Lease extension on the Playa: Marco and Tamara Gülpen stay – and the neighborhood breathes a sigh of relief

Lease extension on the Playa: Marco and Tamara Gülpen stay – and the neighborhood breathes a sigh of relief

Simply carry on: Eight more years for a small piece of Playa de Palma

In the early morning, when the fishing boats are still asleep and the first delivery vans chug along the promenade at Playa de Palma, the hostal stands quietly between Balnearios 3 and 4. Where a few years ago there were tiles in need of renovation and squeaky doors, there are now fresh coats of paint, guests heading for the sunbeds after breakfast, and the small cocktail bar on the ground floor with its namesake classic – the Despacito served in a hollowed-out pineapple.

Marco and Tamara Gülpen did not have to give up this corner. They recently shared the news on Instagram: "We are allowed to stay for another eight years." For a building Marco took over in 2012 in a rather sad state and which the couple later restored with a six-figure investment, this is more than a formality. It is the basis for planning staff, for further investments and for the reassurance that the work of recent years was not in vain.

The news has also brought something familiar back to everyday life here: the regulars who have been returning for years, the neighboring cafés that switch on their coffee machines in the morning, and the caretakers who keep their shovels at the ready. Small accommodations like this often provide the microcosmic rhythm that gives a holiday strip a sense of home – and that will remain.

Anyone who knows the house understands that heart and sweat are behind the project. In 2021 the Gülpens also opened the Despacito cocktail bar on the ground floor, a space that grows loud with laughter and music on long summer evenings. The family commuted between Germany and Mallorca for a long time but moved here permanently when their son started school. A few months ago they moved into a house between Cala Blava and El Arenal (municipality of Llucmajor) with five bedrooms across roughly 300 square meters – a home found after twelve months of intensive searching in a housing market that still worries many people, with concerns about measures to limit vacation rentals and hostels.

Why this is good for Mallorca too can be explained in three sentences: continuity secures jobs, owners are more likely to tackle renovations, and neighborhoods keep their character when people who are rooted here are allowed to stay, a stability that matters when big events shift the balance between profits and noise as explored in Playa de Palma at the Season Finale: Profits, Noise — and Who Pays the Bill?.

The small lesson for other hosts is clear and not particularly glamorous: anyone who wants to invest needs security. Owners and administrations should bear this in mind when negotiating contracts, especially given problems such as illegal subletting by so-called Inquilinos Pirata. For guests, meanwhile, it is a good reason to book consciously: a stay in a hostal that will remain in place means authenticity instead of an anonymous, interchangeable experience.

In the end, it is simply a good feeling to walk along the Playa in the morning and see doors open, the bar unlocking and the smell of coffee and saltwater in the air. Marco and Tamara got the call they had hoped for. The neighborhood can breathe – and plan the next eight years by the sea.

Outlook: If lease contracts offer perspective, investing in materials and people pays off. A tip for travelers: those who want to support small hostals should check reviews in advance, ask specifically about family-run options and bring some cash for the bar – it usually goes directly to the people who live and work here.