Travolution

🌏 HBX Group released its Sustainability Report, revealing over 75 ESG-related actions and a new work and result reporting framework. The group joined the UN Global Compact and began a three-year plan to align with the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), analyzing the impact of 4,000+ KPIs. Its Sustainable Hotels Programme includes 40,000 certified properties, with a 900% increase in hotels adopting no-single-use plastics policies. HBX Group's employee volunteer hours increased by 40%, and their reforestation efforts resulted in 12,000+ trees planted. They've been Carbon Neutral certified for six years by Carbon Footprint LTD.

📌 Barcelona's City Council announced a short-term rentals ban by 2029, affecting 10,000 units. However, Mabrian's data reveals the market size is 63% larger than official estimates, with over 15,800 units, nearly 56,700 rental beds, equating to 67.6% of Barcelona's hotel capacity (84,000 beds by end of 2023). Approximately 25% of rental units operate without mandatory licenses. Of Airbnb-listed properties, 27% owners advertise one unit, 73% list multiples, and 57% of these offer over 10 accommodations. Nearly 61% of listings are entire homes, 33% private rooms, 4% one-room apartments, with 68% concentrated in Eixample, Ciutat Vella, and Sants-Montjuic. The ban aims to ease tourist lodging pressure in dense areas and return homes to locals. Key markets for short-term rentals include Americans, French, Australians, and British. Average nightly cost for a holiday rental is 56 euros compared to 167 euros in 3-star and 175 euros in 4-star hotels (June 2024 data).