Jurídicos y Administrativos

📌 Destinia, a Spanish online travel agency, joins the case against Booking.com due to a €413 million fine imposed by CNMC for abuse of dominance (Article 2 of the Spanish Competition Law & Article 102 of the TFEU). CNMC initiated the sanctioning procedure following complaints by Spanish hotel associations in 2021. In July 2024, CNMC fined Booking; in November 2024, Booking appealed. The National Court suspended the fine on March 7, pending appeal resolution. Booking vows to exhaust all legal avenues to defend its rights.

📆 Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general of the UNWTO, seeks to maintain his position despite opposition and controversies including accusations related to masks in the Dominican Republic and a trip to St. Petersburg. Spain will not vote for his candidacy in May's elections. Pololikashvili has enlisted former Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to help gain China's support, which could influence African countries. The alliance between Zapatero and Pololikashvili is not new; they have a history of frequent interactions.

📌 Travel agencies led by CEAV are preparing to challenge a ministerial order that has been in effect since December 2, with no penalties yet imposed after nearly four months. CEHAT General Secretary Ramón Estalella notes companies are not providing required information without repercussions, suggesting a strategic avoidance of giving grounds for legal challenges. As of March 17, 202,664 companies, including 12,713 hotels and 5,021 travel agencies, are registered in the system, while agencies argue the regulation breaches normative hierarchy by including intermediaries not mentioned in the Organic Law of Citizen Security.

🛫 Fiscalía challenges Judge Juan Carlos Peinado's investigation into Air Europa's rescue, terming it "irregular" and criticizing "inaction." Fiscalía requests UCO to halt their actions and not submit the report, while Peinado insists on probing potential irregularities, citing avoidance as prevarication. Additionally, there's contention over the witness summons of Justice Minister Félix Bolaños for April 16 and the charge against ex-PP official Juan José Güemes, highlighting a "situation of irregularity" and "genuine defenselessness.

🏨 Ramón Vernet, CEO of Best Hotels with 18 hotels and 4,628 rooms in Catalonia, criticizes the Generalitat's decision to double the tourist tax to potentially €15 per person per night. He argues that the already highest tourist tax in Europe will hurt Barcelona's competitiveness, as a couple could pay up to €160 in a week. Vernet suggests using the tax revenue for infrastructure rather than housing issues, which he believes hotels did not cause.

🚨 Incident at Madrid-Barajas Airport: On the night of January 26-27, an unexpected blackout occurred on the runways, disrupting the airport with the highest traffic in Spain, which accommodated 66 million passengers in 2024. The airport's ground lighting failed during aircraft approaches. Fast response and professionalism of Aena's signaling staff resolved the critical incident. Senator Aniceto Javier Armas has requested government clarification and preventive measures in the Senate. The government claims it was an "exceptional" event with no operational impact or planes in final approach.

🏨 Hotelbreak, a startup offering day-use hotel experiences to non-staying local customers, filed for bankruptcy this week after ceasing operations in February due to an inability to meet consumer claims and debt obligations. Launched in May 2019 by entrepreneurs from Mallorca, the company faces claims from residents affected by service cancellations. Hotelbreak had charged users for services not paid to establishments and failed to honor its wallet money. The debt amounts to €1.2 million, with a collective lawsuit from 200 people represented by consumer association Consubal.

🏖 Riu constructed the Boabab hotel on Petite Côte, south of Dakar, Senegal. A robbery occurred at the hotel in late January, followed by another armed attack at Les Mangiers de Guéréo in Popenguine in the same week. Despite these incidents, Senegal, which annually attracts about two million tourists, contributing to 7% of its national wealth, is considered safe. Authorities have increased surveillance following the two attacks within a two-month period.

🛫 Volotea, with significant presence in France, has been charging customers retroactively for a new aviation tax using their banking details without notification or authorization, facing criticism from Guillaume Beurdeley, secretary of the travel agencies' association. Air France absorbed the cost for tickets sold before the tax was announced, while Transavia passed it on to customers. The situation led to bureaucratic chaos when earlier tax proposals fell through with the government's budget, prompting refunds. The industry association has reported Volotea to the Directorate of Competition, Consumption, and Fraud Repression.

💸 Italy attempts to ensure online reviews' authenticity with a new law; commentators must provide proof of visit, such as a bill or booking confirmation, and identify themselves. Reviews are limited to within 15 days post-visit. Non-compliance can lead to fines ranging from EUR 5,000 to EUR 10 million. TripAdvisor removed 2.7 million fake reviews, warned 9,000 businesses against manipulation, and found 360,000 false reviews by employees. Up to 30% of tourist business may be affected by fraudulent reviews, according to Tourism Minister Daniela Santanché.