Barcelona fined homesharing Web sites Airbnb and Homeaway 600,000 euros (US$633,600) each for advertising and renting out apartments to tourists without a license, the Catalan regional government said on Thursday.
The fine was leveled by Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau in a crackdown on unregulated tourism in the city, where home rental sites have allegedly marketed apartments without listing them on the Catalan Tourism Register.
The capital of Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region, Barcelona is famed for its Belle Epoque architecture, museums and night life.
Photo: AFP
It is not the first time the city has fined San Francisco-based Airbnb, one of the fastest-growing start-ups of the so-called “sharing economy” valued at about US$25 billion.
The Barcelona council reported that Airbnb and Homeaway were repeat offenders, having illegally advertised 3,812 and 1,744 properties respectively.
An additional nine rental sites are expected to also face fines up to 30,000 euros for failing to follow regional tourism laws.
“It shouldn’t be possible that thousands of apartments are operating without a license, illegally, without paying tax and at the peril of neighboring residents,” Colau said on a Catalonian radio channel on Thursday.
Cities like Berlin, Paris and Barcelona say home-sharing Web sites for tourists deprive locals of apartments for permanent rent and push up prices for homes remaining on the market.
Barcelona has seen a surge in tourism and attracts about 27 million visitors per year.
Airbnb said that it was saddened by the decision and would appeal.
“Less than a month ago we met with officials and Airbnb committed to work together in the best interests of the city. Airbnb is part of the solution in Barcelona,” the Catalan division of Airbnb said in a statement.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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