Colombia's Short Term Rentals Grow 561.9% Since 2019 While Hotels Lose Ground

Registered tourist housing in Colombia grew 561.9 percent between 2019 and August 2026, rising from roughly 11,000 to about 74,000 units. Over the same period, traditional hotels and lodging establishments grew only 23.1 percent, from about 16,000 to 20,000. Tourist housing captured most of the country’s tourism boom in recent years, although growth is showing early signs of moderation in 2026.

Supply growth, 2019 to August 2026

Segment	2019	August 2026	Growth
Registered tourist housing	~11,000	~74,000	+561.9%
Traditional lodging establishments	~16,000	~20,000	+23.1%

Hotels under pressure

Formal hotels are going through their weakest stretch since the pandemic. Real hotel revenue fell 8.7 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2026, after declines of 3.6 percent in 2024 and 2.9 percent in 2025, and dropped a further 7.4 percent in July. Revenue fell in 11 of the 12 regions tracked, with the Amazon the only exception, and occupancy remains at a five year low.

Indicator	Value
Real hotel revenue, Q2 2026 YoY	-8.7%
Real hotel revenue, July 2026 YoY	-7.4%
Regions with falling revenue	11 of 12
Lodging employment, Q2 2026 YoY	-5.3%
Lodging employment, January to July 2026 YoY	-4.5%
Largest occupancy drop (hotels with 101 to 150 rooms), Q2	-4.2 points

Region	Real hotel revenue change
Cartagena	-14.0%
Bogotá	-12.3%
San Andrés	-11.0%
Antioquia	-8.7%
Central region	-8.0%
Amazon	+3.3%

Costs up, foreign demand down

Margins are being squeezed from both sides. Real wages in the lodging subsector rose 9.9 percent year on year in the second quarter, against a 23 percent increase in the 2026 minimum wage. The Colombian peso has appreciated 16 percent over the past year, making the country more expensive for international visitors.

Demand indicator	Change
Domestic air passengers	+3.5%
International air passengers	-8.7%
Non-resident foreign arrivals	-5.7%
Tourism service exports, Q2 2026	-0.7%

The second quarter contraction in tourism service exports is the first since the pandemic. The lodging and restaurants subsector is now projected to shrink 3.4 percent in 2026 and a further 0.3 percent in 2027, after growth of 0.5 percent in 2025.

Regulatory backdrop

The gap between the two segments sharpens the debate around the Ministry of Commerce’s draft decree reforming the National Tourism Registry (RNT), which remains under consultation after trade groups pushed back on its first version. Hotel associations back tighter controls, while platforms and hosts warn of risks to competition, formalisation and small operators.

Draft provision	Detail
Individual registration	Each tourist housing unit needs its own RNT number
Building approval	Units in horizontal property must show building rules allow tourist lodging
Listing display	RNT number shown prominently on every platform listing
Platform enforcement	Listings without a valid, active RNT must be removed or blocked
Ongoing checks	Platforms verify every six months that providers keep an active RNT
Data sharing	Platforms share stay, guest origin and rate data with authorities for statistics, informality control and tax oversight

For operators, the numbers point to continued structural share gains over hotels, but also to a compliance environment where registration status is likely to be checked automatically at platform level rather than case by case.

Cover photo: Carlos Felipe Ramírez Mesa on Unsplash.