AIRBNB in central Madrid - should I proactively cancel
 

I have an AIRBNB rented for December of this year. There are numerous articles about proposed new city regulations that will effectively shutter '95%' of center city AIRBNBs. If you look these up, they really would be difficult to adhere to and I agree a majority of AIRBNBs in the city center - and other areas of Madrid - will either have to close or flaunt the law. These most recent regulations appear to have been proposed back in May, 2018. An honest host declined my AIRBNB request for Spring, 2019 and stated he was unable to book that far out at this time due to these regulations. My AIRBNB is in the center city and is the area where I always stay. I can't find followup articles as to whether these regulations have gone into effect or when they will go into effect. My concern is whether the AIRBNB apartment will even be in operation by that time. In preparation, I have booked a hotel I have stayed in in the past and luckily, I can cancel it up until the night before. I contacted AIRBNB with these concerns and this was their response: 'Hello XXX, My name is Stephanie and I am with customer experience team. For now, the listing that you booked is is in accordance with current local legislation. I can say to you if any changes can impact this host specifcally but if a change happens and cancellation happen, Airbnb will provide all the support for you and for the host. For now, everything is ok.
If I can help you with anything else let me know.'

So clearly customer service has an out with their reference to 'currently'. If the AIRBNB closes, I would simply like to stay in the hotel I have booked and certainly not be rerouted by AIRBNB to another property perhaps outside the area I have chosen. PLEASE try to avoid turning this into a debate of whether AIRBNB is a good choice or not, the web is filled with such blogs. I am afraid even with my concerns that if I cancel now, I'd lose the booking fee. I know this is a small amount in the big scheme of things, but just think how many people may have that attitude and leave these fees to the benefit AIRBNB . FYI, I am very familiar with Madrid and I travel there at least a couple of times each year as well as to other parts of Spain. Any suggestions? Gracias!

Perhaps look closely at what has been happening in Japan. I can’t see how anybody can advise you given the information available now.

On the other hand, I have dear friends who live in a very desirable attic flat near Sol. They are surrounded by neighbours who let out their homes with AirBNB, it’s doubtful most will continue to do so.
Thing is, they have been letting out their own home for years, well before AirBNB became a thing. They’ll continue to do so, perhaps indefinitely. That’s because they go through a different channel and use a home swapping service. They exchange their home for someone else’s, usually in the summer.
If you are looking for more or less guaranteed accommodation this December but don’t want to use a hotel, this might be a route for you.

Here’s a snapshot of what happened in Japan when letting out regulations were tightened there:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japa...servation.html

And discussion just before this:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japa...periences.html

The Barcelona City Hall has been clamping down hugely on Airbnb but there still thousands of listings across the city. I'm sure the case of Madrid is the same. I would rate the chance of your listing being cancelled as 5%.