Inside Spain: Privatised beaches and Airbnb fights back

If you’ve been to a beach in Spain, there’s a chance you’ve stopped for a drink or lunch at a chiringuito, which is the Spanish word for beach bar.

They were once no-frills shack-like bars at the top end of the beach, but just like gentrification has turned Spain’s bog-standard Bar Manolo into a bohemian café full of digital nomads, chiringuitos have also experienced a modernisation, and in some cases proliferation.

This is the case in Málaga’s coastal neighbourhood of La Malagueta, where locals have recently been protesting against the growing number of chiringuitos that take away public space for beachgoers such as picnic areas (merenderos).

And they’re not small establishments either, but rather 300 sqm private beach bars that resemble nightclubs or high-end restaurants.

“It’s a real monstrosity,” Carlos Babot, spokesperson for the SOS Malagueta platform, told El País about one such chiringuito.

“And authorities don’t care. They don’t do anything to prevent it.”

His organisation was founded to denounce what Malagueta residents consider to be a breach of the law due to the increasing number of restaurants, sun loungers, and other services which are catering to tourists while occupying a public beach.

There are currently six beach bars and one restaurant operating at Málaga’s main urban beach.

For many it’s a symptom of what Málaga has become, a city which caters for wealthy foreigners and big profits instead of local communities.

READ ALSO: Why Spain's Málaga is becoming a victim of its own success

And obviously, Málaga isn’t the only place in Spain where beaches are being ‘privatised’.

For years, Ibiza residents have complained that many beach clubs don't comply with municipal regulations.

"Residents have had their beaches privatized, and we already have our designated areas, we're like natives on their reservations," Jaume Ribas, spokesperson for the Citizen Platform PROU, told La Sexta TV channel.

"It's hard for a family, for a normal person, to put their towels in front of the sun loungers when you have people drinking champagne and cava with loud music behind you," he added.

Ironically, the other meaning for chiringuito in Spanish refers to a shady business or a government department born from cronyism.

But there are regional governments realising what the rise of mega-beach bars can mean for locals and their enjoyment of public spaces.

For example, Asturias introduced legislation in 2024 to ensure that beaches weren’t overexploited by chiringuitos.

Spanish law states that no beach in the country can be private, but what is happening at many of the most popular playas is just another example of how overtourism affects the social fabric of coastal neighbourhoods, and in the process changes the face of Spain.

In other news, perhaps the biggest story this week was that the Spanish government has told Airbnb to take down nearly 66,000 listings for ‘illegal’ holiday lets across the country.

These are reportedly tourist flats in residential buildings that don’t have the right licences, and which in the process are contributing to the country’s dwindling long-term rental stock, adding further problems to Spain’s housing crisis.

Airbnb has since hit back at the demands of Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, arguing that the ruling "is at odds" with Spanish and European regulations.

The short-term accommodation platform has announced that it will continue to appeal all decisions affecting this case.

An Airbnb spokesperson has told Spanish news agency Efe that Spain’s Consumer Affairs Ministry "doesn’t have the authority" to enforce regulations regarding tourist accommodation.

Furthermore, Airbnb claims that Spanish authorities have used an "indiscriminate" methodology for the removal of listings, including ads that display licences and others that might not require them, such as seasonal rentals, which are not technically tourist lets, though still controversial in Spain.

The spokesperson added that the government’s order "has also deliberately ignored" Supreme Court rulings "which have made it clear that not all Airbnb listings require a registration number."

Airbnb argues that it requires all hosts to certify that they have the necessary permits and reminds them throughout the year to check and comply with local regulations.

Non-compliance may result in ad removal from its platform, it notes.

Among the platform's other arguments is that it’s subject to the EU’s Digital Services Act, that it has no supervisory obligations, and that it should not be considered a real estate service, according to a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

Airbnb has highlighted that in January 2022, Spain’s Supreme Court followed the ruling of the European Union Court of Justice in issuing a ruling establishing that the information in advertisements, including the registration number where necessary, is the responsibility of the final tourist service provider and not of the platform on which it is advertised.