Almost four out of ten listings for holiday stays in Mallorca lack an official registration. This has been revealed by a pioneering analysis conducted by the Department of Tourism of the Consell de Mallorca, which concludes that 39.5% of properties detected on the main online booking platforms operate without a licence.

unlicensed tourist accommodation

Tourism Councillor José Marcial Rodríguez during the presentation of the pioneering analysis on illegal listings on the island. Photo: Consell de Mallorca.

The study, presented by Tourism Councillor José Marcial Rodríguez, represents the first real snapshot of illegal accommodation circulating on the island. After a year of work, the team monitored more than 400,000 listings across four platforms, processing over 10 million data points.

Out of an average of 20,204 listings analysed per month, 7,978 correspond to unregistered properties, offering a total of 42,342 unlicensed tourist beds.

Snapshot of unlicensed accommodation

The data allow, for the first time, a detailed map of the situation:

  • Property type: 50.9% are single-family homes (villas and chalets) and 47.2% are apartments in multi-family buildings.

  • Geographical distribution: the municipalities of Palma, Pollença and Alcúdia concentrate almost a third of unlicensed activity. By regions, Zona Nord leads, followed by Mitjorn and Llevant.

  • Municipal ranking: out of 53 municipalities on the island, 16 account for more than 80% of unregistered listings, with Palma at the top.

A pioneering tool

The analysis was carried out thanks to the hiring of the company Talk&Code, specialised in detecting and categorising properties, along with the collaboration of the Sustainable Tourism Observatory and other entities. According to Rodríguez, this work provides precise data to act in a “more targeted and effective” way.

Commitment against illegal activity

The Tourism Councillor reiterated that the priority of the Consell is to protect those who comply with regulations and deter those who operate outside the law:

“We will not tire of defending those who do things correctly while pursuing those who do not,” said Rodríguez.

The official emphasised that the fight against unlicensed tourist accommodation is not aimed at increasing revenue, but at ensuring legal certainty for the sector, community harmony on the island, and a sustainable tourism model.