With plummeting temperatures in the UK, many people are preparing to head south in the deep midwinter – and Spain is by far the most popular country for British holidaymakers.
But tourists now face added red tape when checking in to their accommodation or renting a car.
A new Spanish law, aimed at improving security, stipulates that the providers must collect a lot of fresh information from holidaymakers.
Some media reports warn of ‘Big Brother’ demands, including guests revealing bank balances, but these appear unsubstantiated.
These are the key questions and answers.
Why the new rules?
The Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad (State Secretariat for Security) is concerned about the safety of Spanish citizens. It says: “The greatest attacks on public safety are carried out by both terrorist activity and organised crime, in both cases with a marked transnational character.”
The government says foreigners are involved in “terrorist threats and other very serious crimes committed by criminal organisations”. The authorities wants to keep tabs on who is staying where, and cross-check personal details against databases of “persons of interest”.
Hotels have long recorded some personal details. But the government is extending the list of data required – and also wants information from people staying in apartments booked on platforms such as Airbnb.
Ministers say the new rules are essential “to ensure the safety of citizens”.
What does the Spanish government want to know about us?
The new accommodation rules that took effect on Monday 2 December include a list of personal data required for everyone aged 14 or above:
While under-14s will not need to provide the information, adults travelling with them must explain the relationship they have with the children.
Not exactly the Spanish Inquisition, is it?
There is heated discussion about how much additional inconvenience will this actually cause to UK travellers to Spain.
The new law increases the amount of information demanded, and extends the requirement to cover many other forms of accommodation. Last time I stayed in an Airbnb apartment in Spain, the owner knew nothing about me – now, she or he must obtain all those personal details. All the data is passed on to central government in Madrid.
In addition, people renting cars will find their personal data – and those credit card details – passed on to the Spanish authorities for the first time.
Will guests actually need to fill out a form with a pen and paper?
That will be the case in some places, I understand. Millions of British travellers each year take a package holiday to Spain. The hotel will know very little about any of these guests beyond their name.
Check-in could become extremely slow, with staff taking some details straight from guests’ passport and typing them into their computer with varying degrees of accuracy.
For a place that you have booked online, some may collect information with your reservation. But if you are going through an intermediary such as Booking.com or Airbnb, privacy rules may not allow the sharing of personal data.
You will also have to register when you rent a car, with the above details for each of the drivers.
I heard I will have to give details of my bank account?
Nothing I have seen from the Spanish government suggests that will be necessary.
The business that you are paying must transmit the details of how you paid. For package holidaymakers, where the tour operator has paid the hotel direct, the answer will simply be “a voucher”. The same may apply for reservations made through intermediaries.
For most of the rest of us, it will be a credit or debit card, whose number and expiry date will be passed on. But if you happen to have paid the accommodation provider by bank transfer – which some people do – then your bank account location and number (but not the balance, nor any other information) will be passed on by the accommodation provider.
Can I be fined for not giving my information correctly?
No. The new law provides for the accommodation provider to be fined thousands of euros if they are negligent in collecting the data. But no sanctions are envisaged for guests.
Of course, the accommodation provider might well make co-operation with the process of collecting the data a requirement to be able to check in …
What about privacy concerns?
Many people are worried about sharing personal data, but increasingly it must be done if you are travelling around the world. When the EU entry-exit and Etias systems finally come into effect for Europe, you will need to share loads of personal data before you’re even allowed on a plane to Spain.
Some travellers will be concerned about a possible data breach: the information must be kept for three years by the accommodation provider. But it’s likely that the vast majority of hotels will delegate management of sensitive information to a specialised company, rather than keeping your credit card details on a USB stick in the back office.
Anything else to worry about for Spain?
After Brexit, the UK negotiated for its citizens to be “third-country nationals” and therefore subject to many new rules, both EU-wide and nation-specific.
British visitors to Spain are, in theory, required to show they have access to at least £850, which will cover a stay of up to nine days. For a fortnight’s holiday a family of four would need proof of over £5,000 in total.
But in the almost-four years since the rules took effect, I have heard of no cases in which any UK traveller has been asked for proof of financial resources.
Budget airlines are caught up in a Spanish row about charges for cabin baggage and seating?
Yes, Spain’s consumer rights ministry has fined airlines many millions of pounds because they were “provided misleading information” and were not transparent with prices.
The ministry said that consumers were hindered when comparing offers and could not, therefore, make informed decisions when booking tickets.
In particular, the authorities described as “unfair” the practice of charging extra for:
The ministry also said airlines should accept cash payments on board and at airports rather than insisting on card payment.
Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary said the fines were based on “an ancient 1960s law which predated Spain joining the EU” and had been imposed “for political reasons”.
Meanwhile easyJet says it will challenge the fines, which its boss describes as “illegal”.
Additional research by Nick Brown
