Czech Republic: Prague seeks restrictions on Airbnb to tackle overtourism

Prague is seeking restrictions on Airbnb and other short-term letting platforms in the city to curb over-tourism. City’s mayor, Zdeněk Hřib, said under proposed restrictions, property owners are barred from renting out homes or apartments in their entirety, except when it’s their own home and they’re not present for the duration of the rental. Rentals would be limited to single rooms where the owner also lived. Between 2016 and 2018, the number of visitors to the Czech capital increased by 840,000 to over nine million. At the same time, accommodation capacities in the city’s hotels and hostels only increased by around 1.4%. Short-term letting platforms stepped in to fill the gap, namely Airbnb, which increased its capacity by 34%, according to a 2019 hospitality study from Deloitte.