3rd Convention Tourist Housing in the press
SOURCE: DIARIO DE IBIZA, 24 OCTOBER 2017
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.
Joan Lluís Ferrer - Ibiza
The central government has decided to intervene in the chaos of tourist flat rentals and is going to force the big 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 Homes 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 high-ranking official did not mince his words when it came to warning the booking portals, which "contribute if they mean more efficiency of resources and increase competition, but do not contribute if they are a way of encouraging the flow of black 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.
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SOURCE: DIARIO DE IBIZA, 24 OCTOBER 2017
AirBnb and HomeAway reject regulation of their activity.
The two portals do not clarify whether they will ban ads that do not display the registration number required by law
Joan Lluís Ferrer - Ibiza
The representatives of AirBnb, Ángel Mesado, and HomeAway, José Antonio Bonache, questioned during yesterday's congress the rules that aim to regulate holiday flats and the activity of these portals. Although at all times they affirmed that their intention is to "comply with the law", they avoided clarifying unequivocally whether they intend to reject rental ads that do not display the registration number of the property, as required by law. Booking has announced that it intends to do so. HomeAway is "in the process of educating all landlords to post their registration number," was the most Bonache could say about this.
Apart from defending the new system of accommodation that travellers are currently demanding, the two national spokespersons of these platforms admitted that this system causes some "externalities", a euphemism with which they referred to the problems and conflicts of coexistence, scams and other irregularities. In any case, the blame for these problems "lies with everyone". "We are not the only ones responsible, because this is a puzzle and there is no single culprit," Bonache said.
Asked how they plan to prevent illegal re-rentals of properties advertised on their portals, the AirBnb representative said that "on a platform with more than three million ads, the regulations establish that it is not obligatory to judge them one by one, because it is not viable". They also said that "in 90% of cases, the traveller's experience is satisfactory".
The Consell's tourism director, Vicent Torres, asked the AirBnb manager if he would provide the Consell with a list of advertisers on the island, to which Ángel Mesado replied without committing himself: "We will answer based on the legislation that affects the platforms," he said.
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SOURCE: DIARIO DE IBIZA, 24 OCTOBER 2017
Security forces see need for travellers' reports in tourist flats
National Police and Civil Guard say they are "surprised" by the increase in scams in rental flats in Ibiza. They warn that mafia gangs duplicate and usurp the advertisements of legal websites to hunt their victims.
Joan Lluís Ferrer - Ibiza
Investigators from the Guardia Civil and the National Police Force who are in charge of pursuing cybercrime on the islands yesterday advocated implementing the so-called 'travellers' report', which is used in hotels, also in tourist flats, as an element of control of those who stay in them and thus help to combat organised crime.
During the afternoon session of the congress on tourist housing held yesterday and today at the headquarters of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), a member of the Telematic Crimes Group of the Guardia Civil and an inspector of the Technological Investigation Unit of the National Police declared themselves "surprised" by the "growth of scams in holiday rentals" on the islands, especially in Eivissa.
This is because scams in the tourist flat sector "are very easy to carry out and bring in a lot of money". On the other hand, the police prosecution of these crimes is much slower than the action of the criminals due to the very nature of the computer tools they use.
By way of example, representatives of the Guardia Civil and the National Police explained that fraudsters usually create their own flat rental websites by copying the entire content of legally established commercial websites (Ecoibiza, Fotocasa, Milanuncios...), but giving them a different address and demanding payment in advance. In this way, when the client arrives in Eivissa, the flat they have rented "is already in someone else's possession, they have paid for a house they don't have and the person who has rented it doesn't know where they are", they pointed out.
The National Police and the Guardia Civil point out that these mafias that operate in Eivissa are usually the lowest echelon of criminal organisations that operate in Eastern European countries, and that they are also involved in arms, human and drug trafficking. Pirate taxis, drug traffickers at Ibizan parties and other similar scourges are usually linked to each other, they pointed out.
"We catch the mule driver, but the top of the networks is in the Eastern countries," confessed the Guardia Civil agent, who admitted the difficulties of his work, given that cyber-scammers quickly change websites, telephone numbers and postal addresses, taking advantage of the fact that there are no borders on the internet, "but there are borders between countries", which complicates their international pursuit.
In response to questions from the moderator, Pedro Luis Gil, of the Eivissa and Formentera Holiday Homes Association, the two members of the State Security Forces advocated the introduction of the travellers' report that hotels use to identify clients. These "police records", as they are commonly known, "would help a lot", according to the unanimous opinion of the speakers. "Many people who complain that they have rented their flat and had it vandalised did not even have travellers' reports for the tenants to fill in," they said. The member of the Guardia Civil recalled, by way of example, that the terrorists who perpetrated the recent jihadist attack in Barcelona "were in a villa", which is why he defended this type of form to improve public safety.
