The popularity of private pool rental in Spain

Private pool rental has become a way for Spaniards to earn extra money throughout the summer months.

Despite the ongoing controversy over tourism in Spain, some residents continue to rent out their swimming pools privately, in an endeavour to earn extra money without any great effort required.

Renting out one´s private pool in Spain first became popular in 2019, and gained momentum in particular during times when Covid was still causing great concern and many people became nervous of public spaces. Nicole Arévalo, who is head of communications for the app Swimmy in Spain, confirmed this, stating that Covid was actually beneficial to the platform and had a `positive effect´.

Swimmy, the app for private pool rental, proves to be rising in popularity

Swimmy was designed by Frenchwoman Raphaëlle de Monteynard in 2017 and works in a similar way to Airbnb. With those using the app to rent out their pools earning between €1,000 – €10,000 during a single summer, it is not difficult to see what the lure is. In fact, between 2023 and 2024, the number of private pools registered rose by around 20%, and the number of app users increased by a whopping 37%, from 270,000 to 370,000, and the platform predicts that next season will do even better [Enia Gómez, ABC Madrid, 11/08/2024].

Private pool rental is popular across Spain

Top pool rental locations are currently Madrid – which has some 140 pools individually registered on the app – and Barcelona, which follows a close second with around 130 pools registered.

Some pool owners, such as Mercedes Rodríguez, who lives in Madrid and rents her own pool out, also offer extra comforts at an extra cost, such as clean towels, snacks or even a barbecue, in order to increase revenue whilst providing a more tailored experience to those renting the pool, as Mercedes confirmed in an interview with ABC Madrid.

Despite its popularity, renting a pool privately can have its down side

However, not all of those who have rented out their pools have had a 100% positive experience, Mercedes being one of them. During the interview with ABC Madrid, she confessed to having had a bad experience with a large party of 25-30-year-olds, which not only left her feeling nervous but was also a point of contention between Mercedes and her close neighbours. The group arrived with plenty of alcohol and proceeded to behave inappropriately, getting drunk, stripping naked and abusing Mercedes´ trust as they took food from her fridge and left the rubbish heaped up in the entrance to her house. On leaving the property the group continued to behave in an unruly manner, including peeing in the street, whilst neighbours looked on, horrified and indignant. Following this incident and a couple of others when Mercedes felt the situation was out of her control, the Madrid resident has now put a four-person limit on her pool rental and is strict to adhere to it, turning down bigger groups, despite the financial lure.

With the Swimmy platform assuring that the app will go from strength to strength, it appears that the trend for privately hiring a pool will continue, despite the reservations of the many Spanish residents who want tourism in the country to be more limited.