696 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM two temporary waves of regulation, corresponding, in broad terms, to regional legislation and municipal legislation. 2.1. The First Regulatory Wave (2013-2017) Digital peer-to-peer platforms for short-term housing rentals grew rapidly in the early 2010s. As an example, Airbnb, one of the most successful websites worldwide, began operating, in San Francisco, in 2008, and launched internationally, in 2011. By 2012-13, housing rentals had become a potential threat for incumbent touristic accommodation operators and, in particular, low- and medium-quality hotels11. The transfer of regulatory powers to the regions, in 2013, was based on the assumption that short-term housing rentals had a negative impact on the quality of tourism12. Indeed, the 2013 Law stated that “The use of private housing for tourism, which has increased in recent years, could cover forms of illicit and unfair competition that are detrimental to the quality of tourist destinations”13. This approach was assumed in regional legislations. Early regional legislations justified their restrictive approach to short-term rentals on two main grounds: the protection of users (tourists) and the safeguard of fair competition among accommodation operators. A minority of regulations also contained references to public security14. For example, a Decree approved in 2014 by the Region of Madrid considered regulation of touristic housing rentals necessary to protect users of touristic accommodation in order to mitigate the effects of uncontrolled oversupply of this type of accommodation. It also justified regulation on touristic housing rentals on continuous complaints by the associations of accommodation operators inMadrid on situations of illicit and unfair competition and the possibility that, unlike the rest of tourist accommodation, tourist housing did not pay taxes15. 11 CNMC (2016). 12 Pursuant to Article 148.1 of the Spanish Constitution, regions can assume powers on promotion and management of tourism in their territories. Under the Spanish Constitution, the central government has exclusive powers on the general economic conditions. 13 Law 4/2013, of 4 June, Explanatory memorandum. Free translation by the author form the original in Spanish: “Por último, en los últimos años se viene produciendo un aumento cada vez más significativo del uso del alojamiento privado para el turismo, que podría estar dando cobertura a situaciones de intrusismo y competencia desleal, que van en contra de la calidad de los destinos turísticos”. 14 E.g., Law 13/2016, of 28 July, of Tourism of the Basque Country justifies the control of users of short-term rentals on public security grounds. 15 Decree 79/2014, of 10 July, of the Region of Madrid.
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