640 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM altruistically. One thing all these situations have in common, however, is that the gains are minimal, so they do not attract the attention of the authorities or economic agents. As opposed to these practices, the so-called “collaborative economy” introduces the existence of a company, known as a platform, which, through an app or online, allows people from practically any corner of the world to exchange goods and services. This has allowed for a significant increase in trade and those that are carried out in exchange for a monetary consideration have generated conflicts with other economic actors, in many cases due to non- -compliance with competition rules. The most visible protagonists in this scenario are company-platforms whose business models have positioned them as agents of change in different industries, including tourism (Cfr. Botsman & Rogers, 2011; Stokes, Clarance; Rinnes, 2014). In the area of short-term rentals, although it is a well-known figure, its expansion through these platforms in a context of economic crisis has on one hand generated impacts at different levels and, on the other, its inclusion in the regulatory agenda in different contexts.The effects produced by this phenomenon go beyond the orbit of Real Estate Law. As such, most studies agree that the critical areas to be regulated are the regulations referring to rents (Smith, 2018; Guttentag, 2017; Zale 2016; Aalborg University, 2016; Interian, 2016) and tax issues, both by platforms and lessors (Guttentag, 2017; Buenadicha, et al., 2017; Verdolini, 2017; Aalborg University, 2016; Gutiérrez, 2016). Likewise, issues related to consumer protection are becoming increasingly important (Fernández, 2018; Guttentag, 2017; Gutiérrez, 2016; Aalborg University, 2016). Along these lines, the European Commission recently urged Airbnb to bring its practices into line with consumer protection regulations by the end of August 2018 (European Commission, 2018). Another regulatory area that presents important challenges is Labour Law (Gil, 2018; Buenadicha, et. al, 2017; Raso, 2017; Rahman, 2016; Aalborg University, 2016); while one of the areas that attracts the most attention is that of unfair competition (Gutiérrez, 2016; Buenadicha, et. al, 2017; OECD Secretariat, 2016), given the alterations that these platforms have entailed for the rental market. Last but not least, the area of urban planning (Rahman, 2016), closely linked to this phenomenon, should also be highlighted. There is a certain consensus regarding the legal areas which require modifications in order to respond to the theoretical challenges posed by the sharing economy. However, these positions, more than evidencing the limitations of previous legislation, reflect processes of legal transformations that seek to
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