702 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM rooms, a provision that the Courts have declared illegal36. The cities of San Sebastian and Bilbao only allow the rental of housing on the lower floors of buildings, thus excluding those located on the upper floors from the market. Other technical requirements may amount to exclusionary status if certain properties cannot comply; this may be the case for requirements pertaining to a minimum size of rooms or external ventilation; and f. Equipment and other burdensome requirements: equipment requirements may limit the ability of operators to innovate and differentiate if they are too detailed. In addition, they can impose an unnecessary burden on operators and discourage market entry. For example, requiring to provide 24-hour telephone assistance or to have air-conditioning in every room may be too burdensome37. Restrictive regulation reduces competition between accommodation operators. Less competition reduces the incentive to cut prices, to innovate and to improve quality. Restrictions to short-term housing offerings reduce alternatives available to consumers, which in turn makes it more difficult to meet consumers’ needs. For example, families or summer students or teachers may prefer accommodation in an apartment or an individual room in a shared house, rather than a hotel. Restrictive regulation in the accommodation market can spill over into other sectors as well. The fact that residential properties may be occasionally devoted to short-term rentals is an advantage in so that demand of peak seasons are met, where tourism is at full capacity or when there are popular festivals or international fairs bringing in a large number of tourists. Since restrictive regulation towards short-term housing rentals may hamper tourism, related sectors like service (restaurants, bars, cafes) or retail may be adversely affected as well. Finally, preventing short-term housing rentals has a negative impact on local residents, who may find difficulties working around the restrictions on their additional (or primary) source of revenue. Therefore, the imposition of restrictions should follow careful analysis and be reserved for circumstances where they are indispensable to safeguard public interest. As we will now see, this has not always been the case. 36 The High Court of the Canary Islands and the High Court of Castile and León have annulled this prohibition in the respective regional legislations. The Supreme Court has so far confirmed the ruling of the High Court of the Canary Islands. 37 Article 14 of Decree 12/2017, of 26 January, of the Region of Galicia.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE4NzM5Nw==