Tourists have used a clever response to fight back against a controversial new security law recently implemented in Spain.
The law, Royal Decree 933/2021, requires people aged over 14 to deliver a raft of personal information to hotels, rentals, taxis and campsites, reports the i.
It means that the country’s hotels have to collect people’s names, nationalities, genders, passport numbers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and dates of birth.
Tourists who wish to rent a vehicle would also need to share their driving licence and GPS information, yet the law has been met with concerns about privacy, suggesting that Spain would be at a disadvantage.
The rules came into effect in Málaga on Monday, but it would appear that some guests have flat-out refused to hand over their details despite them being required by royal decree.
Javier Hernández, the executive vice president of the hotel association Costa del Sol (Aehcos), said: “We have guests who refuse to provide us with data.”
The tourists in question didn’t want to disclose information relating to bank and credit card numbers or family relationships with children under 14 that were part of the group and used a clever response to explain why they wouldn’t.
El Debate reported that the guests had been left “surprised and puzzled” by the request and suggested that it violates data protection, with Aehcos claiming that the registration means people have to part with 46 pieces of data.
Spain’s Interior Ministry previously said the law would make Spain safer and would be useful in the fight against organised crime and terrorism, with the Ministry wishing to know who is residing in the country’s hotels and apartments.
Yet, the new system appears to be having issues of its own, with Hernández reporting on “incidents” during the initial hours of the ses.hospedajes platform’s operation.
The problems included a “lack of operability” in the morning, with some places having periods of inactivity and not being able to register to send information, although they only had a 24-hour deadline.
Another issue that has emerged is that some hotels have been having problems with the PMS (Property Management Systems), which are what’s used to register the guests.
The publication reported that some were having issues making sure that the systems were able to transmit to the State Security Forces, with firms also reporting that it would take “six months” for an automated process to be introduced.
In addition, Hotel owners have indicated that they must adhere to a “confusing and disproportionate” regulation that allegedly breaches European directives.
