*

Melia is buying housing to accommodate seasonal workers

due to

shortages

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Housing crisis has been exacerbated by short-term lettings

boom

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Unions say salaries in hotel industry rising far slower

than

rents

By Corina Pons

MADRID, March 10 (Reuters) - Spanish hotel chain Melia

is buying property to accommodate seasonal workers who

can't afford to rent in tourism hot spots as a housing crisis

risks causing labour shortages in the country's tourism

industry, its CEO Gabriel Escarrer said.

Melia, Spain's biggest hotel chain, has bought a former

hostel on the Balearic island of Menorca and is looking to make

further acquisitions in Ibiza and Mallorca as well as in the

Canary islands and on the Spanish mainland to house its

workforce during the summer high season, Escarrer said in an

interview.

"Due to the boom in short-term rentals for tourists, finding

an apartment for the season has become an Odyssey," Escarrer

said, adding that paying employees well is no longer enough to

retain talent.

"What we have done is make sure we have housing for our

workforce."

A housing crisis in Spain caused by a sharp fall in new home

construction since the 2012 property crash is being exacerbated

by a short-term letting boom to tourists on platforms such as

Airbnb ( ABNB ).

Spain received a record 94 million tourists last year, with

three out of 10 visitors choosing to stay in holiday homes

rather than hotels, according to official data.

Buying housing is a radical solution for Melia, which in the

past two years has been forced to accommodate some staff in

hotel rooms to prevent them from quitting, Escarrer said.

But for many hotel owners, giving workers a home is not an

option, Ramón Estalella, general director of Spain's hotels

group CEHAT.

"Not everyone can afford (to provide) housing and a salary

for their staff. It is not a widespread solution," he said.

Unions warn that hotel workers' salaries rose 3% last year

while rents in Spain increased by an average of 11.5% in 2024,

according to Idealista, a property listings website. In hot

spots such as the Balearics residents have been forced to live

in caravans due to rising rents.

"Wages are not rising like hotel margins and housing is a

problem in tourist areas," said Jose Maria Martinez, a union

leader for the hotel sector at CCOO.

In the Canary Islands, CCOO called for a two-day strike in

hotels over the Easter week to demand better wages.

Local authorities in top tourist destinations have begun to

restrict permits for holiday rentals while Barcelona and the

Balearics have increased tourist taxes in response to residents'

protests about mass tourism.

Escarrer said banning tourists from staying in holiday homes

in city centres would also help preserve Spain's cultural

identity, pointing out how La Boqueria market in downtown

Barcelona has become overrun by tourists.

"Fifteen years ago La Boquería was ideal for interacting

with the people of Barcelona and today the market receives

tourists who only go there to take photos," he said.