It’s increasingly becoming a badge of honour among activists: how many tourist apartment lockboxes can they sabotage, often in a single night.
On social media, young men and women boast about ripping them off walls or filling them with silicone, rendering them useless for arriving holidaymakers.
One of the latest incidents took place in Sevilla, where three people were caught on CCTV sealing the locks and key safes of five registered tourist apartments with silicone, preventing arriving guests from accessing their accommodation.
The attack happened on June 28 in the Alameda de Hercules area. According to the apartment owner, two women and a man were filmed tampering with the lockboxes before walking away.
He later filed a complaint with the Policia Nacional, saying the damage would need to be repaired through his insurance.
The owner also claimed the apartments had been targeted on several previous occasions and said he had unsuccessfully tried calling the Local Police 16 times before contacting the 112 emergency service.
He added that other tourist accommodation in the neighbourhood had also been attacked in recent days.
Similar incidents have occurred in Sevilla before. In 2023, dozens of lockboxes used by holiday rentals were found sealed with silicone and daubed with anti-tourism graffiti.
But the tactic now appears to be spreading.
An Instagram account linked to anti-tourism activism in Malaga – calle GuirisGoHome – shared footage of the Sevilla attack with the caption: ‘When in Malaga?’
In another post, seemingly from Malaga, the same account showed a tourist apartment lockbox covered in what appears to be silicone alongside the message: ‘Last night I ripped off another one.’
The posts reveal activists are not only carrying out acts of sabotage but also using social media to encourage copycat actions elsewhere in Spain.
Lockboxes have become a particular target because they allow guests to check themselves into holiday rentals without meeting the owner in person.
They are commonly attached to the outside of buildings or hidden in nearby streets and have become a familiar feature in many Spanish tourist hotspots.
The growing hostility comes amid increasing protests over housing shortages, rising rents and overtourism.
Demonstrations have taken place across cities including Malaga, Barcelona, Palma and Sevilla, with campaigners arguing that the rapid expansion of tourist accommodation is pricing local residents out of their own neighbourhoods.
Authorities have not linked the Sevilla incident to any organised protest group, and no arrests have been announced.
The police are investigating after the apartment owner submitted CCTV footage showing the alleged sabotage.
The incident comes as governments across Spain are also tightening rules on holiday rentals.
Malaga is introducing a three-year moratorium on new tourist accommodation in residential areas, while the national government is preparing measures that could increase VAT on short-term tourist accommodation services and introduce further regulation of the sector.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
