Jurídicos y Administrativos

🔓 U.S. Competition authorities fined major chains for influencing platform room prices. Booking.com, leveraging its strong Google positioning, imposed price parity in Europe. A late 2020 ruling allowed hoteliers to sue Booking.com in their home countries instead of the Netherlands. France and Austria banned unfair hotel clauses. The EU Court's November 2020 decision enabled hotel associations to initiate litigation domestically. Booking.com is contesting the CNMC's first non-firm sanction for alleged anti-competitive practices but has agreed to certain changes demanded by hoteliers, including the elimination of the "narrow parity clause," adherence to Spanish contract versions, and the use of national courts for disputes. Despite this, Booking.com is deemed essential for Europe's tourism ecosystem, especially for SMEs, offering hotels global market positioning at competitive costs.

🏖️ Venecia limitará grupos de turistas a 25 personas y prohibirá uso de altavoces a partir de este jueves, medida aprobada el 1 de febrero. Excepciones para grupos estudiantiles y explicaciones en embarcaciones. Inició cobro de peaje de 5 euros el 25 de abril, recaudando 2,25 millones de euros de unos 450,000 turistas hasta el 14 de julio. La ciudad considera aumentar tasa a 10 euros para 2025 con tarifa básica de 3 euros si se reserva con antelación.

🛈 CEHAT and travel agencies oppose the Royal Decree 933/2021 effective October 1, requiring traveler registration in tourist accommodations. The decree is deemed “impossible to comply with,” potentially causing “chaos” and data protection issues. Over 70% of lodging companies are small and medium-sized businesses unable to ensure adequate cybersecurity for collected data. CEHAT seeks a meeting with the Secretary of State or Minister Grande-Marlaska but has not received a response, leading to legal action to prevent its application.

🛫 ACAVe, CEAV, FETAVE, and UNAV have urged the Spanish Ministry of Interior to exclude travel agencies from the scope of Royal Decree 933/2021, which requires them to report clients' accommodation and car rental data, payment methods, and personal details from October. A Ministerial Order is needed to limit the rule's application, as travel agencies face excessive workload and technical issues with the ministry's data reporting platform. The Ministry refused to extend the October 1st adaptation deadline but will review the organizations' claims.

💸 Spain's CNMC fined Booking.com €413 million on July 30, 2024, for abusing its dominant position and breaching competition laws. Booking's market share in Spain ranged from 70% to 90% during the investigation period. The fine addresses two continuous infringements: imposing unfair commercial conditions on Spanish hotels and restricting competition for other online travel agencies. Booking.com, which plans to appeal, had previously set aside $530 million in its 2023 accounts for an anticipated CNMC decision. The fine comprises two penalties of €206.62 million each. The CNMC also imposed behavioral obligations on Booking.com to prevent future similar conduct.

💸 Booking.com has been fined €413 million by Spain's CNMC for abusing its dominant position, violating Competition Law articles and EU Treaty provisions. The initial fine was €486 million, reduced after appeals. The fine splits into two penalties of €206.620 million for each infringement related to unfair commercial conditions on Spanish hotels and competition restriction. The CNMC also mandates behavior obligations to prevent future violations. Booking can appeal within two months to the National High Court. The CNMC initiated proceedings in October 2022.

💸 Incident involving a Level Airbus A330 flying from Buenos Aires to Barcelona. The crew diverted to Gran Canaria urgently due to a passenger's potential stroke after flying east of the Western Sahara airspace. The aircraft landed an hour later in Gran Canaria, aided by Moroccan controllers and Enaire’s control center. The passenger received emergency services, and the flight resumed to Barcelona-El Prat.

🛫 Lufthansa canceled flights from Munich and Frankfurt to Beirut until August 5th, reacting to increased tensions with Hezbollah, similar to Air France's earlier response. Royal Jordanian halted Beirut operations on Monday and Tuesday due to border conflicts between Israel and Lebanon in the Golan Heights. Flights to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport remain operational.

🛡 Juzgado de lo Mercantil nº12 de Barcelona has ordered Ryanair to immediately cease denigrating practices against eDreams, including a campaign of defamation against eDreams and its Prime program. Ryanair spread false claims, violating Article 9 of the Unfair Competition Law. Measures are in response to Ryanair's long-term smear tactics, designed to promote Ryanair.com. The court prohibited the use of terms like "scam," "deceit," and pirate-themed images. This follows a previous ruling by Spain's Supreme Court against Ryanair's denigration and anti-competitive behavior towards eDreams Odigeo. The airline's strategy is coercive, aimed at signing anti-competitive distribution agreements, distracting from their own abusive practices and investigations across Europe. eDreams' legal victories include a case against Ryanair's market dominance abuse in Italy and a recent German ruling against their deceptive consumer practices, despite a separate German legal win for Ryanair. Spanish authorities fined Ryanair approximately €100 million for anti-consumer practices, and French courts penalized them for passenger rights violations. eDreams has not signed a collaboration agreement with Ryanair, unlike other online travel agencies (OTAs), straining their relationship.

💸 On July 29, 2024, the article outlines the significance of commercial invoices in international exports and logistics management. These documents, also known as international or customs invoices, hold legal importance and assist companies with foreign operations. The commercial invoice is a legal document reflecting international export transactions data and is used to apply customs duties. Compliance with invoicing regulations, including the new billing regulations, is emphasized. The article advises using an ERP software like Solmicro ERP from Zucchetti Spain for accurate invoice management and automation to prevent shipping delays and customs issues. Essential invoice information includes import and export data, product values, currency, payment terms, and shipment details. Templates for commercial invoices are available, but the article suggests using specialized ERP software for error reduction and efficient management.