Benidorm hotel group threatens government over new 'Big Brother' info gathering rules

The new regulations will force hotels, travel agencies and car rental firms to take detailed customer data - including holidaymakers' home addresses and bank card information

A Benidorm-based hotel group has threatened legal action against the Spanish government for forcing its members to gather sensitive data on British tourists.

The draconian "Big Brother" rules are due to come into force on Monday and will require hotels, travel agencies, campsites car rental firms and even accommodation apps to take detailed data from holidaymakers - including their home addresses and bank card information.

One of Benidorm's leading hotel groups, HOSBEC, is now considering legal action after a seperate leading hotelier association, Cehat, threatened to take the Spanish government to court. Cehat argued that the new system would cause delays for foreign tourists trying to check into hotels and leave them at risk of massive fines for breaching EU data protection laws.

Cehat general secretary Ramon Estelella likened the regulations to Big Brother and branded it “nuts”. HOSBEC, whose 358 affiliate members include 117 hotels and nine campsites in Benidorm, joined the growing chorus of dissent today as it accused the Spanish government of burying its head in the sand and and said the new rules would have “grave consequences” for holidaymakers.

The new registration system was set to kick in on October 1 before being delayed to its current scheduled start date of December 2. HOSBEC said in a statement today: “We join CEHAT in the announcement of possible legal action against the implementation of the new Travellers’ Register and the lack of response from the government.

“HOSBEC, as a member of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT) and through this entity, considers that the regulation could have grave consequences for travellers and establishments and is considering going to court. The announcement is motivated by the lack of responses from the government and the negative impact this regulation will have on the hotel sector and travellers themselves.

“The hotel employers' association denounces the fact that the government has ignored all requests for dialogue and clarification, both from CEHAT and international tourism associations. Despite repeated warnings about the serious repercussions that this regulation will have, the government has not offered solutions nor has it issued the promised ministerial order to clarify its implementation.”

Spain’s interior ministry say the new rules are necessary for security as it will help the police track criminals operating in Spain. Hotel bosses say Spain is the only EU country where hotels are required to send tourists’ ID and passport information to the police - instead of storing the data for a period of time, adding that the current data gathering regulations are more than sufficient.

HOSBEC’s president Fede Fuster said today any implementation of the new system would turn hotels into data control centres and wouldn't enhance security.

Failure to comply with European data protection regulation can lead to fines which are higher than the proposed £25,000 fine for not complying with the Spanish government decree in time - leaving hotels and other travel firms in what they describe as a "lose-lose" situation.