UnfAirbnb! The effect of short-term letting on electoral behaviour

Over the last few years, short-term lets or home sharing have radically changed the dynamics of mass tourism. The short-term holiday letting industry has also had profound consequences on our urban spaces. While being lucrative for some, it has changed many city's urban spaces and transformed the character of different areas, leading to evictions or displacing neighbours to the suburbs. While previous works have focused on the economic and urban effects of short-term letting, much less is known about the electoral effects of the ``Airbnb'' phenomenon. Does it lead to a higher propensity to vote for certain parties, especially for those that own the issue? Or does the short-term letting phenomenon erodes social capital and trust in government, and hence increase abstention? Using detailed geographic data on Airbnb locations in Barcelona, this article examines the effect of short-term letting on electoral behaviour. It finds that areas with a higher concentration of Airbnbs were more likely to vote for the party that campaigned in favour of home-sharing regulations. These same areas were also more likely to report higher rates of abstention, although the pattern is less clear. This study has important implications for our understanding of the interplay between urban management, social cohesion and vote choice.