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The number of properties in the Balearics being offered as tourist accommodation via the six major websites that specialise in accommodation “sharing” has risen by some 150% in the past year.
Properties of different types - houses, flats, chalets - available through Airbnb, Homelidays, Niumba, Windu, Rentalia and HomeAway in the four islands now amount to 64,818, compared with 27,068 last summer, and they are marketed internationally, principally to the British, German, Scandinavian, French and Italian markets.
Each of the web portals has an ample supply of properties, differentiated in terms of property type, location, facility and length of stay.
Rental prices vary greatly, from seven to ten euros per day to an average of up to 70 euros.
At the other end of the scale, though, there are properties in Formentera on offer for over 1,600 euros per night.
For the regional tourism ministry as well as the local tax agency and town halls, there is not as yet a legal mechanism against these websites, hence the intensifying cries of unfair competition.
The government does, however, say that it monitors such sites and, in the event that properties which are not registered to be marketed as holiday accommodation are discovered, it has the powers to intervene and issue fines.