3rd Convention - 2017

The third edition of the Congress was held at the headquarters of the Universitat de les Illes Balears in Ibiza (former Comandancia) on 23 and 24 October 2017.

During the two days, various highly interesting presentations were held in which experts from different areas of the tourism sector from the university, the administration and the private sector met to discuss the economic, legal, social and territorial aspects associated with the phenomenon of holiday homes in general and in Ibiza in particular. Online marketing, the collaborative economy, unfair competition, fraud, the effects on the tourist destination and the effects on the island's economy were some of the main themes of the debates.

Ángel Mesado, head of public affairs at Airbnb; Joseba Cortázar, director of communications at HomeAway in Spain and Portugal, and Pilar Canedo, advisor to the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) were some of the speakers at the congress.

The phenomenon of holiday homes is still at the centre of public and political debate, as the Balearic Islands Tourism Law was amended this summer, which directly affects the marketing of stays in homes, preventing the marketing of multi-family dwellings for the time being. A round table discussion will also be held with the participation of the island's five town councils to present their vision of the future and explain their zoning projects required by the Balearic Government and the Consell d'Eivissa.

The event is organised by the Tourist Housing Association (AVAT) and the Petita i Mitjana Empresa d'Eivissa i Formentera (PIMEEF). The event is sponsored by the Consell d'Eivissa and CaixaBank, while scientific coordination of the event is the responsibility of the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), headed by professor Juan Franch Fluxà.

The government will impose greater control on tourist flat websites. The platforms will have to inform the Treasury of the identity of the owners who advertise and of the guests. The Ministry already has a draft decree law to prevent "tax fraud and money laundering" in this activity.

The central government has decided to intervene in the chaos of tourist flat rentals and is going to force large internet marketing portals, such as AirBnb and HomeAway, to provide basic information to the administration. The aim is to ensure that these online booking giants comply with their tax obligations and, on the other hand, to guarantee a minimum of public safety control in these properties.

The 3rd Eivissa Holiday Dwellings Congress, organised yesterday by the sector's employers' association with the support of the island's institutions, was the setting for this announcement, which was made by the Deputy Director General for Tourism Cooperation of the Ministry of Economy, Antonio Nieto Magro.

The aforementioned senior official did not mince his words when it came to warning against booking portals, which "contribute if they are more resource-efficient and increase competition, but do not contribute if they are a way of encouraging the flow of dirty money and non-compliance with tax obligations". He also expressed his concern about the possibility that these websites could become ideal tools for evading public security in these dwellings.

"Currently, the Ministry of Finance is in the process of processing a draft royal decree that will include the obligation for [digital] platforms to provide the Tax Agency with the identity of the owners of the flats they have for rent for tourism purposes". In addition, AirBnb, HomeAway and others will have to provide "the income they receive from the owners" of these flats. The draft "is sure to be processed in the coming months", he added.

Identifying tenants
On the other hand, the deputy director general of the Secretariat of Tourism recalled that "the Law on Citizen Security obliges hotels to provide the Security Forces with information on the people staying in the hotel". In the same way, with this royal decree, "there will have to be a flow of information about the citizens staying in the homes," he added.

This action will be carried out in a way that respects the competences that the different autonomous communities have in tourism matters, Nieto stressed.

Eivissa Town Councillor for Tourism, Gloria Corral, who was present at the congress, did not miss the opportunity to point out the problems caused in Vila by the marketing of holiday flats by AirBnb and HomeAway. In the presence of executives from both companies, Corral recalled the lack of security controls in these properties, the frequent illegal re-renting of flats with the resulting scams, the lack of verification of the identity of the person renting or any other basic requirement, such as the number of people actually staying in a flat.

For his part, the Podemos deputy in the Balearic Parliament, Salva Aguilera, reminded the audience of the housing problems on the island and the distortion of prices introduced by this type of digital portals. Other participants in the subsequent colloquium pointed out that most of the employees who work in tourist flats work under the black economy, thus encouraging the black economy.

Source: Diario de Ibiza