Spain enforces controversial law requiring hotels to collect additional customer information

New registration rules for hotels, tourist apartments and car rental companies that require the collection of more personal information from customers went into effect on Monday.

The law, which applies throughout Spain, requires the collection of information such as home addresses, payment methods, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

The new rules have been met with resistance from the industry, which argues that it will create additional paperwork, potentially raise prices and lead to longer queues at check-in.

Despite industry opposition and calls for further delays - the law has been delayed three times to give businesses time to prepare - the government has moved forward with implementation.

The law is aimed at improving national security, particularly in the fight against organized crime and terrorism.

The government argues that criminals often rely on accommodation and car rental services to facilitate their activities, and that the new regulations will make it more difficult for them to do so.

Data collection: before and after 

So far, tourist locations have only collected basic information, including full name, ID or passport number, nationality, and birthdate.

Under the new law, hotels will be required to collect additional details, such as full name, gender, ID number and type, nationality, birthdate, home address (including full address, town, and country), phone number, email address, number of travelers, and their relationship to each other (in the case of underage children).

All this data will be stored in a government-managed electronic register. The information will be kept for three years, and businesses are obligated to verify the accuracy of the data. Failure to do so could result in fines ranging from €100 to €30,000.

The new requirements will apply to hotels, hostels, guesthouses, rural tourism accommodations, campsites, mobile home establishments, travel agencies, tourist rental platforms, and car rental companies.