The Government of the Balearic Islands and Booking.com will launch a pilot collaboration project to combat illegal tourist rentals in the region. This was one of the conclusions of the meeting held between the two institutions during the Fitur tourism fair.
In this way, the Government, through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports, and Booking.com are moving forward with the European regulation that will be approved shortly, which foresees, among other actions, the obligation to provide a portal or access code for the competent administrations on the websites of the platforms.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of the four island councils, the competent bodies for tourism inspection, who stressed the importance of public-private collaboration in the fight against illegal supply.
More transparency
Booking.com’s proposal, in line with the future regulation, aims to increase transparency in the area of short-term accommodation rentals and to help public authorities regulate this increasingly important part of the tourism sector. While short-term accommodation bookings offer benefits for both hosts and tourists, they can be a source of concern for some local communities who, for example, face a shortage of affordable housing.
President Prohens commented that “illegal supply is unfair competition for both hotel accommodation and regulated holiday accommodation; it is detrimental to our quality as a destination and to the image that visitors have of us, and only contributes to an unchecked surplus of tourists.
“At Booking.com we take our responsibility against illegal content very seriously. As a digital service provider, we are committed to removing content that does not comply with local regulations, such as advertisements for illegal short term rentals,” says Pilar Crespo, head of Booking.com in Spain and Portugal.
The Balearic Islands has thus become a pioneer in the application of this type of project, which is expected to be extended to the rest of the platforms in the near future.
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