According to the publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE), the obligation of documentary registration of travelers’ data is incumbent on individuals or legal entities that carry out, professionally or otherwise, activities of accommodation or rental of motor vehicles without drivers. In the first place, accommodation activities are those carried out, whether professionally or not, for the purpose of providing, in exchange for a price, consideration or compensation, a room or space for overnight stay to persons, with or without other services of a complementary nature. This section includes hotels, hostels, guesthouses, guest houses, rural tourism establishments or similar, campgrounds and motor home parking areas. On the other hand, the activities of renting motor vehicles without a driver are those carried out for the purpose of facilitating their use by a third party, for a determined period of time, and in exchange for compensation, consideration or a certain price. Excluded from the provisions of this section are the rental of auto cabs and, in general, the rental of vehicles with driver. In addition, the regulations contemplate in both activities the following activities tour operators that provide intermediation services between companies and consumers, and the activity of digital platforms dedicated, for a fee or free of charge, to intermediation in these activities through the Internet, whether or not they provide the underlying service that is the object of mediation, provided that they offer services in Spain. In relation to the possibility of an increase in costs for the affected companies, Interior has assured that the new registry does not have to result in this possibility, ruling out “considerable” investments, since “the data collected are the same as up to now”.
What fines are contemplated
Although the Ministry wanted to make it clear that this regulation does not have “a tax collection purpose to fill the State’s coffers”, it will impose minor and serious penalties for companies that fail to comply with the regulations.
Specifically, irregularities or deficiencies in the completion of the records provided for in this Royal Decree and the completion of the mandatory communications outside the established term are considered minor infringements. The fine ranges from 100 to 600 euros. On the other hand, serious penalties include the lack of the documentary records provided for in this Royal Decree and the omission of the obligatory communications. The fine ranges from 601 to 30,000 euros.
