Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group and Tripadvisor in truce with Europe

Airbnb has not abandoned its fight to remain in Europe.

The startup has backed the creation of a European Union (EU) regulator for digital services and, together with Booking, Expedia Group and Tripadvisor, have agreed to share the data on the activity registered in their apartments with the European Commission. It seems that with both decisions the American company wants to offer a truce to the direct confrontation with several European cities, such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, ​​Berlin, Valencia or Paris.

After 22 European municipalities demanded that the EU regularize the activity of tourist rental platforms, the company encouraged the proposal to modify the Electronic Commerce Directive on the inclusion of a new body so that companies, governments and cities benefit.

The implementation of this project would provide both policy makers and web support with the necessary guidance to support the development of sound and effective regulation.

Airbnb Senior Vice President of Global Policy, Chris Lehane, said:

"This historic agreement will help ensure that cities have the information they need to regulate home sharing effectively."  

Different European cities have revealed themselves against vacation rental platforms, especially the city of Barcelona, ​​when in 2017, Ada Colau, current mayor of Barcelona, ​​approved the Special Urban Tourism Accommodation Plan in order to land Airbnb. Consequently, in 2019, the company had to remove 1,000 home listings in Barcelona from its platform.

With this new move and alliance between holiday rental platforms, changes are expected that benefit both cities and startups.