A radical change in accommodation offerings
The City Council of Madrid has decided to shift its tourism strategy by proposing an urban modification that will allow the creation of more than 240 new accommodation options in industrial areas. This measure aims to alleviate pressure on the historic centre, where restrictions have limited the expansion of tourism.
The initiative, driven by the Department of Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility, considers the possibility of establishing aparthotels, guesthouses and flexible rentals, known as ‘flexliving’. This model allows visitors to choose stays ranging from a few days to a maximum of one year, thus adapting to the needs of modern tourism.
The affected plots are distributed across eight districts: Arganzuela, Chamartín, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Usera, Ciudad Lineal, Hortaleza, San Blas-Canillejas and Barajas. Among the highlighted locations are the Industrial Park on the Burgos road, as well as areas near the Airport and other strategic locations such as Costa Rica street with M-30.
Deputy Mayor Inma Sanz has defended this proposal as an effective way to prevent all tourism from concentrating in the central core. The modification seeks not only to diversify the options available for tourists but also to revitalise areas that have lost their industrial character due to a process known as tertiarisation.
Previous regulations strictly limited hotel facilities in these industrial areas. However, after detecting irregularities in the marketing of tourist apartments as permanent residences, it has been deemed necessary to update these regulations. The new plan will allow the transformation of vacant or underutilised buildings into temporary accommodations under specific conditions.
Aside from the increase in tourist options, this plan also includes measures to improve residential use. It will allow the rehabilitation of vacant buildings for tourist purposes for a maximum period of 15 years before they must return to their original use. Additionally, owners will be incentivised to convert vacant offices or community buildings into affordable housing.
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