Jurídicos y Administrativos

🏠 In Florence, black or gray key boxes with numeric keypads are common outside rental homes, but new vacation rentals are now banned as part of a package of urgent measures. The Tuscan city's response to its transformation includes prohibiting tour guides from using loudspeakers. Locals recently protested the key boxes with red crosses. Florence's left-leaning government also seeks to limit short-term rentals to 120 days per year for tourism.

💸 On November 12, the FAA banned all flights to Port-au-Prince's Toussaint Louverture Airport after a Spirit Airlines aircraft was shot at, with no casualties reported. Five days later, a Southwest Airlines plane at Dallas's Love Field was struck by gunfire at around 8:30 PM, leading to a canceled flight to Indianapolis. No similar flight suspension was enforced at Dallas, despite the confirmed incident by the FAA.

🏡 The Palace Hotel in Madrid, known since 1912, began its extensive façade renovation in June 2023, set to be rebranded as The Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Madrid under Marriott International. Led by architect Miguel Díaz of Ruiz Larrea Arquitectura, the restoration preserves original colors, ornamental details, and structural integrity, contributing to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Paisaje de la Luz. Declared a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC) in 1999, the hotel continues its commitment to cultural heritage conservation.

📍 In Russia, numerous small and medium-sized airlines are on the brink of bankruptcy due to economic hardships and accumulated debts from leasing Western aircraft. Sanctions imposed by the West in 2022 following Ukraine's invasion led to unpaid aircraft leases. The Russian government allowed airlines to erase these debts from their records, yet imposed a 25% tax on them. Larger airlines, like S7 and Aeroflot, face fewer issues, having negotiated ownership for some aircraft, unlike the 20-25 medium-sized airlines now facing a crisis.

✈ Luis Gallego, an aeronautical engineer, became president of IAG and turned around Iberia from losing €1 million a day to profitability without bailouts or intermediaries by 2013. Pepe Hidalgo, with no higher education, acquired Air Europa but faced controversy, including a Supreme Court ruling for Air Europa to repay €25 million to the state for resident certificate fraud from January 2009 to September 2010. During the pandemic, Air Europa, losing €3 million daily, controversially obtained a €475 million government bailout facilitated by Hidalgo's political connections.

🏡 PSOE and Sumar agreed to increase VAT for tourist homes to 21% and eliminate the special fiscal regime for SOCIMIs. Iberia to debut Airbus A321XLR on transoceanic route from Madrid to Boston, expecting seven more by early 2026. Meliá Hotels International improved net results by 28.3% to €139.4M until September, with an EBITDA of €425.9M. Imserso opened applications for 886,269 travel slots for seniors until May 2025. Spanish Hotel Directors Association prepares collective lawsuit against Booking, claiming damages due to collusive practices. Argentina faces privatization or closure of Aerolineas Argentinas. MarSensesHotels & Homes reduces workweek to 32 hours for staff over 58 with unchanged salary. Millenium Hospitality Real Estate names Borja Escalada as CEO. Spanish hotel chains report revenue growth between 2014 and 2023. Stoneweg Hospitality and Lopesan Hotel Group buy Hotel Miguel Ángel in Madrid, with offers around €200M in previous months.

✈ La Caixa contributed €15,000 annually to Begoña Gómez's academic project, while Air Europa, via Wakalua, sponsored with €40,000 per year. In 2020, Gómez approached La Caixa, which accepted due to alignment with its social goals. Wakalua's deal included €25,000 yearly for awards and €15,000 for IE Africa Center-related flights. Additionally, to access Sánchez's wife, Air Europa hired intermediary Víctor de Aldama with a €10,000 salary. Communications and agreements occurred in 2020, with earlier discussions from 2018. The Mixed Monitoring Commission met on October 28 to address controversies surrounding the project.

🏠 The Community of Madrid's RESIDE plan, presented yesterday by Mayor José Luis Martínez Almeida, targets the regulation of tourist apartments, dividing the city into two areas: the historic center with higher concentrations and the outer zone. In the historic center, tourist apartments in residential buildings are banned, only allowed in exclusive blocks, with a temporary 15-year change linked to building restoration. The outer zone permits tourist apartments with current conditions, requiring independent access. Madrid's city council anticipates the plan's implementation in August 2025 after public information phases and approval, complementing a transitory plan suspending new licenses and intensifying penalties for illegal offerings.

🏨 Michey Barreto, 43, claimed room 2565 at the New Yorker Hotel in 2018 under a New York City rental law. He attempted to transfer hotel ownership, owned by the Unification Church, to his name and even charged guests. In February, Barreto faced 24 criminal charges, including fraud. Initially avoiding jail for psychiatric assessment, his trial is delayed. His lawyer cited drug-related health issues as a barrier to hospital treatment, which may help Barreto avoid prison time.

🏨 Spanish hoteliers, via CEHAT and with Hotrec's collaboration, are crafting a legal strategy to combat Booking.com in court over expected damage claims. This follows a historic fine by the CNMC last summer for Booking's use of now-illegal parity clauses. CEHAT promotes "no win, no fee" claims to minimize financial risk, ensuring legal security for hoteliers. Coordination with European legal initiatives, drawing on German lawyers' experience since 2012, is a strategic component. Claims stem from Booking’s practices, including English-only legal value in contracts, Dutch law application, and lack of transparency in its Preferred, Preferred Plus, and Genius programs.