EU to consider fining platforms with illegal tourist rentals

The European Commission will study the incorporation of the Government’s demands into the regulation on digital tourist rental platforms

The Government’s spokesperson and Minister of Economic Model, Tourism and Employment, Iago Negueruela, has met with the European Commission’s Director of Tourism and Digitisation of the Internal Market, Valentina Superti, to convey the proposals of the autonomous government for the regulation on the commercialisation of tourist rental through digital platforms. These contributions have received a broad consensus in the Committee of the Regions, where the Balearic Islands have led the debate on this issue.

The Govern meets with Valentina Superti.

The councillors acknowledged that this regulation establishes a legal framework for the exchange of data aimed at detecting illegal supply in the sector and improves transparency in the procedure for registering owners. However, they also stressed the need to guarantee the sanctioning capacity of the competent authorities to fine these platforms in the event that they do not assume the responsibility of hosting an unregulated activity.

In this sense, Superti thanked the Government for its contributions to improve a regulation designed to increase the transparency of the procedures established by digital platforms when offering tourist rentals. Even so, she stressed the need to intensify collaboration with regional and local governments to obtain more information from owners who advertise on these platforms and thus detect any irregularities.

Meeting with HOTREC

Next, at the European Parliament, the representatives of the Govern took the aforementioned demands to the meeting they held with Marie Audren, Director General of HOTREC (European Association of Hotels, Restaurants, Bars and Cafés), and Matej Zezlin, Head of Public Affairs at HOTREC. The representatives of the hotel and catering industry shared the Government’s proposals on the aforementioned subject and committed themselves to working together to ensure that the competent institutions make progress in improving the regulations.