How to list your place as a touristic apartment in Guipúzcoa

The online world offers endless opportunities to earn money, and making your home available is certainly a good way to do so. If you’re interested in learning how to list your place as a touristic apartment in Guipúzcoa (Spain), including the latest developments, I’ll be walking you through my own experience with this process. Let’s dig into it!

***

Disclaimer: please note that this post includes some affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost for you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. In case you have any question about the companies advertised here or my status as an affiliate, please do not hesitate to contact me.

***

🤔 My rationale for renting on Airbnb

After buying and renovating my own place in my hometown (Irún, Guipúzcoa), I started thinking about ways of increasing my monthly revenues. Given that I travel quite often, be it for work or for leisure, my apartment is sometimes empty and I would love it if other people could enjoy it while I’m away.

Out of the many online platforms that are available nowadays to book a room or an apartment, I chose Airbnb. First, because it’s the most popular search engine when it comes to looking for your home away from home. And second, because I’ve used it many times myself as a guest and I believe it works brilliantly. If you’re interested in renting on Airbnb, feel free to use this link to do so. At no additional cost to you, I will earn a coupon if you also list your apartment once you get your first visit.

Read more about these trips where I stayed at an Airbnb apartment!

A guide to the Feria de Abril in Sevilla (Spain)

The perfect tropical getaway in Miami & Key West

🏡 Expanding to Booking: my experience and results

Recently, I also decided to expand my visibility and publish my apartment on Booking. Since listing it there, I’ve actually noticed an increase in reservations — even more than I initially expected. Having your property available on more than one platform can really boost exposure and occupancy rates, especially during peak travel seasons.

One thing that pleasantly surprised me is how extremely easy the setup process was. Booking basically cloned my Airbnb listing automatically, including the photos and main details, so I didn’t need to start from scratch.

Another very useful feature is that you can synchronize calendars between Airbnb and Booking, which means you don’t have to worry about overlapping reservations or double bookings. In my case, everything synced smoothly from day one. This feature gave me peace of mind, knowing I wouldn’t accidentally double-book the same dates.

If you’re thinking about listing your apartment on Booking as well, feel free to use my referral link below. Both of us will benefit from commission-free bookings during the first stays.

In my opinion, relying on more than one platform makes your rental business more resilient and increases your chances of maintaining steady occupancy throughout the year.

List your apartment on Booking here.

📝 What you need to know to register a touristic apartment in Guipúzcoa (2025–2026 updates)

🏛 Check with your city council (Ayuntamiento)

In the province of Guipúzcoa, the first thing you should do is get in touch with your local council (Ayuntamiento) to ask whether you would need a license to rent your place.

When I first contacted the city council in Irún back in 2023, I was initially told that a license (Licencia de actividad clasificada — costing €118) was required. However, it later turned out that it wasn’t necessary in my particular case.

From what I understood during the process, requiring a license or not depends largely on the municipality where your apartment is located. Even at the time, highly popular nearby destinations such as San Sebastián or Hondarribia were already restricting — or in some cases suspending — new touristic apartment licenses, making the process increasingly difficult in certain areas.

Additionally, the situation in Irún has evolved significantly since I first published this post. In 2025, the city was officially declared a “zona de mercado residencial tensionado” (high-pressure housing market area) by the Basque Government due to growing housing demand and limited rental supply. As a result, obtaining new touristic apartment licenses in Irún may now be considerably more difficult than when I originally registered my property, and regulations could continue tightening in the future. If you’re planning to start the process now, I strongly recommend contacting the Irún City Council (Ayuntamiento de Irún) directly to confirm the latest requirements and restrictions before moving forward.

📑 Ask permission to the Basque Government (Gobierno Vasco)

After checking with your city council, you should ask permission to the Basque Government (Gobierno Vasco). You can do so in person or online.

If you decide to do it online, you will need to fill in a form (declaración responsable) to inform that you intend to begin a touristic activity by renting your apartment. You will be required to provide a certain number of documents such as a blueprint for the house by an appropriate authority (architect or building engineer), pictures of the apartment you wish to list as a touristic property, the insurance policy or the deed of sale to attest you’re the owner.

In case you need to go in person at some point to provide some documents, you can request an appointment before paying a visit to the Tourism Office of the Basque Government in calle Easo, 10 in Donostia – San Sebastián.

