An EU database of tourist rentals will help control the business and the big platforms operating in it, goes the argument.
Competition and Industry officials from EU member states have agreed to create an EU-wide registry for holiday-lets, reports the Spanish press.
All tourist rentals in the EU will have to be included in the register, and booking platforms like Airbnb will have to enforce this, allowing governments to gather data on holiday-home owners renting out their properties to tourists on a short-stay basis.
EU governments want better control over the industry so they can tax owners more and restrict holiday-rentals in areas where tourist accommodation is said to be driving up housing costs for locals, as politicians claim is the case in Spanish cities like Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca.
An EU-wide register could make it easier for local and national governments to put pressure on big booking platforms like Airbnb to cooperate over restricting the business in certain places. It could also bring holiday-home owners under tighter government control.
It is not clear from Spanish press reports if there is any time-frame for setting up this register.
