Just a year ago the European Commission entered this field. platforms tourist apartments, A proposed regulation to increase transparency and information provision in the industry to combat fraud and improve tourism management, such as Airbnb or Booking. twelve months later Council and European Parliament They closed last morning political agreement around an arrangement that brings New obligations on data transmission and greater control over public authorities.
Short-term rental of flats, houses or rooms has become a common form of accommodation for tourists and travelers, and such services now represent almost a quarter of all tourist accommodation in the EU. Some Member States have implemented registration systems, but they vary in their scope, the application requirements applied to hosts or online platforms, and the level of governance (national, regional or local) at which the registrations are managed. There was therefore pressure to introduce regulations aimed at harmonizing the situation.
“With agreement, everyone wins. The new regulation establishes a single and simple set of information rules for platforms and simplifies registration procedures for hosts,” emphasized on behalf of the current EU presidency and Spain’s foreign minister responsible for tourism. Rosana MorilloUnderlining that the new rules will help create better policies and control illegal activities, Dr. “So far, rental platforms have refused to share data, making it difficult to enforce local rules. This text puts an end to this situation and returns control to the cities,” emphasized the Dutch environmentalist and negotiator in the European Parliament. Kim Sparrentak.
“The reach of these regulations across Europe represents a turning point for Airbnb and our industry,” he acknowledged. Nathan BlecharczykIn a letter to the Spanish government and other European representatives, Airbnb’s co-founder and chief strategy officer assured that the regulation would serve as a “global example” for how short-term rentals should be regulated, while also making proposals for the same. Guidance platforms and authorities on issues such as data sharing and enforcement of local regulations that are beneficial to all parties. Currently, around 80% of the top 200 destinations for Airbnb guests have some form of regulation, but “in the absence of reference regulation at the European level, it has sometimes been difficult to know how to draft effective local legislation, how to access data, how to protect data and comply with EU regulations.” ” he added.
Unique registration number
New norm – The Twenty-Seven signed a political agreement last March – setting a procedure free online registration (or at a commensurate cost) for short-term rental owners. After registering a unique registration number It will serve as an identifier that they will use to rent their property and for authorities to verify the information. Platforms will need to ensure that the number allows its owners to be identified and that the information they provide is reliable and complete. They will also need to make “reasonable efforts” to carry out random fact checks. Responsible authorities may suspend the registration number and request the removal of non-compliant hosts from the platforms.
The Pact is a single digital window To receive data (address, registration number, URL) from platforms on a monthly basis regarding the activities of hosts. However, smaller platforms with fewer than 4,250 hosts may opt for a less burdensome registration system that would require them to transfer information about activity every three months. The Regulation will apply twenty-four months after the Council and the European Parliament have officially approved the standard.