While the lockdown left holiday rental owners licking their wounds, the opportunities in the future look much more promising.
For years, holiday rental owners have calculated that the uncertainty of short-term holiday lets is worth the risk for the high income returned. Put simply, tourists will pay much more for a week in the sun than any worker on the island.
Now they’re paying the price for that gamble with no income at all, while landlords who chose the more stable option of a lower, more reliable income with long-term residential tenants can at least rely on some rent coming in.
Many holiday rental owners have rapidly switched to offering long-term contracts, and those with desirable properties featuring gardens, patios, private pools and balconies are thinking of longer, seasonal rentals of around six months, in the hope that tenants may wish to spend a possible future lockdown in more comfortable premises.
Others have simply cut their losses and gone for the local residential market. However, although this is a welcome development for house hunters, it could depress the rental market and lead to sales in the medium term.
The economic situation after the COVID 19 crisis is likely to bring many more potentially lucrative rental properties onto the market, and Spain’s perennial popularity as a tourist destination is sure to be reestablished at some point.
These properties may be snapped up by savvy buyers who play the long game and count on the fact that tourist accommodation has changed forever, and apartment rentals are likely to be even more popular in future.
That’s because hotels will be faced with introducing several unappetising social distancing measures in order to reassure clients and remain within the law. Unlike private apartments or villas, hotels have several common areas, and common areas mean masks, gloves, distancing, disinfecting and supervision.
Faced with this, many will prefer to spend their holiday in a private apartment. The opportunities are already become clear….
