Airbnb would share user data with public authorities under new rules

New rules to more tightly monitor Airbnb and other short-term home rental companies have been adopted by the European Commission.

The proposal, if adopted by the European Parliament and European Council, will in effect mean companies will have to share data with public authorities on the number of people in different areas using their platforms in order to inform public policy.

The proposals are designed to enhance transparency in the field of short-term accommodation rentals and help ensure their balanced development as part of a sustainable tourism sector.

“While short-term accommodation bookings offer benefits for hosts and tourists, they can create concerns for certain local communities struggling, for instance, with a lack of affordable housing,” said the European Commission.

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The commission said the new rules would improve the collection and sharing of data from hosts and online platforms. This will, in turn, inform effective and proportionate local policies to address the challenges and opportunities related to the short-term rental sector.

“The new proposed rules will help to improve transparency on the identification and activity of short-term accommodation hosts, and on the rules they have to comply with, and will facilitate the registration of hosts,” it said.

“They will also tackle the current fragmentation in 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.”

Registration requirements

The new proposed framework will harmonise registration requirements for hosts and their short-term rental properties when introduced by national authorities. Registration schemes will have to be fully online and user-friendly.

A similar set of relevant information on the hosts and their properties, namely the “who, what and where”, will be required. When completing registration, hosts will receive a unique registration number.

The framework will also clarify rules to ensure registration numbers are displayed and checked. Online platforms will have to facilitate hosts to display registration numbers on their platforms.

They will also have to randomly check whether hosts register and display the correct numbers. Public authorities will be able to suspend registration numbers and ask platforms to delist non-compliant hosts.

Online platforms will also have to share data about the number of rented nights and of guests with public authorities, once a month, in an automated way.

Tourism statistics

Lighter reporting possibilities are foreseen for small and micro platforms. Public authorities will be able to receive this data through national “single digital entry points”. This is designed to support well-targeted policymaking.

The framework will allow the reuse of data in aggregate form. The data generated under this proposal will, in aggregate form, contribute to tourism statistics produced by Eurostat and feed into the upcoming European data space for tourism.

Member states will be required to monitor the implementation of this transparency framework and put in place the relevant penalties for non-compliance with the obligations of the regulations.

The commission’s proposal will be discussed in view of adoption by the European Parliament and European Council. After its adoption and entry into force, member states will have a two-year period to establish the necessary mechanisms for data exchanges.

Margrethe Vestager, who is the commission’s executive vice-president for a Europe fit for the digital age, said the sector has “not developed with sufficient transparency”.

“With this proposal, we are making it easier for hosts and platforms, big or small, to contribute to greater transparency in the sector.”