Airbnb and other short-term home rental companies will have to share data on the number of people using their platforms under proposed EU rules, the European Commission said on Monday in a light-touch approach to regulating the sector.
The European Union The executive’s offer comes in the form of popular tourist destinations such as Paris, Venice and Barcelona airbnb To exacerbate the housing shortage by driving out low-income residents.
But smaller cities and rural areas are looking to attract more tourists through online rental platforms, which account for a quarter of all tourist accommodation in the 27 countries of the European Union.
The Commission’s proposal seeks to tackle the patchwork of various national laws in the EU regulating Airbnb and its competitors, while trying to balance the interests of cities and rural areas.
“The new proposed rules will help improve transparency on the identification and activity of short-term housing hosts, and on the rules they must adhere to, and facilitate the registration of hosts,” the commission said in a statement.
“They will also tackle the current fragmentation of how online platforms share data and, ultimately, help prevent illegal listings. Overall, this will contribute to a more sustainable tourism ecosystem and support its digital transition,” it said. Told.
Reuters exclusively reported on the commission’s proposal on 3 November.
Under the proposed rules, Airbnb and its partners would be required to automatically share data about guest numbers and rented nights with public officials once a month.
Officers will monitor their plans and may impose penalties for non-compliance.
The proposal would have to be agreed with EU countries and EU lawmakers before becoming law.
The Commission’s proposal is similar to a data-sharing agreement Airbnb struck with the EU statistics office Eurostat two years ago, allowing public officials to set quarterly on the number of people using its platform and the number of nights booked. Received permission to access published data.
© Thomson Reuters 2022