2023-11-16 21:10:15
Just a year ago the European Commission launched into the arena of tourist flat platforms, such as Airbnb or Booking, a regulation proposal to increase transparency and the provision of information with the aim of fighting fraud in the sector and improving tourism management. twelve months later Council and European Parliament They closed this past morning a political agreement around a regulation that introduces new obligations in data transmission and more control of public authorities.
The rental of apartments, houses or rooms for short periods of time has become a common form of accommodation for tourists and travelers and these types of services currently represent almost a quarter of all tourist accommodation in the EU. Some Member States have implemented registration systems but they differ in their scope, the submission requirements imposed on hosts or online platforms and the level of administration at which the registers are managed (national, regional or local). Hence the push for regulations aimed at harmonizing the situation.
“With the agreement, everyone wins. The new regulation creates a single and simple set of information rules for platforms and facilitates registration procedures for hosts”, highlighted on behalf of the current presidency of the EU, the secretary of state for tourism of Spain, Rosana Morillo, who highlighted that the new rules will help build better policies and control illegal activity. “Until now, rental platforms have refused to share data, which makes it difficult to apply local rules. This text puts an end to this situation and returns control to the cities,” highlighted the European Parliament negotiator, the Dutch environmentalist. Kim Sparrentak.
“The arrival of these regulations throughout Europe represents a turning point for Airbnb and our sector,” he acknowledged. Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder and chief strategy officer, Airbnb, in a letter sent to the Spanish government and other European representatives in which he assures that the regulation will serve “as a global example” on how to regulate short-term rentals, while also offering guidance platforms and authorities on issues such as data sharing and the application of local regulations that are useful for all parties. Currently, about 80% of the top 200 destinations for Airbnb guests have some type of regulation, although “in the absence of reference regulation at the European level, it has sometimes been difficult to know how to draft effective local legislation, access data , protect housing and comply with EU regulations,” he added.
Unique registration number
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The new norm – the Twenty-Seven closed a political agreement last March – establishes a procedure for free online registration (or at a proportionate cost) for owners of short-term rentals. Upon registration you will receive a unique registration number that they will use to rent their property and that will serve as an identifier for the authorities to verify the information. The platforms will have to guarantee that the number allows the owners to be identified and that the information they provide is reliable and complete. Additionally, they will have to make “reasonable efforts” to conduct random information checks. Responsible authorities may suspend the registration number and ask platforms to remove hosts who do not comply with the rules.
The pact includes the creation by the member states of a single digital window to receive data from the platforms (address, registration number, URL) on the activity of the hosts on a monthly basis. Smaller platforms, however, those with fewer than 4,250 hosts, will be able to opt for a less onerous registry that will require them to transmit information about the activity every three months. The regulation will be applied twenty-four months after the Council and European Parliament formally approve the standard.
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