Airbnb in Marrakech: holiday rentals enter a new phase

For a long time, offering an apartment or villa for nightly rental in Marrakech could seem relatively straightforward. A few photographs, a listing published on a platform, a booking calendar and a concierge company were sometimes enough to launch the business.

This period of relative tolerance is probably coming to an end.

At the beginning of 2026, the Moroccan government confirmed its intention to regulate seasonal rentals more closely, particularly those marketed on digital platforms such as Airbnb or Booking.com. Discussions concern authorisations, property classifications, safety requirements and the monitoring of listings published online.

At this stage, the aim is not to ban short-term rentals. Rather, the issue is to bring what has become a significant activity into a clearer, more controllable and fairer framework in relation to officially operated hotels, guesthouses and riads.

In Marrakech, where many apartments and villas are purchased specifically with the intention of being let by the night, the consequences could be significant.

There is no “Airbnb law” in Morocco

The term is convenient, but legally inaccurate.

Airbnb is a booking platform. The rules do not depend on the name of the website on which the property is offered. They concern the activity itself: the paid and repeated accommodation of travellers for short periods.

An owner who lets directly through their own website, via a concierge company, on Booking.com, on Airbnb or through social media may be carrying out the same tourist accommodation activity.

The general framework already exists. Law No. 80-14 on tourist establishments and other forms of tourist accommodation was adopted in 2015. It provides, in particular, that a tourist accommodation establishment cannot be operated without authorisation and must comply with certain obligations relating to its classification, safety, insurance and the quality of the services provided.

An implementing decree was then adopted in 2023. Several orders published in 2025 clarified the classification standards and administrative procedures applicable to hotels, tourist residences, guesthouses, riads, gîtes and other officially recognised establishments.

On paper, Morocco is therefore not starting from scratch.

The issue lies between the law and the reality on the ground

The existing framework was primarily developed around identifiable tourist establishments: hotels, guesthouses, riads, tourist residences and gîtes.

The explosion in individually offered nightly apartments and villas has created a far less clear-cut situation.

An apartment in a conventional residential development is not necessarily a tourist residence. A villa let for several weeks each year is not automatically a guesthouse. Thousands of properties have therefore emerged between traditional residential letting and professional tourist accommodation.

In May 2026, professionals consulted about Morocco’s short-term rental market still considered that the practical implementation of the framework remained incomplete and varied between cities and authorities. Many owners continued to operate their properties without knowing precisely which procedure applied to their situation.

By July 2026, the debate had in fact evolved. Several specialists no longer spoke of a total legal vacuum, but rather of a lack of implementation, monitoring and coordination between government bodies, local authorities, security services, the tax administration and booking platforms.

It is this grey area that the public authorities are now seeking to reduce.

What the government is preparing

Two separate initiatives have been mentioned since the beginning of 2026.

The Ministry of Tourism wishes to integrate new forms of tourist rental more effectively into the authorisation and classification system. The announced reform must also take account of the digital marketing of properties and allow better monitoring of offers published online.

The department responsible for Housing is, for its part, working on a draft decree intended to regulate buildings used for short-term rentals, particularly in areas normally intended for permanent residential use. The government considers that converting an increasing number of homes into tourist accommodation may reduce the supply of long-term rental properties and increase pressure on rents in major cities.

Another text supplementing Law No. 80-14 had already been announced in order to integrate more clearly apartments, villas and other tourist accommodation still absent from the traditional classification system. The business press referred to phased implementation, with the aim of formalising a significant share of undeclared accommodation before 2027.

However, it is important to be precise: the final content of these new provisions has not yet been fully published.

It cannot therefore be claimed today that a national registration number will be mandatory, that a cap on overnight stays will be imposed, or that certain areas of Marrakech will be prohibited from seasonal letting. These are mechanisms used in other countries, but they must not be presented as Moroccan rules that have already been adopted.

What could change for owners

Although the final texts are not yet known, the overall direction is now fairly clear.

The authorities want to be able to identify the properties being operated, their owners or managers, the travellers accommodated and the income generated by the activity.

More clearly defined authorisations

One objective is to clarify which authorisation must be obtained by an owner who repeatedly lets an apartment or villa.

For officially classified tourist accommodation establishments, the procedure already involves an application for provisional classification and operating authorisation submitted to the Regional Investment Centre. The official forms require, in particular, the operator’s identity, accommodation capacity, management method and the establishment’s administrative references.

The difficulty mainly concerns independent properties that do not precisely fit the historic categories. The future framework will need to provide them with a clearer and proportionate procedure.

Minimum safety and hygiene standards

The authorities wish to prevent properties that regularly accommodate travellers from operating without suitable insurance, safety equipment or a clearly identifiable responsible person.

