Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group and TripAdvisor will provide the European Commission with information on tourist bookings, as well as purchased vacations and length of stays, according to a data exchange agreement signed on March 5, 2020. Data will be aggregated at the municipality level. Privacy protection will be ensured in accordance with EU legislation, according to the Commission, which specifies that the information will not allow the identification of citizens or accommodation owners. The data provided by the platforms will be statistically validated and aggregated by Eurostat, which will publish reports for all member states, as well as for many individual regions and cities.
The information will reach Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, which will publish periodic reports on accommodations and vacations offered through the four online platforms in Europe.
The agreement will allow, for the first time, access to reliable data on vacations and other types of short-term accommodation offered through the four platforms and will help public authorities better understand the development of the collaborative economy, according to the Commission.
The agreement comes in the context where the Commission requested online accommodation and travel booking platforms to change the way they display offers and prices, citing a lack of transparency. Airbnb has already agreed to align its practices with EU norms, a similar decision being announced at the end of last year in the case of Booking as well.
Source: Profit
Frequently Asked Questions
What specific data will these platforms share with the European Commission?
Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group, and TripAdvisor will provide data regarding the number of tourist bookings, vacations purchased, and the duration of stays.
How will the privacy of tourists and hosts be protected?
Data will be aggregated at the municipal level and statistically validated by Eurostat to ensure that individual citizens or property owners cannot be identified.
What is the main objective of this data-sharing agreement?
The agreement aims to provide reliable statistics on short-term rentals, helping public authorities better understand and manage the growth of the collaborative economy.