Jurídicos y Administrativos

📢 Booking.com reaffirms its commitment to listening to partners and driving new business opportunities for them, expecting continued benefits from their collaboration. They have appealed the CNMC's decision, which is not yet final, suggesting damage claims should wait. The company prides itself on a mutually beneficial relationship with nearly 200,000 hotels and accommodations in Spain, emphasizing direct communication to better support partners. Lawyers from AEDH contest the claim that appeals must wait.

📌 Spanish travel agencies face a lack of public resources to combat industry intrusion, as highlighted during CEAV's first national meeting in Canfranc. Agavi President Juan A. Rivadulla reports years of using their own resources to detect intrusions due to administrative inspection collapse. Feclav President Jerónimo Fernández criticizes institutional intrusion, such as the exclusionary Club de los 60 program in Castilla y León. A controversial registry, effective December 2, requiring extensive client data for bookings, is critiqued for its administrative burden and malfunctioning platform, leading to time loss and missing hotel listings. CEAV's legal director, Ana Barluenga, notes the temporary non-enforcement of additional data collection by the Ministry of Interior, awaiting legal documentation to ensure juridical security.

🚂 Blablacar expands into train ticket sales across Europe, starting with Spain due to intense competition and attractive commissions of 2-4%. The service is operational in Spain and will grow to include France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Belgium. Blablacar's strategy integrates high-speed train with shared car services, exemplified by the Madrid to Huesca route via Zaragoza. This follows their venture into bus services with Blablabus.

✈️ Volotea, under Carlos Muñoz's leadership, delayed a €36.2 million payment to SEPI and banks backed by the ICO until 2028. Initially due in 2024-2025, €14.5 million is now required by end-2025, and €21.7 million from 2026-2028. This follows a €200 million SEPI aid to be fully repaid by 2029 and a €150 million ICO-backed loan, partly repaid periodically. Despite predicting "historic margins," Volotea reported a 2023 loss of €97.5 million, marking its fifth consecutive deficit year since 2019.

💸 Javier Zamora, legal advisor to the AEDH, detailed the CNMC's fine against Booking.com, which hotels can now challenge via civil proceedings. Booking.com is warned to cease its behavior or face further action by the CNMC, as the hotel industry watchdog. Eskariam's CEO, David Fernández, indicated the collective strength is key to avoiding reprisals and accessing a larger data volume for damage determination. Potential damages could be substantial; for instance, a hotel with €4 million annual revenue since 2010 could claim between €1.8 and €1.9 million, including interest. The damage range is 1.6% to 2% of annual turnover. Eskariam, working on a no-win-no-fee basis with investment funds and specialized insurers, is in talks with 300 hotels and expects to reach 2,000 as in Germany. The claims process can last six years.

💸 Juan Luis Barahona, President of Feneval, expresses concerns over the implementation of Royal Decree 933/2021 on December 1, predicting difficulties for many vehicle rental companies due to its stringent requirements. Despite challenges including 'tourismophobia' in Spain, the sector anticipates a 5.6% increase in revenue to €2.25 billion this year. However, the industry has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels, while regulatory complexities, the transition to electric vehicles, and high-season logistics remain significant challenges.

✈ TAP Air Portugal's reprivatization is set for 2025, with the Portuguese government aiming to sell the entire airline and recuperate the €3.2 billion injected to prevent bankruptcy. Key conditions include maintaining the brand, the Lisbon hub, and strategic routes, particularly those to Brazil and the United States. Minister Miguel Pinto Luz clarified the sale's priorities in a parliamentary committee, deviating from earlier statements about not selling the entire company.

🏕 Key Facts: A tent accommodation in an Ibiza shantytown was listed on Airbnb for €45 per night; an additional commission fee was applicable. Airbnb removed the listing after the incident. The European Parliament passed a regulation in February, giving platforms and administrations two years to comply, meaning illegal listings can be posted until February 2026. In Mallorca, over 50% of 43,426 listed homes on platforms like Airbnb and Booking in September were potentially illegal, with only 10,710 having official permits. Summary: In Ibiza, Airbnb listed a shantytown tent for €45/night, highlighting illegal accommodation issues. With new EU regulations taking effect by February 2026, over 50% of the 43,426 homes listed in Mallorca show signs of illegality, against 10,710 legally permitted ones.

📅 Desde el 1 de septiembre, la Comisión Europea restableció la norma de límites de 100 ml para envases de líquidos en equipaje de mano debido a cuestiones técnicas en aeropuertos con escáner C3 en Alemania, Irlanda, Italia, Lituania, Malta, Países Bajos, Suecia, Suiza, Islandia, Noruega y Liechtenstein. El escáner C3 genera imágenes 3D y de alta resolución para inspeccionar detalladamente el contenido de las maletas. No hay límite en la cantidad de envases de 100 ml permitidos, sujeto a las necesidades del pasajero.

💰 The Spanish Supreme Court seeks to clarify former minister José Luis Ábalos's involvement in the Air Europa public funds rescue, as reported by El Confidencial. Judge Andrés Martínez Arrieta's order suggests further investigation into Ábalos's ties with the Hidalgo family's airline. A key meeting on July 16, 2020, involving the Spanish President, Vice-President Nadia Calviño, Ábalos, and a secret meeting between President Sánchez's wife, Begoña Gómez, and Javier Hidalgo, is of special interest to the investigation.