Holiday home – Image by Andreas Göllner from Pixabay
(BRUSSELS) – European Parliament and Council negotiators reached provisional agreement Thursday on a draft regulation on data collection and sharing for short-term accommodation rental services.
The market for short-term rentals has increased rapidly in recent years with online platforms such as Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and TripAdvisor. This type of accommodation comprises about one quarter of total tourist accommodation in the EU, expected to increase.
The new Regulation is aimed at increasing transparency in the sector, with clear rules for hosts and platforms on data collection and sharing.
It will provide key information to authorities that wish to address the impact of short-term rentals on local communities. Data sharing obligations for platforms will be adapted to the smallest players.
The short-term rentals Regulation is seen as a key deliverable for sustainable and smart tourism under the Tourism Transition Pathway. The new legislation will also provide aggregated data that will feed into a European data space for tourism.
“Short-term rentals are an important part of the tourism ecosystem, but shouldn’t come at the expense of local communities,” said Single Market, Commissioner Thierry Breton: “Today’s agreement will enable local authorities to manage short-term rentals in an effective and proportionate way. It will also build on the Digital Services Act and ensure that online rental platforms take their responsibility, share data and help fight illegal listings.”
The provisional agreement reached with the European Parliament now needs to be endorsed and formally adopted by both institutions. After its entry into force, Member States will have a 24-month period to establish the mechanisms for data exchanges, which are already being prepared with the support of the Commission.
Further information, European Parliament
