More Listings, Less Income for Hosts in Tulum’s Rental Market

Tulum vacation rentals listed on Airbnb now top 8,200, more than twice the roughly 3,700 units on record with Quintana Roo's tourism ministry, and the city's hotel association is asking for rules to match.

The gap points to a rental market that has grown well beyond the official count, extending into areas where urban planning has never accounted for visitors. It also lands during a slow autumn for Tulum's hotels, with about 1,000 rooms closed and landlords across the city lowering rents to hold on to tenants.

Tulum vacation rentals outpace the state's records

David Ortiz Mena, president of the Tulum Hotel Association, told Uno TV that the number of rental registrations in Tulum is disproportionate to what the state tourism ministry reports for all of Quintana Roo.

The state's own weekly figures sit near the lower number. Sedetur, the state tourism ministry, counted 3,554 active vacation rentals in Tulum for the week of October 31 to November 6, with occupancy at 46 percent. Hotels in the city reached 58.3 percent that same week.

The 8,200 figure covers active listings on Airbnb alone. Rental data firms each measure the market their own way, which is why totals for Tulum shift from one source to the next. Earlier this year, a group representing rental managers put the city's active units at 5,119, close to half the size of its hotel inventory.

Rules for rentals in irregular settlements

Ortiz Mena said part of the rental supply operates in irregular zones, where the urban development conditions needed to receive visitors are not necessarily in place.

Any regulation, he said, should require respect for land-use rules. It should also separate residents who now rent out their homes from owners who have turned short-term rentals into a permanent business.

Hoteliers say they are not trying to eliminate vacation rentals. What they want are rules that stop lodging in irregular settlements from operating without adequate conditions.

More listings, smaller earnings for hosts

An analysis by AirROI, a short-term rental data firm, ranks Tulum as the largest vacation rental market among the 29 destinations it tracks in Quintana Roo.

That growth has not reached hosts' pockets. Over the past year, listings rose 5 percent while average revenue fell 8 percent, according to the analysis. January brought a rebound. September brought a drop.

The expansion overlaps with ongoing pressure on drainage, drinking water supply, and roads, as well as softer demand for hotel rooms.

About 1,000 hotel rooms closed for now

The Tulum Hotel Association estimates that around 1,000 hotel rooms are closed, some temporarily and some permanently, due to low occupancy and weak profitability.

José Antonio, a hotel employee, said the property where he works shut its doors once revenue stopped covering operating costs and payroll.

"We closed because of the low occupancy. Honestly, there wasn't enough for operating costs or payroll. Right now they just have us here looking after the place and keeping up the details."

Landlords lower asking rents to keep tenants

Long-term rents in Tulum have fallen by as much as 50 percent as demand for homes and commercial space has eased, according to local rental business owners.

Patricia Jiménez, who rents out homes in several parts of the city, said many properties have gone without tenants, pushing owners to cut prices to bring them back onto the market. The drop, she said, is not limited to particular neighborhoods or property types.

Owners are now negotiating more affordable terms rather than leaving units empty.

Plaza Hunab offers tenants 40 to 50 percent off

Eder Rodríguez, director of the Plaza Hunab shopping center on Avenida Cobá and of the Motto by Hilton hotel, said management has reached agreements with tenants to help them through the low season.

Discounts on commercial rent range from 40 to 50 percent, he said, mostly for businesses with heavier operating costs, such as restaurants. Several of the larger tenants have been in the plaza for more than four years, a relationship he said has made negotiations easier.

The center has 21 retail units and about 10 kiosks, for a total of roughly 30 spaces. About 25 are occupied. Rodríguez said some businesses have scaled back operations, but none has closed because of the low season.

The hotel sector is counting on the December holidays to bring visitors back and recover part of the activity lost this autumn. How many of those 1,000 closed rooms reopen will depend on how strong that season turns out to be.

Should vacation rentals in Tulum follow the same rules as hotels, or should occasional hosts be treated differently? Join the conversation and share your perspective with us on Instagram and Facebook at @thetulumtimes.