For his part, the representative of the Balearic Islands Tax Agency. Luis Messeguer, indicated that only half of the tourist homes registered on the island of Eivissa are registered for this activity, thus confirming previous estimates that show the abundance of illegal supply in this business sector.
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SOURCE: IBIZA AND FORMENTERA NEWSPAPER, 24 OCTOBER 2017
Government to tighten control of tourist rentals to avoid tax frauds
The Treasury is working on a draft that obliges rental platforms to provide information on the identity of owners
Noemí Martínez
The Ministry of Finance is working on a draft Royal Decree that will oblige large tourist rental platforms to provide specific information on the identity of the owners of the property, as well as whether the flats they rent out are for tourist purposes or the income they receive. In the words of Antonio Nieto, Deputy Director General of Cooperation and Competitiveness in Tourism of the Ministry of Economy, the so-called collaborative economy that arises from tourist accommodation "has many advantages, but also generates situations that create disadvantages".
In this sense, during the III Congress of Holiday Homes, organised by AVAT, he spoke of the importance of preventing platforms from "avoiding certain obligations such as tax obligations, the non-declaration of tax obligations, the flow of black money or even money laundering". The rental of tourist accommodation is on the rise, which is why public administrations have had to take measures. "It may also be that these are systems that circumvent certain guarantees that consumers have and that are essential for their security," explained Nieto.
The text that "will be dealt with in the coming months" will also address security. In this regard, Nieto recalled that "the Law on Citizen Security is already obliging hotels to provide the State security forces with information on the people staying in their hotels". This situation, he said, should be extrapolated to tourist homes. "There should be a flow of information on people staying in this type of accommodation," he said.
Disparate opinions
Both Homeaway and Airbnb, two of the major platforms present at the congress, expressed their rejection of the Royal Decree that the government is working on. "The platforms are providing tools for this activity, which has always been done, to collect more taxes than ever because all payments go to bank accounts," explained Angel Mesado, head of Public Policy for Airbnb in Spain and Portugal.
THE NOTE
The Consell calls for sustainability to be taken into account
The Consell d'Eivissa, for its part, acknowledged yesterday that it is facing "a really complicated problem to solve" in relation to holiday rentals. It is complicated considering the limitations on contracting imposed by the state regulations currently in force," explained the island's director of Tourism on Ibiza, Vicent Torres Benet. The Consell de Turisme says that, although it wants this sector to "evolve", it is essential to take into account the sustainability factor because "there are elements that must not be renounced, such as the preservation of the
environmental values, territorial balance and the achievement of an optimum level of coexistence between the resident population and visitors".
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SOURCE: IBIZA AND FORMENTERA NEWSPAPER, 24 OCTOBER 2017
The majority of the inspections are carried out on dwellings
Noemí Martínez
So far this year, tourism inspectors have opened 315 proceedings for anonymous complaints, of which 199 are for dwellings. "They have multiplied by four in two years and I think they are few, there should be more," explained Ramón Roca, head of the Consell's tourism service, yesterday in one of the presentations at the 3rd Congress of Holiday Dwellings. In this sense, he criticised the lack of inspectors on Ibiza, which currently has six staff and two people who are responsible for processing fines.
"This year we have more than 312,000 euros in fines, of which we have already collected 91,000," he said, while clarifying that "only around 45% are collected because on the island there are many marketers from outside".
Roca also stated that the Govern's new law will make their work "much easier" because now they can act directly against the marketer, also against the marketing channel and against links "such as Google, which we can ask to stop indexing, for example, Airbnb in Ibiza". In addition, "any rental of less than one month is tourist and this is vital because otherwise anyone could claim that it was not". The Consell is currently working on an information campaign so that property owners are also aware of their rights.
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SOURCE: IBIZA AND FORMENTERA NEWSPAPER, 24 OCTOBER 2017.
Holiday rental platforms left 900 million euros in 2016 in the Balearics
The Airbnb platform generated an impact of 500 million in the islands of which 40 million corresponded to Ibiza
N. M.
The big platforms call the new law approved by the Balearic Government to regulate holiday rentals "confusing", considering that the activity generates benefits not only for owners but also for travellers and the different autonomous communities. "Many of the small business owners, bars and restaurants that are around these flats are seeing their incomes grow," said José Antonio Bonache, from Homeaway, during the 3rd Congress of Holiday Homes.
