The Legal Impacts of COVID-19 in the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry

248 LEGAL IMPACTS OF COVID-19 IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY Through these platforms, those people who need a vehicle for specific occasions rent it to others during the time they are not using it. Thus, the relationship is between equals and for a time and cost significantly less than that which could be obtained through any car rental company52. Indeed that they are hardly in competition with the latter, among other reasons because they are still in full development and because not so many travellers know the advantages of visiting a place, travelling on public transport and using this rental system only on those occasions when it really requires a car. Besides, it will always be possible to request a transport service through the well-known platforms for renting a vehicle with a driver (such as Uber) or sharing a trip with other passengers through platforms such as BlaBlaCar53. Car-sharing platforms have been expanding their offer, to the point that currently all types of transport can be demanded through them, from the classic car, through motorcycles, caravans, covering transport and accommodation needs, but also, for a more privileged sector of the population or with higher purchasing power, boats, and planes54. Nevertheless, there is also an increasing number of different platforms and social networks that are being put at the service of tourists, making it possible to accommodate them in different ways than those already indicated in the first part of this work, as well as to help share or rent vehicles in a unconventional way or, simply, as a complementary offer that allows the hosts to improve and perform their offer. Consequently, at this time and given the ingenuity of those who are trying to obtain some income and those who wish to lower their expenses, we find that, through the so-called collaborative tourism, it is possible to find a more diversified offer than that offered by the traditional operators55. 52 The following platforms stand out Avacar, BluMove, Easycar o Car2go, among others. 53 GONZÁLEZ CABRERA, I., “El turismo colaborativo: Las múltiples actividades puestas al servicio del turismo y la dificultad de su encaje jurídico único”, op. cit., p. 56. 54 Examples of these are Boatsetter and Boaterfly. 55 BULCHAND GIDUMAL, J. & MELIÁN GONZÁLEZ, S., Una guía para entender la economía colaborativa: de clientes-consumidores a individuos-proveedores, op. cit., p. 42. Among these platforms that have been sharpening the ingenuity of the various offerers, while finding a niche demand among travelers include Campinmygarden, which allows accommodation in the garden of the host; Evergreen club, which can be rented Bed and Breakfast at affordable prices; Toursbylocal, a website through which you can hire a private local guide; TripUniq, a platform where a local plans the visitor’s trip according to their interests and guarantees an authentic experience far from the typical trip for guiris; in the same line Withlocals. Finally, Wonowo should be highlighted, which allows planning a trip using only resources from the collaborative economy: transport, accommodation and various activities. According to its website, it is a meta-search engine for the collaborative tourist, a different way of travelling that means considerable savings compared to a traditional trip. Thus, the traveller pointing to a destination will be able to receive offers that will be searched in multiple websites linked to the collaborative economy such as Windu, Rentalia, Homeaway, 9flats.com, Blablacar, Roomorama, Only-apartments or Driiveme.

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