, president of the Association of Housing and Tourist Accommodation (AVAT), agrees, highlighting what the pandemic has meant for those who have properties licensed for tourist rental. “The protocol is very important,” says Llano, who deplores “the negative image of the island” presented by the “substandard housing and third-world accommodation” being offered this summer through platforms like Airbnb: teepees, yurts, tents, huts, vans, boiler rooms and even shacks with umbrella roofs and wooden or glass walls.
No toilet or hot water
“It is clear that they do not meet any regulations,” criticises the president, before stressing that a property cannot obtain a tourist accommodation licence without meeting certain requirements, including, for example, a certain number of bathrooms depending on the number of bedspaces. Many of these properties, in fact, do not have a bathroom. At most, they have an open-air compost toilet. The same goes for showers, most of which do not even have hot water.
Sendino points out that, in the case of hotels, a “small” room is about ten square metres. This is in contrast to some of the spaces that can be found on the platform, such as an old boiler room that the hostess calls “the cell” with barely room for a 90cm mattress. These illegal establishments offer services, for which they charge extra, such as wifi, fans, hairdryers, breakfast, food or yoga sessions and alternative therapies.
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