The rules already applicable to tourist establishments provide, in particular, for insurance covering fire risks, theft of guests’ belongings and the operator’s public liability. The official authorisation template published in 2025 requires a copy of this insurance to be submitted.

It remains to be seen to what extent these obligations will be adapted for private owners and small seasonal rental units.

Better identification of travellers

Tourist accommodation is subject to obligations to identify and declare guests. An online declaration system already exists for establishments and other forms of tourist accommodation covered by the regulations.

The challenge will be to make this system straightforwardly applicable to apartments, villas and properties managed by concierge companies.

Greater involvement from platforms

The government no longer wants merely to monitor owners once a property is in operation. It also wishes to regulate more closely how listings are published and marketed.

In time, a platform may be required to verify certain information before accepting a listing or to provide more data to government bodies. Removing non-compliant listings is among the solutions regularly discussed internationally, but the precise obligations to be adopted in Morocco are not yet known.

Marrakech is on the front line

Seasonal letting does not carry the same weight in Marrakech as it does in a city where tourist demand remains limited.

In central districts, in residential developments close to Guéliz and Hivernage, around golf courses or along the main tourist routes, some property purchases are now assessed according to their potential for nightly rentals.

This market has encouraged the development of numerous concierge companies responsible for creating listings, welcoming travellers, cleaning, maintenance and optimising rates.

It has also profoundly changed investors’ calculations.

An apartment is no longer compared solely with the rent it could generate over a year through long-term letting. It is often presented on the basis of an average nightly rate, a theoretical occupancy rate and a projected return.

This approach may be misleading.

Actual profitability depends on the purchase price, occupancy across the year, platform commissions, concierge fees, cleaning, electricity, maintenance, periods without bookings and taxation. The high returns sometimes highlighted are neither automatic nor guaranteed.

Regulatory developments now add another variable: whether the property can be operated lawfully over the long term.

Can a conventional residential development become tourist accommodation?

This is probably one of the most sensitive questions.

An owner may legally own an apartment while encountering difficulties when using it as a permanent tourism business.

The co-ownership regulations, the designated use of the building, planning rules, nuisance caused by repeated arrivals and departures, and the position of the other co-owners can all become sources of conflict.

The government has specifically referred to properties diverted from their residential purpose in areas not originally intended to accommodate intensive tourist activity. The future decree announced by the Housing department is intended, in particular, to address this issue.

This does not mean that all seasonal rentals in residential developments will be prohibited. It means that an investor should no longer regard their future operation as automatically assured.

Is it still worth investing in an apartment intended for Airbnb?

Yes, but certainly not by relying solely on an income projection found in a listing.

Seasonal rentals will continue to meet genuine demand. Families, groups of friends and long-stay travellers seek accommodation offering more space and independence than a hotel room. Platforms have permanently changed booking habits.

However, the market is entering a more professional phase.

Properties bought at too high a price, located in developments hostile to high guest turnover, or dependent on unrealistic occupancy assumptions will be more exposed.

Before an acquisition, it is becoming essential to examine several scenarios: short-term operation, furnished medium-term letting and, as a fallback, conventional long-term letting.

A sound investment must remain viable even if the rules change or the number of lettable nights decreases.

What an owner can check now

Waiting for the next decree to be published without preparing anything would be a mistake.

An owner who already operates a property on a nightly basis can begin by checking their tax status, the authorisations they hold, their insurance policy, the co-ownership regulations and how travellers are identified.

It is also prudent to keep a clear record of bookings, payments, commissions and expenses related to the activity.

Owners using a concierge company must know who legally assumes the role of operator, who declares the travellers, who receives the rent and who is liable in the event of damage or a complaint.

A management company does not magically remove the owner’s liability. The contract must set out each party’s obligations precisely.

Regularisation rather than prohibition

Morocco has no interest in eliminating an activity that increases its accommodation capacity and responds to a genuine shift in tourist demand.

However, the public authorities no longer wish to see two markets coexist: on the one hand, hotels and guesthouses subject to authorisations, inspections and taxes; on the other, tourist properties operated without identification or common rules.

The chosen direction is therefore one of formalisation.

In Marrakech, seasonal rentals will not disappear. They are likely to become more administrative, more closely monitored and probably more costly to operate properly.

For serious owners, this development is not necessarily bad news. It may eliminate some informal competition and reassure travellers.

For investors whose entire project is based on undeclared operation or highly optimistic theoretical income, the change of era will be far less comfortable.

This article presents the state of the texts and announcements available at the date of its publication. Several of the measures mentioned are still being prepared and may evolve before their final adoption.

Airbnb in Marrakech: holiday rentals enter a new phase

There is no “Airbnb law” in Morocco

The issue lies between the law and the reality on the ground

What the government is preparing