Today, 60 Airbnbs are located in the bastide town of Villeneuve-sur-Lot. A phenomenon which does not go without impacting the activity of competitors in the sector: hotels. Because if they are not under the aegis of large hotel franchises, the latter are experiencing complicated times to bring in satisfactory figures year after year. “Frankly, in 12 years of activity at the hotel, I have never seen this. Since 2022 and the end of the health crisis, we have no longer had any aid. And since then, I have achieved my worst turnover in 2023 and for 2024, we have already exceeded this stage. Between the weather and the competition which increases every year, we achieved figures in May that we expect in March”summarizes Eric Nuevo of the La Résidence hotel.
“I want residents in the heart of the city”
A business problem of overnight stays in Airbnb-type accommodation in which the municipality is increasingly interested: “We have the impression that this only affects large cities, but Airbnbs are developing more and more in our medium-sized cities”, assumes Mayor Guillaume Lepers. Indeed, for the town hall too, the proliferation of short-term rentals on platforms like Airbnb is a scourge for tourist towns. “I want residents in my heart of the city and not just people passing through,” continues the mayor. Professionals and institutions alike then expect regulations “which are not yet up to the challenges. » Unfair competition and tourist tax are the most important evils in this whole affair.
But last week, senators unanimously voted for a series of measures introduced aimed at “strengthen the regulatory tools for furnished tourist accommodation at the local level”. Called the law Le Meur, its objective is to fight against the rise of furnished tourist accommodation such as Airbnb and to encourage landlords to put their property back on the long-term rental market (at least nine months for classic furnished accommodation or furnished rentals). non-professional). Case to be continued while the Villeneuvoise town hall should also soon take decisions to protect some of these hotels, “without being “anti-Airbnb”.
Loss of professional customers
Added to the problems mentioned is also a decrease in professional clientele in the city’s hotels. For example, at La Résidence, “we are used to the fact that 70% of our visitors come here for professional purposes, compared to 30% for leisure and tourism”, explains Eric Nuevo. The hotel owner also recalls that a large part of this professional clientele came because of construction sites in town or nearby which can last several months.“but there is no shortage of construction sites currently in Villeneuve, however, we no longer see the workers here.” The fault this time is the proliferation of private construction sites, whereas in the case of public construction sites, the municipality transfers the agents to its local hotels.
