1st Convention - 2015
The President of PIMEEF, Alfonso Rojo, defended business associations as a way to achieve projects and improvements for a group, congratulating AVAT for the initiative.
The President of the Consell d'Eivissa, Vicent Torres, congratulated the initiative and pointed out that since 2013 a total of 1,873 applications for Holiday Tourism Stays have been submitted to the Ibiza institution. He advocated offering quality and modifying the regulation to benefit those who comply with the regulations, although he pointed out that it is such a dynamic sector that the institutions find it difficult to regulate the activity.
The Councillor for Tourism of the Santa Eulària Town Council, Carmen Ferrer, highlighted the challenge posed by this congress by putting on the table a phenomenon that is totally in vogue, namely tourist accommodation. She showed special interest in finding out how the phenomenon is being experienced in other Autonomous Regions and stressed that it is a sector that can act as a driving force to reduce the seasonal nature of the season. Finally, he defended the need for a balance between leisure for tourists and respect for residents.
Juan Franch Fluxá, Professor of Commercial Law and Tourism Contracts at the University of the Balearic Islands, spoke on the legal controversies surrounding the rental of homes to tourists. He pointed out that the LAU is not applicable in the field of tourism even if the owners do not offer any tourist services. Franch said that legal insecurity is the model that the sector has been suffering from and that the administration must regulate the phenomenon without fear of the digital economy (international intermediaries operating via the internet). He highlighted the increasingly important role of the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC), which in several reports has pointed out the regional regulations that reduce market freedom in this area. Finally, Franch prophesied that there will be no choice but to regulate the rental of flats to tourists because it is a reality that is there and will continue to be so it is better that it is in regulated places, with clear regulations, transparent marketing and all with the corresponding insurance.
The next presentation was given by José Manuel Soriano, Professor of Tourism at the UIB, who pointed out formulas for creating value in housing. Above all, he stressed, it is very important that the information offered on the internet about the property is coherent: exact location, data, forms of fluid communication with the client, etc. He also called for exceeding the expectations of the client. He also called for exceeding customer expectations by offering more services, more information, offering the virtues of the property and positioning oneself well on the Internet. On the other hand, he encouraged entrepreneurs and owners to use tools such as Google My Business or Google Maps to give an image of seriousness at an extremely low cost.
To close the morning session, a Round Table was held with Roberto San Esteban (AVAT), Montserrat Coberó (Turisme Rural Catalunya), Bartolomé Torres (Consejería Turismo Andalucía) and Doris Borrego (Asoc. Canaria de Alquiler Vacacional) who explained how the situation is legally in their autonomous communities. In summary, it could be pointed out that Catalonia has made a complete regulation accepting a wide range of possibilities, Andalusia has fallen short in its legislation while the Canary Islands is in absolute chaos after approving a regulation and having it recently annulled by the same autonomous government.
The afternoon session began with another round table discussion formed by Javier Sayes and Pedro Luis Gil (AVAT), Antón Bundó (Turisme Rural Catalunya) and José Domingo (Asoc. Canaria) in which various relevant issues were discussed in order to improve the profitability of tourist housing. Special emphasis was placed on improving the security of the properties (alarms, safes, emergency telephones...) The need or not for surveillance cameras was debated. On the other hand, the owner must ensure internet connectivity and the presence of certain services or amenities to improve the customer experience.
Afterwards, presented by the Secretary General of PIMEEF, María Ángeles Marí, a video was shown in which personalities from Ibiza from the world of tourism, business and the media gave their opinions on the phenomenon of holiday homes, their advantages and the evolution that they represent in the tourism market.
Finally, Vicente Arbona, Administrator of the Tax Agency of Ibiza and Formentera, closed the congress by explaining the different options for taxation of income from tourist accommodation depending on whether the owner is a marketer or not, or whether he offers tourist services or not, with different situations in terms of personal income tax and VAT. The audience was able to ask numerous questions to answer their tax doubts.
