Online travel firms warn Welsh holiday accommodation rules are ‘manifestly disproportionate’
Online travel firms warn Welsh holiday accommodation rules are ‘manifestly disproportionate’
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Online travel companies and Welsh tourism businesses have warned that proposed new rules to regulate holiday accommodation in Wales are “manifestly disproportionate” and risk reducing consumer choice.
Online Travel UK (OTUK), which represents some of the UK’s best-known accommodation booking platforms, said the Development of Tourism and Regulation of Visitor Accommodation (Wales) Bill could make it harder for customers to find and book compliant holiday properties.
The proposed legislation would allow online booking platforms to be held liable if accommodation providers fail to comply with new licensing requirements, provide incorrect property information or fail to include accurate registration numbers in online listings.
The Welsh Government says it wants to work with all parts of the tourism sector to make following the law as easy as possible.
OTUK has warned that the proposals could expose platforms to criminal liability for information supplied by accommodation providers, despite platforms having no direct control over that information.
In a letter to the Welsh Government, OTUK said it supports fair and proportionate regulation of the visitor economy and wants to work constructively with the Welsh Government.
OTUK said the changes represent “a significant extension of general monitoring obligations for platforms which goes far beyond well-established legal concepts of intermediary liability and the principle that online businesses should only be liable for illegal content once it has been brought to their attention and they have had an opportunity to remove it.”
The concerns have been echoed by self-catering and accommodation providers in Wales, who have described the proposals as “poorly thought out” and “unworkable”.
Lisa Stopher, Managing Director of West Wales Holiday Cottages, said: “These measures are disproportionate, poorly thought out, and if implemented would make it impossible for us to continue to advertise local self-catering accommodation in Mid and West Wales.”
Nicky Williamson, Director of the Professional Association of Self Caterers Cymru, said: “Proposals to make advertising platforms of any size and scale liable for the declarations made by self-catering operators in Wales are unworkable, and would simply mean that self-catering properties lost the ability to market their properties on these valuable booking channels.”
OTUK said it supports efforts to ensure that only validly registered and licensed properties are listed online, noting that its members already operate such systems in many countries.
It said platforms can support compliance by requiring hosts to display registration numbers and by operating notice-and-takedown processes to remove non-compliant listings when problems are identified.
OTUK, West Wales Holiday Cottages and the Professional Association of Self Caterers Cymru all gave evidence to the Senedd’s Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee last year.
Carl Thomson, Public Policy Manager at Airbnb and spokesperson for Online Travel UK, said: “It is unclear to us whether the Welsh Government recognises the extent to which it is proposing such a significant departure from the long-standing framework on digital regulation in the UK.
“We are urging them to adopt the recommendations from the Senedd and revisit the bill in response to the representations of a wide variety of businesses, from global booking platforms through to smaller hospitality businesses in Wales whose livelihoods will be most affected.”
The Welsh Government says: “We want to work with all parts of the tourism sector, including online companies advertising properties, to make following the law as easy as possible. The new standards are designed to support responsible businesses and reassure visitors.”
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