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.”

Last month, Spanish tourism boss Biel Barceló announced the implementation of new penalties for landlords renting out their properties via house sharing websites like Airbnb. The move follows public demonstrations in opposition to the continued intensification of mass tourism across the country. It seems holiday hotspots like Ibiza, Mallorca and Barcelona have simply become too fashionable. Factor in the increasing popularity of Airbnb, which adds to the influx of holidaymakers whilst simultaneously making it harder for local inhabitants and workers to find accommodation, and it quickly becomes apparent that the current situation is unsustainable.

Having spent the majority of April jumping from hostel to hostel, 22-year-old Kaylee from Leeds finally found a place to live in early May. “I’m paying 300€ a month to sleep in a tiny living room on a sofa bed that doesn’t even pull out,” says the young Brit who works as a waitress in one of San Antonio’s promenade cafes. “It’s my first season in Ibiza. I thought it would be really easy to find somewhere, but it wasn’t. The place I’m in now is all I could afford. My housemates are great, but it’s hard to get much sleep because my sofa bed is right next to the front door!”

British workers aren’t the only ones being affected by the lack of affordable rental options. Local Spanish families living in Ibiza Town, whose apartments are now being utilised as short-term summer rentals, are being forced to move back into the basic worker-style accommodation they lived in 20 years ago.

Spanish resident Eduardo, 27, who works for one of the most prominent nightclub brands on the island, also found accommodation in Ibiza Town difficult to find. “When I split up with my girlfriend I had nowhere to live,” Eduardo explains. “Luckily a friend of mine let me sleep on his couch until I finally managed to find my own place in March. It’s a one bedroom attic with kitchenette close to Dalt Vila. I pay 750€ a month, which represents extremely good value considering the current situation. The flat is owned by an old Ibicenco couple who don’t want to get involved with Airbnb or rent to strangers. I’m so glad I found it. I was born here in Ibiza, but it didn’t make finding somewhere to live any easier.”

Local businesses have also been impacted by the accommodation crisis. When Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona opened a new superstore in San Antonio last year there were hundreds of applications for various positions, yet, as the Diario de Ibiza reported, many of the newly employed staff had trouble finding sensibly-priced housing and were forced to quit before taking to the checkouts.

Amid the insatiable clamour for beds, this summer one San Antonio landlord went to new extremes, dividing his luxury villa into 50 separate dormitories and charging 400€ per person per bunk. The story was so bizarre that the Spanish current affairs television programme Ana Rosa, which is similar in style and exposure to the BBC flagship show Panorama, sent a camera crew to the island to document the goings on.

Online scammers are also taking advantage of the property shortage, using Facebook to post fake profiles advertising apartments that don’t exist. “It’s been happening loads this summer,” continues Mark Saunders. “I’ve had multiple groups in tears in my office. They sent over full deposits of 1500€ to 2000€. Then when they landed they realised the address simply didn’t exist. The scammers know Ibiza is busy and it’s so easy to advertise on Facebook. Unfortunately some of the youngsters who have never done a season out here tend to fall for it.”

Working your way through a full summer in Ibiza has never been an easy task. Speak to anyone brave enough to stay the course and they’ll probably liken their twisted White Isle romp to some sort of crazed marathon – a long and arduous journey fuelled by cheese baguettes, cheap vino and god only knows what else. For most, living conditions are basic, wages are generally low, sleep is often nigh on impossible and the chances of getting ripped off during your six month stay are sky high. Yet all those who survive the legendary Balearic endurance contest tend to reflect upon the experience in the same manner as pilgrims drawn to some sacred place, their lives freshly defined.

In the past, the struggle and madness of it all was further counterbalanced by the relatively low cost of living. Yet the way things are going, by 2020, maybe even sooner, the island may no longer be economically accessible to an entire social class of young dance music devotees looking to engage the industry at a grassroots level. Without their boundless energy and new ideas driving the scene on the ground, the raw mood on the island’s best dancefloors would surely disappear forever.

5 tips for securing long term worker accommodation in Ibiza

1 Book your apartment via a reputable letting agent like Ibiza Workers Accom

2 If you are renting privately, make sure you know the person personally or get hooked up via a reliable friend

3 Recently set-up Facebook accounts with no friends advertising Ibiza worker-style accommodation are probably fake

4 Arrange your accommodation early to secure the best property you can. If you land on the island in May there will be less choice

5 Come out to the island with a group of trusted friends if possible

Johnny Lee is Mixmag's Ibiza Correspondent

Lawrence Abbott is an artist and freelance creative designer. Follow him on Twitter