Palma hotels help staff with rent as homes run short

Palma, Mallorca: hotels are helping staff pay rent or giving them somewhere to stay as a shortage of homes makes high-season hiring harder. Francisco Serrano, president of the Palma Hotel Association, described the measures on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, as the association reviewed the season. The housing shortage also affects people living in the Balearic Islands and workers in other industries, he said.

Hotels have found different ways to help. Some have set aside space to house employees; others contribute directly towards their rent. Serrano called the season positive, with hotel occupancy at 89%, but urged “bold decisions” on access to housing.

Hotels that open year-round can offer steady work with little staff turnover, Serrano said. Finding temporary extra staff and cover for employees off work is harder. Mercè Peñaranda, the association’s manager, said absence rates at some hotels reached nearly 30% in the high season, compared with an annual average of 14.8%.

Topics: Housing · Jobs & labour · Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com