This Monday, December 2, the application of the Royal Decree 933/2021 which establishes the obligations of documentary registration and information of natural or legal persons who carry out lodging and rental of motor vehicles and which contemplates fines of up to 30,000 euros for non-compliance.
This new measure has been the subject of constant criticism from the accommodation sector and travel agencies, denouncing the high bureaucratic burdenthe loss of competitiveness and the possible violation of travelers’ privacy.
However, the Ministry of the Interior assures that throughout the process of preparation and approval of the decree it has respected the principle of transparency and efficiencyhaving had the participation of the recipients and the objectives of the regulation being clearly defined both in the preamble of the standard and in the report, without “unnecessary or accessory administrative burdens having been included.”
Finally, the affected companies will be forced to provide the corresponding data on the Ses.Hospedajes platform, which has been available since 2022 and in which 61,540 hotel establishments, 1,994 travel agencies, 222 digital platforms, and 1,720 motor vehicle rental companies have already registered. Adding all these companies, a total of 4.77 million data of users linked to these companies.
The purpose is to increase security
From the department he heads Fernando Grande-Marlaska Emphasis has been placed on the current security situation, stating that the greatest attacks on citizens are carried out by both the terrorist activity and organized crimein both cases with a marked transnational character.
“In both cases they take on special relevance in the modus operandi of criminals the logistics of accommodation and the acquisition or use of motor vehicles, whose contracting is carried out today through countless means, including telematics, which provides greater privacy in these transactions,” he explained in this regard. Therefore, for the Interior, the current regulations remain “obsolete” and “useless” because, for example, the lodging registration rule is 65 years old (Decree 1513/1959).
This fact means leaving out of its scope of application the new modalities of lodging activitiessuch as short-term tourist homes operated by companies or individuals through registration in portals or reservation centers through digital media or the internet.
In this sense, this total of almost 4.8 million data has made it possible to locate 18,584 people who appeared in databases of national or international signals, coming into line with the main purpose of the decree, which is to improve citizen security, according to the Interior.
Affected: Accommodation, vehicle rental and agencies
According to the publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE)the obligation of documentary registration falls on natural or legal persons who carry out, professionally or not, lodging activities or rental of motor vehicles without drivers.
Firstly, hosting activities are those carried out, professionally or not, with the purpose of providing, in exchange for a price, consideration or compensation, room or space for overnight stays for people, with or without other complementary services. This section includes hotels, hostels, pensions, guest houses, rural tourism or similar establishments, campsites and motorhome parking areas.
For its part, driverless motor vehicle rental activities are those carried out with the in order to facilitate its use by a third partyfor a certain time, and in exchange for compensation, consideration or a certain price. The rental of self-taxis vehicles and, in general, the rental of vehicles with a driver are excluded from the provisions of this section.
In addition, the regulations contemplate in both activities the tour operators that provide intermediation services between companies and consumers, and the activity of digital platforms dedicated, for consideration or free of charge, to the intermediation in these activities through the Internet, whether or not they provide the underlying service being mediatedas long as they offer services in Spain.
In relation to the possibility of an increase in costs for the affected companies, the Interior has assured that the new registration does not have to translate into this possibilityruling out “considerable” investments, since “the data collected is the same as until now.”
Mandatory data
Regarding data collection, Interior has recalled that companies will not collect more than what they are already doing currently. In particular, several categories are distinguished for registration. On the one hand, lodging activities They must communicate and record the following information:
- Leasing company details: Name or company name of the owner, CIF or NIF, municipality, province, landline and/or mobile phone, email address, company website and URL to identify the advertisement.
- Establishment details: Type of establishment, name, full address, postal code, town and province.
- Traveler data: Full name, sex, identity document number, type of document (DNI, passport, TIE), nationality, date of birth, place of habitual residence (full address, town and country), landline and mobile phone, email, number of travelers and family relationship between the travelers (in the event that one is a minor).
- Transaction data: Contract (reference number, date and signatures), contract execution data (check-in date and time and check-out date and time) and payment data (type, identification of the payment method such as card type and number, holder of the payment method, card expiration date and payment date).
Additionally, for non-professional hosting some information varies, including full name, sex and ID of the owner of the propertyas well as number of rooms or internet connection of the establishment. In the case of vehicle rental, the data to be provided They are similar to the accommodation onesalthough adding the corresponding information of the main driver and the second driver (if applicable).
Sanctions from 100 to 30,000 euros
Finally, although the Ministry wanted to make it clear that this regulation It does not have “a collection purpose to fill the State coffers”, Minor and serious sanctions will be imposed on companies that fail to comply with the regulations.
Specifically, irregularities or deficiencies in the completion of the records provided for in this royal decree and the completion of mandatory communications outside the established deadline are considered minor infractions. Thus, the price of the fine ranges between 100 and 600 euros.
For their part, serious sanctions include the lack of documentary records provided for in this royal decree and the omission of mandatory communications. The price of the violation will range from 601 to 30,000 euros.