It was during a visit organized by the Villeneuve-Vallée du Lot Tourist Office that the subject was put on the table. Since last year, Villeneuvois hoteliers, located in the heart of bastide towns, have seen a growth in non-hotel short-term rentals around them, via Internet platforms, with Airbnb in the lead. The phenomenon, which started post-covid, is explained, in particular, by the law passed in 2017, imposing, in towns with more than 200,000 inhabitants, an administrative authorization to rent a second home. Result: investors buying real estate for short-term rental, formerly in large metropolises, are now placing their money in medium-sized cities. If the legal limit for this type of rental is set at one hundred and twenty days, there is no control to sanction those who exceed it. “You just have to walk around the heart of the city to see the number of key boxes that have grown on the walls,” underlined Christophe Martin, director of the tourist office.
“If we live two more such catastrophic years, we will disappear”
Eric Nuevo, boss of the hotel establishment La Résidence, avenue Lazare-Carnot, noted the negative effects on its occupancy rate: “I have been there since 2012 and in 2023, I experienced the worst period for the hotel. And the first quarter of 2024 is even worse…”
The main clientele of Villeneuvois hotels is not tourist, but is made up of 70% of salespeople or workers employed on private or public construction sites: “They now prefer to rent a house together and share the costs rather than each taking a hotel room, continues Eric Nuevo. It costs them less. »
Already a first victim
On the Boulevard de la Marine side, the identical observation is made by Nicolas Vidroc and Anaïs Cottin, recent buyers of Platanes: “We work a lot with salespeople,” explains Nicolas Vidroc. This year, especially, we noticed that some loyal customers did not return. The development of videoconferencing also has a lot to do with it. »
So much so that Eric Nuevo does not hesitate to affirm that “if we live two more years as catastrophic, we will disappear”. Already, the Terminus, which historically combined catering and hotels, has decided to close the doors “for financial reasons” to its nine rooms, unless there is an exceptional reservation for a group.
The municipality, alerted by hoteliers a few weeks ago, decided to act with its resources, which are currently quite limited. The tourist office has started to track down Airbnb addresses. Around sixty have been identified: “All will receive a letter urging them to declare themselves hotel accommodation: “We are not going hunting for those who, occasionally, rent their spare room or part of their house in season,” specifies Mayor Guillaume Lepers. We go on the hunt for those who are not from here and who come to invest in apartments to transform the bastide into a ghost town. » While waiting for a new law to be promulgated at the highest level on long-term rentals, including cities of all sizes.
