HOTREC welcomes European Commission proposal for Regulation on Short-Term Accommodation Rentals

On 7 November, the European Commission presented the proposal for Regulation on Short-Term Accommodation Rentals which sets common rules for the registration of hosts offering this global accommodation phenomenon and a framework that will facilitate data-sharing with public authorities.

HOTREC issued a press release welcoming the proposal and underlining the importance of establishing a framework that will protect and benefit consumers, residents, local communities and the entire EU tourism ecosystem.

We have been actively involved in discussions surrounding short-term rentals for almost a decade. In July 2022, HOTREC published a position paper which looks over years of regulatory debate and policy responses to the growing challenge of STR services and presents our vision of how to regulate STR accommodations.

We identified the following key objectives:

• establish a mandatory host registration system and mandatory data-sharing obligations,
• empower local authorities to manage the development of STR services, particularly regarding market access conditions for STR hosts,
• support national fiscal authorities with relevant data,
• introduce measures that will aim to reach a comparable level of health, safety and security as those already well-established for regulated tourism accommodation services (hotels, guesthouses, etc.), and,
• ensure that basic rules apply to all STR hosts (professionals and peers).