Spain: Huge tourist row erupts as locals resort to renting swimming pools by the hour | World | News
Local residents in Spain have started to rent out their private pools to tourists in an attempt to earn extra cash, despite ongoing protests against overtourism.
They are doing so through an app called “Swimmy”, which is based on the Airbnb model and is the brainchild of a French woman called Raphaëlle de Monteynard.
Those offering their private pools for rent typically earn €1,000 (£856) per summer season, but some can pocket as much as €10,000 (£8,561).
Madrid currently leads the way in the number of registered pools on the app, with some 140 – Barcelona comes a close second with 130.
The app first took off in Spain in 2019 and became popular during Covid, when people lost trust in public spaces.
“Covid had a positive impact on the platform,” explained Nicole Arévalo, Swimmy Spain’s Communication Manager.
“At that time, families were reluctant to bathe in public pools, as it was more difficult to maintain hygiene measures.”
Mercedes Rodríguez is one such local from Madrid who decided to rent out her pool to visitors.
She started using the app in 2021 and told the Spanish publication ABC Madrid that since June she had earned around €2,000 from between 30 to 35 bookings.
On one occasion she admitted to being scared when a a large group of young people between 25 and 30 years turned up to party at her pool side.
She recalled: “They got drunk, stripped naked in the swimming pool, stole food from my fridge, left the rubbish outside my door, then pissed in the street.
“Then the neighbours talked about me, saying that I had brought the worst kind of people from Madrid! I was very upset.”
Rodriguez admitted she started renting her pool to help bring in extra cash, but was now considering withdrawing from the platform.
“I think this is going to be the last time I rent it,” she said. “And the last summer.”
The Swimmy platform is going from strength to strength, and has seen an increase in both suppliers and users.
Between 2023 and 2024, the number of pools registered with Swimmy increased by 20 percent, from 5,000 to 6,000.
And the number of registered users increased from 270,000 to 370,000 in the same period, an increase of 37 per cent.
For next season, “it is expected to reach more than 20,000 bookings, and register at least 2,000 new pools”.
