Illustrative editorial of booking.com website homepage under a magnifying glass.
Spanish tourist hotspot teams up with Booking.com to clamp down on illegal rentals.
Credit: Shutterstock, II.studio
The regional authorities of one of the most popular tourist hotspots in Spain have gained access to Booking’s ‘Authorities’ Portal’, allowing them to track down – and quickly shut down – rogue listings.
The Canary Islands Government is ruffling feathers in the tourism world by joining forces with Booking.com to sniff out illegal holiday lets across the archipelago. In a move that’s sure to leave illegal landlords singing the blues, the regional authorities now have direct access to the booking giant’s database, allowing them to track illegal listings.
Booking the bad guys
The crackdown began in early 2024, when the Ministry of Tourism upped its game to weed out unauthorised holiday accommodation. Under the new arrangement, Booking.com has rolled out online training for the ministry’s inspection team and the Canary Islands Police, showing them how to wield the portal’s powerful tools. Once a property is flagged as non-compliant, Booking.com boots it off the platform faster than you can say “dos cervezas y un plato de jamon serrano del que suda por favor”.
And that’s not all: similar talks are underway with other digital accommodation titans such as Airbnb, meaning cowboys in the holiday rentals game could be on borrowed time.
Map it out and move ’em on
Meanwhile, the ministry has roped in local public company Grafcan (responsible for the Canary Islands’ geographic and territorial data) to help spot dodgy digs. A fresh layer added to Grafcan’s digital mapping system gives officials the inside scoop on where holiday properties are and how the land is classified. This bird’s-eye view makes it a doddle to coordinate enforcement with the right people, so no illegal let will be flying under the radar.
High stakes, big numbers
Right now, the Canary Islands boast a total of 643,056 tourist accommodation places. Of these, 371,379 are in hotels and apartment complexes, while 271,677 count as holiday rentals. With these new measures and partnerships, the Canary Islands Government wants to ensure every property is toeing the legal line – preserving the integrity of the region’s tourism sector and making sure holidaymakers can sleep soundly, without any unpleasant surprises.
So, anyone running a sneaky, sub-par stay in the Canaries, watch out – the authorities are ready to give them the booking of a lifetime! And for all those on the right side of the law, it’s holiday business as usual under that glorious island sunshine. Safe travels!
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