For his part, Ángel Mesado, head of corporate relations for Airbnb in Spain and Portugal, did not want to forget the impact that this practice had in the Balearic Islands last year. "It is important to highlight the role of the 900 million euros that the Balearic Islands received in 2016 through the platforms". As far as Airbnb is concerned, the marketer generated an impact of 500 million in the islands, of which 40% (a total of 200 million) corresponded to Ibiza. Mesado also wanted to emphasise that 70% of users "have only one advert and tourist income does not exceed 9,000 euros a year, so it is not their main source of income" and is not included as a professional activity.
In this sense, both Homeway and Airbnb ask that these trends in an alternative sector that "is not going to stop, but will continue to grow" be taken into account. The two platforms see "innovation" as their working tool and seek a sustainable and respectable tourism model that they believe "with the law that has been passed, this objective is not going to be achieved". Even so, they do not exempt their responsibilities and assure that "we are going to comply with the legality of this law, but we also see that it is difficult to implement it as they want because it is incompatible with data protection and European e-commerce regulations".
They call for more dialogue
Among the major problems that the platforms see is the lack of dialogue and understanding on the part of the administrations. "Some 20,000 families on the islands received 100,000 euros directly last year. This is a figure that cannot be ignored and should not be limited by such an aggressive measure," said Mesado.
For its part, the Association of Holiday Dwellings of Ibiza and Formentera (AVAT) is calling for a common regulation for all entities. "The new law calls for any marketer to list their accommodation with a legalisation number. I know that Homeaway is working on it, but I have no record of Airbnb," criticised its president Roberto San Esteban. However, the response from the platforms was not forceful. "We are informing users that they have to comply with the law, but it is complicated to open a space on a global platform for them to put a number," they explained.
Real Rentals
Currently, the tourist rental bubble is bringing to light the hidden business of many users. In this sense, the two platforms present at the congress wanted to clarify that "having more than three million ads, the regulation establishes that it is not obligatory to judge one by one because it would be unfeasible". Even so, they assure that in order to register on the portal you have to identify yourself and, from there, the liability regime of each advertiser is studied in relation to the local regulations of their city. "If anything is detected, we have systems for notification and withdrawal of ads, tourist tax systems, etc.".
Homeaway and Airbnb claim that 90% of experiences, from both travellers and owners, are satisfactory, according to their own calculations.
THE NOTE
Environmental aspects
The big holiday rental platforms claim to be "successful" thanks to their location, a higher return on investment, more space and greater privacy. In addition, Airbnb provides specific data on the savings made by staying overnight in these accommodations. "In 2016 in the Balearic Islands, the energy saved by using our platform and not a hotel was the equivalent of 12,000 houses and the emissions saved were the equivalent of 35,000 cars". Nor did they forget to remember that thanks to this new sector, the offer is "wider and you know what you are going to find thanks to comments and photos".
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SOURCE: NOUDIARI, 23 OCTOBER 2017
Government wants to force tourist rental platforms to report on owners and clients
Luciana Aversa
The Government has prepared the draft of a decree to increase fiscal and security control in the rental of tourist homes and flats. The new measure plans to oblige the marketing platforms to provide information to the Tax Agency about the owners who rent out their properties, as well as to inform the State security forces about the clients who stay in the flats.
This was announced today by Antonio Nieto Magro, Deputy Director General of Cooperation and Competitiveness in Tourism, who is part of the Ministry of Economy, at the 3rd Congress on Tourist Housing being held today and tomorrow at the headquarters of the UIB in Ibiza.
Nieto assured that although the state "recognises the advantages generated" by the rental of tourist homes and flats through digital platforms, "it is also aware that there are responsibilities to which they must adhere".
In this sense, he explained that according to the draft of the new decree, "the platforms will have the obligation to provide the Tax Agency with specific information on the identity of the owners of the flats they have for rent for tourist purposes or of those who advertise to rent them, and the income received by the owners".
According to the State representative, the aim is to prevent these platforms from evading "certain obligations, such as tax obligations, which are systems that are allowing tax obligations to go undeclared, black money to flow, or even money laundering systems". The aim is also to avoid that "they could be systems that violate some of the guarantees that consumers have, which are essential for security".
Those attending the Tourist Housing Congress. Photo: L.A.
In this line, the text that will be processed in the coming months will also address the issue of security. As he explained, the "Law on Citizen Security is forcing hotels to provide the state security forces with information on the people staying in their hotels". This measure, he explained, will also be imposed on citizens staying in flats and tourist homes.
