An accommodation crisis in Ibiza is pricing out dance music workers and locals

Working an Ibiza summer has always been an essential rite of passage for young dance music fanatics. Many visit the island in the hope of forging a lucrative DJ career, while other less ambitious souls spend their free time lapping up the sunshine and doing their best to get laid. And don’t forget the job-hopping wreck-heads who can’t remember why they made the trip in the first place. But whatever your reason for travelling, to get the most out of your Balearic summer it goes without saying that you’re going to need somewhere to live.

Five years ago, finding accommodation in Ibiza was a relatively straightforward task. San Antonio was chockfull of reasonably priced apartments. And plenty more were being built. Since then, however, summer rental options have been decreasing year on year. As a direct result, prices have increased from an average of 250€ to 375€ per month per person for a single bed in a double room in a basic apartment that may house anywhere from four to eight occupants.

“I think the main reason why there are currently less affordable apartments available to rent than ever before is the increasing popularity of Airbnb,” explains Mark Saunders of Ibiza Workers Accom and Rent Ibiza Holiday Villas. “Local landlords know they can make triple the money renting their apartments out to tourists rather than workers. Four or five of the apartments that I usually rent out over the course of the summer are being used for illegal holiday lets this year. The prices are going up because there are fewer properties available. It’s basic supply and demand.”