Once your request for renting your apartment has been approved (it took them less than 24h after my submission), you will receive an official registration number. This means that your apartment was included in a special Registry (Registro de Empresas y Actividades Turísticas de Euskadi or REATE). You will then need to add this number to your Airbnb listing.

Since you will receive guests in your apartment, you also need to create an account with the Police (in the case of Guipúzcoa and the Basque Country in general, with the Ertzaintza) in order to inform them of who’s coming in and out.

Furthermore, your water bill might increase due to an increased fee because of renting your apartment for touristic purposes.

Please note that these requirements may change over time depending on the town and/or region you’re renting in. Make sure you stay up to date to avoid unpleasant surprises!

🆕 Update 2025: new national rental registration number

Starting last year (2025), all hosts in Spain must also obtain a National Rental Registration Number (Número de Registro de Alquiler). This new requirement complements the regional authorizations (like the Basque Government permit) and aims to unify all short-term rental listings under a unique national database.

The process is handled online through the Land Registry’s electronic platform (Registro de la Propiedad). In my case, I had to wrestle a bit —the system wasn´t the most intuitive— but the process went through, and I received my National Rental Registration Number the next day. After that, I could add it to my listing and keep renting without any issues.

🪴 Get your apartment ready for Airbnb and Booking hosts & related expenses

Once your request to list your place as a touristic apartment in Guipúzcoa has been approved, there are a few more things you need to do. Next to some of them, I’ve also included the cost to give you an idea of how much I paid when I did it in 2023.

• Blueprint for the house by an architect (Arquitectos Salegi; €266)
• Two plaques indicating that your apartment can be used for touristic reservations, one to be placed in the lobby and another one next to your door (Rotulcar; €55)
• Lockbox for the keys to be placed in the lobby (€30)
• I also bought some special sheets and towels from Ikea for my Airbnb guests, to easily differentiate them from mine when doing the laundry after a stay.
• Create a detailed announcement listing your apartment on Airbnb or Booking, with plenty of pictures. If possible, take the time to explain your house rules and consider writing a travel guide. Your hosts will love hearing your local tips!

All in all, it cost me €351 to set in motion my apartment as a touristic place, which I recovered as soon as I started renting it. After two years of deciding to rent my apartment, I´m so happy that I did as it´s been a very profitable investment so far, particularly during the summer.

Since adding my listing to Booking as well, I’ve seen an even steadier flow of reservations, which has made the whole setup more worthwhile financially.

🗓 Best dates to rent your place

Depending on the dates you’re renting, the chances of putting a higher price tag on your apartment listing may increase.

Take some time to think about the best dates to rent your place. In order to do so, you may consider the following:

• Are there any major events where you live or nearby? Fairs, concerts or special celebrations might drive many people to your town. For example, I checked the calendar of my hometown’s exhibition centre. I also listed my apartment as available during a popular race that takes place every year in mid-November (Behobia-San Sebastián).
• Do you live in a touristy area? In my case, my hometown has no beach, but some other nearby cities do (San Sebastián / Donostia, Fuenterrabía / Hondarribia, Hendaye) and are very popular summer destinations.

🔗 Links to useful resources to rent your apartment in Guipúzcoa

Finally, below is a list with links to useful articles (in Spanish) that I found during this process:

• DECRETO 101/2018, de 3 de julio, de viviendas y habitaciones de viviendas particulares para uso turístico
• EUSKADI: Guía definitiva para el alquiler de viviendas (VT) y habitaciones de viviendas particulares para uso turístico (HT)
• Número de Registro de Alquiler
  
• ¿Qué requisitos deben cumplir las viviendas para turistas que se ofertan por Internet?

🏠 Stay at my apartment in Guipúzcoa + my map with local tips

If you’re looking for a cozy place to stay in Guipúzcoa, you’re welcome to rent my apartment. Feel free to browse my Airbnb and Booking listings, including pictures and a detailed description of every room.

In case you’re interested in renting on Airbnb or Booking, feel free to use my referral links to do so. At no additional cost to you, I will earn a coupon if you also list your apartment once you get your first visit.

For your ease of reference, I’m also sharing a map where I listed my local tips to visit Irún and the nearby area.

Given how quickly regulations around short-term rentals are evolving in Spain, especially in high-demand areas, I’ll continue updating this post whenever significant changes affect the registration process in Guipúzcoa.

I trust that this blog post detailing how to list your place as a touristic apartment in Guipúzcoa was insightful. Let me know in case you have any questions or if you’ve gone through this process recently. Please share your experience in the comments, as it might help other hosts!