Disagreement from the platforms
In this regard, Ángel Mesado, Head of Public Policy at Airbnb Spain and Portugal, has assured that the rental platforms and the Spanish Association of the Digital Economy have already consulted the draft and have expressed their "concern and disagreement". "We don't know what the Royal Decree will be like, but we have a very negative position on it," he said, referring to the application of the decree and its possible incompatibility with "data protection and European e-commerce regulations".
From his point of view, "the platforms are providing tools for this activity, which is a traditional activity that has always been done, to collect more taxes than ever because all payments go to bank accounts". "The platforms are a tool in favour of users' compliance with their tax obligations," said Mesado.
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SOURCE: NOUDIARI, 24 OCTOBER 2017
Airbnb and Homeaway disavow and deny responsibility for housing problems
Luciana Aversa
The tourist rental marketing platforms, Airbnb and Homeaway, yesterday ruled out any exclusive responsibility and disassociated themselves from the problems that Ibiza has derived from the rental of flats and houses to tourists, such as the lack of residential supply and the increase in residential rental prices.
At the round table moderated by Roberto San Esteban, president of the Ibiza and Formentera Tourist Housing Association (AVAT), and as part of the 3rd Tourist Housing Congress held at the UIB, representatives of both platforms, Angel Mesado of Airbnb and José Antonio Bonache of Homeaway, only highlighted the benefits of the tourist rental system.
However, during question time, they did respond to the criticisms of Vila's Councillor for Tourism, Gloria Corral, who pointed out that tourist rental is causing "a host of very serious problems" such as the lack of housing and the increase in the cost of housing throughout the island, which means that "nurses, teachers, policemen... cannot come here". He also pointed out, among other issues, the lack of control by the platforms over intermediaries who rent flats behind the owners' backs. "Is it really as nice as you make it out to be, because a lot of problems have arisen here", asked the councillor.
The answers of the two representatives were different. On the one hand, the Airbnb representative, Ángel Mesado, was dismissive and limited himself to saying that "we must tackle the problems and negative issues that can be generated by this activity".
However, Homeaway's spokesperson, José Antonio Bonache, did delve into the issue, and assured that the platforms are "part of a puzzle" and that he does not believe that "a single piece of the whole puzzle is to blame".
"If there are problems, we have to find out why. We have to see how many flats are empty, how many have been built as social housing, how much wages are paid in this sector or in other sectors," he listed, among other issues, such as the number of "hotels closing or opening" or the number of cars being rented on the island.
For Bonache, "it is when you have the whole picture" that you have to regulate. He warned that "trying to prohibit" or make a law, while the "world is going the other way", may not produce the desired results. "If all these externalities are produced, I don't think they are only produced by us, and that is what we have told the Balearic government," he said.
During question time, the Podemos deputy, Salvador Aguilera, also intervened, reminding them that they do not comply with the law because in Ibiza it is forbidden to rent flats in residential buildings.
In response, the Homeaway representative assured that everything the platform does "is legal".
Others in the room also intervened, in some cases to defend tourist rentals. In this sense, one of those present said that she had a flat that she had to sell, but that she had previously rented it on the residential market and had to invest 15,000 euros to repair it because it had been left "destroyed".
40 million economic impact on Ibiza
Among the benefits of tourist rentals, the Airbnb representative highlighted that all the platforms together caused an economic impact of 900 million euros last year in the Balearic Islands, of which 500 million were generated by Airbnb alone in the whole archipelago. A total of 100 million, he said, were the benefits for Balearic users who rent through the platform.
Of this total, the economic impact on Ibiza was 40 million euros, according to Mesado.
Bonache, for his part, stressed that the system favours travellers, because "it responds to a demand from families and groups looking for more space at a reasonable price"; owners "because it gives them the opportunity to generate income with a property that is empty", and the community, because it prevents tourism from concentrating in urban centres "and allows tourism to be socialised".
He also noted that many of the owners use their profits to pay for renovations or mortgages.
The new law "is confusing and has generated a lot of fear".
On regulation, the Homeaway representative said that regulators must take into account "these trends" and warned that the tourist rental market "is not going to stop" because both owners and the communities where tourist flats are located "see rentals as a viable alternative". He also assured that "the rights of the owners, who have invested in improving their flats" should be "respected" and stressed that many people "during the time of crisis have seen in this sector a way to survive".
As for the new Balearic law, he said that "it is confusing, difficult to implement, and has created a lot of nervousness and fear". "We did show the government that we are going to comply with the law, but we see that it is very difficult to implement it and that it will give the results they are looking for," he warned.
The congress, which continued yesterday with other presentations and conferences, will continue today with more debates on tourist housing at the UIB headquarters.
