MADRID: Barcelona city hall said on Thursday that it would fine home rental websites Airbnb and rival HomeAway 600,000 euros ($635,000) each for marketing lodgings that lacked permits to host tourists. In a statement, Barcelona said it had initiated proceedings "that will result in 600,000-euro fines for each of them for the repeat offence of advertising tourist lodgings online" without authorisation.
The city hall led by mayor Ada Colau, a former anti-eviction activist, is working to curb a boom in visitor numbers it fears could drive out poor residents and spoil the charm of Barcelona.
For many years the boom was seen as a success story but persistent issues with noise, rising real estate prices and illegal tourist flats have led many of the city's 1.7 million residents to draw battle lines against the never-ending tide of visitors.
A popular 2014 documentary about Barcelona's tense relationship with visitors, "Bye Bye Barcelona", warned that the city was becoming "a theme park".
Already in December last year, Barcelona authorities slapped Airbnb and HomeAway with a fine of 30,000 euros, then the maximum, for offering for rent homes which lacked permits.
Then in June, city hall increased the maximum possible fine 20-fold to 600,000 euros. This is the first time it has applied the hike.
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