Why Do Middle-Class PositionsMatter? The Alignment ofShort-Term Rental Suppliers tothe Interests of Capital

Abstract

[eng] Underlying the idea of the middle classes there is a contradictory positional-ity, the relations of which ultimately enhance capital accumulation. By opening Marxistcritique to Weberian approaches to class, we explain how the self-ascription of short-term rental (STR) suppliers to the middle-class idea boosts exploitation and accumula-tion. Housing income, and recently that originating in STRs, has been used to maintainthe symbolic and material status of the so-called middle classes in Spain, and specificallyin Palma. Based on statistical data analysis and interviews with STR suppliers, managersand workers, we analyse the contradictory class positionality of STR suppliers in Palma(Majorca, Spain). First, we argue, that STR suppliers are part of the middle classes sincethey bear attributes of rent, labour and also capital, as they employ workers to producea tourism commodity. Second, we contend that STR overnight stays should not only beconsidered as land rent payments, but also as the sale of a tourism commodity. Third,we claim that the contradictory positionality of the middle classes fuels self-exploitation,for STR suppliers misalign their interests with those of capital.