Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Technology

Airbnb Finds Love in Lisbon After Berlin Shies Away

  • Thousands of apartments were converted into short-term rentals
  • Lisbon mayor says city should prepare to take in more tourists
Residential properties stand on the hill leading to Saint George’s hilltop castle in Lisbon.

Residential properties stand on the hill leading to Saint George’s hilltop castle in Lisbon.

Photographer: Mario Proenca/Bloomberg
Corrected

On his way to work, Lisbon Mayor Fernando Medina likes to count the dwindling number of empty buildings.

Thanks to a tourism and real estate boom, many are being converted into trendy apartments that cater to the growing number of visitors to the city.