Hotelification in Sweden—the shift of homes into hotel-like short-term rentals—has become more visible, even if Sweden is still far from the scale seen in Airbnb-dense cities such as Barcelona or Lisbon. Swedish researchers and the Tenants’ Association (Hyresgästföreningen) say the key change is professionalisation: more operators are running multiple units, treating housing as a hospitality business. The debate has sharpened in late 2025 as Spain and the EU executive have stepped up pressure on short-term rental platforms.
How short-term rentals in Sweden are becoming more professional
Short-term letting can be a way for households to earn extra income, and for tourists it often competes with hotels on price and flexibility. But Dimitri Ioannides, professor of cultural geography at Mid Sweden University (Mittuniversitetet), has argued that the sector increasingly looks like a market of professional operators, not occasional home-sharing.
In this context, “hotelification” is used to describe a housing stock that gradually functions as an informal hotel sector. Critics link the trend to fewer homes available for long-term residents, especially in markets where vacancies are already low.
Hotelification in Sweden: what Stockholm’s Airbnb data shows
Sweden’s short-term rental market remains relatively limited compared with parts of southern Europe. Researchers often point to Sweden’s housing structure—particularly the role of housing cooperatives and rules around subletting—as a brake on large-scale, hotel-like operations.
Even so, the pattern is visible in Stockholm. SVT, citing Inside Airbnb data, reports that 27.9% of Airbnb hosts in Stockholm have more than one listing. The same dataset suggests that the Swedish market is not yet dominated by a large number of multi-unit operators: SVT notes that only two actors in Sweden rent out more than 50 homes.
The significance of these figures is not only tourism demand. They point to a subset of hosts and companies using platforms to scale up, which is a key marker of hotelification in Sweden.
Why Hyresgästföreningen warns about a growing grey rental market
Hyresgästföreningen says it has handled cases linked to hotel-like short-term rentals for about a decade, with a noticeable increase over the past year. The association argues that the issue is not limited to tourist hotspots: when short-term demand sets the price, it can create incentives for overcharging and reduce access to ordinary rental housing.
In a Stockholm-focused report on hotelification, Hyresgästföreningen says it mapped 1,135 apartments used for hotel-style activity and short-term rentals, describing a growing grey rental market with insecure conditions and high rents. The association also estimates that roughly 15,000 apartments may have been diverted from the ordinary rental market through similar practices, though it stresses that the true figure is likely difficult to measure.
SVT illustrates the social impact through a Malmö example: a tenant paying SEK 12,000 per month for a room in a two-room apartment. At the European Central Bank’s euro reference rate on 24 December 2025 (EUR 1 = SEK 10.8055), that amount is about €1,110.
Spain’s €64 million Airbnb fine and the EU executive’s housing plan
Sweden’s discussion is increasingly shaped by policy moves elsewhere in Europe. In Spain, the government has fined Airbnb €64 million (around SEK 700 million) over listings that allegedly lacked the required licences or registration details, according to reporting by Reuters and other outlets.
At EU level, the European Commission—the EU executive—presented a European Affordable Housing Plan on 15 December 2025. In its accompanying communications, the Commission signalled that it intends to tackle short-term rentals in areas under housing stress and to prepare additional initiatives, with further legislation on short-term rentals expected by the end of 2026.
What EU rules could change for enforcement in Sweden from 2026
The EU has already adopted a key instrument: Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 on data collection and sharing for online short-term accommodation rental services. The regulation is designed to strengthen national registration schemes and improve access to reliable market data for authorities. Legal analyses of the text note that its main obligations will apply from 20 May 2026, including requirements for platforms to share data and, where relevant, display and verify registration numbers.
For Sweden, the practical impact will depend on how municipalities and national agencies use improved data to identify commercial operators and enforce existing rules on subletting, permits and tenant protection. Sweden may still remain less exposed than some European capitals, but the incentives that drive professional operators—high returns and platform reach—are present.
Over 2026, the main question is whether hotelification in Sweden stays a marginal phenomenon or becomes a structural pressure in the housing market, particularly in Stockholm and other cities with persistent shortages and growing tourism demand.
