Regulatory and Legal Affairs

🏖️ The Spanish government enacted a rule on December 2 requiring hotels to collect extensive personal data from guests over 14, including passport details and payment information. UK visitors to Spain rose by 7.1% in the first 10 months over 2023, reaching 16.5 million, with a forecast of 18.8 million by year's end. Spending by UK travelers is expected to be €23 million by year's end, a 30% increase over 2019. The winter season may see UK visitors to Spain increase by 25% over the 2019/20 season. Spain's Tourist Office plans to promote longer stays and lesser-known destinations for 2025, with events like 'Spain Talks' on April 30 and an accessible travel campaign meeting in Seville from May 19-22. After October floods, Valencia has recovered, with attractions and businesses fully operational.

💰 Holiday Extras, founded 42 years ago by Gerry and Carol Pack, has shifted majority shares to an employee benefit trust following a buyback of the founders' 12% stake out of six million shares. Control remains with management under CEO Matthew Pack, the founders' son. The company has secured a £10 million increase in its NatWest borrowing facility, now totaling £30 million, to fund European expansion and AI investment. Earlier acquisitions include Quick Parking and a new Airparks car park in Munich. Further acquisitions are anticipated.

💸 Base wages for restaurant servers reached 43% of their average paycheck, up 35% since January 2020. From 2019 to 2024, their hourly earnings, including base pay and gratuities, jumped from $18.61 to $23.88, a 28% increase. The pandemic sparked wage spikes, influenced by tip credit laws. The Biden-era 80/20 labor rule was overturned in September 2024. Labor shortages during 2021 and 2022 significantly drove up labor costs. Chicago saw the fastest four-year wage growth for servers, while Boston had the highest tipped wages, with tips comprising 76% of wages. Conversely, Los Angeles and San Francisco had tips under 40% due to a raised minimum wage to $20 an hour. ADP Research analyzed wages across 50 states from data of 100,000 restaurant servers.

🍷 A potential 25% tariff on European wines could severely impact the U.S. restaurant industry, particularly independent businesses. Harry Root of Grassroots Wine noted a significant profit comes from European wines. U.S. restaurants may have to raise prices or reduce margins, as seen during the 2019 tariffs on wines with ≤14% alcohol from France, the UK, Germany, and Spain, which later expanded to include most imported wines. The tariffs, originally due to a dispute over aircraft subsidies, were suspended for five years starting March 2021. Restaurants like Le Pigeon in Portland and Celebrations in Missouri, known for their European wine pairings, could face challenges, with wine prices potentially rising from $45 to $60 per bottle. Alex Kroblin of Thirst Wine Merchants experienced decreased sales and profits due to the previous tariffs. The industry is on alert for the new administration's 2025 promise of additional import tariffs.

📍 Key European travel and tourism organizations met in the European Parliament with Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas and MEP Daniel Attard to advance sustainability and resilience in the sector. The meeting builds on the April 2024 Joint Declaration made in Rhodes, aiming for decarbonisation and cross-sector collaboration. Commissioner Tzitzikostas plans to introduce a Sustainable Tourism Strategy for climate change adaptation. The organizations, including A4E, ACI EUROPE, CLIA, ECTAA, EEIA, ERA, HOTREC, IAAPA, IRU, and RURALTOUR, seek policy support and targeted funding for sustainable transformation.

🏠 In Italy, rental accommodation owners must now meet guests in person due to a ban effective from 18 November, targeting Airbnb and Booking properties. This measure, in response to safety and public order risks, requires personal guest details to be sent to police within 24 hours of check-in. The ban comes amid discontent in cities like Rome, Florence, and Milan over rising housing prices and disturbances caused by rental properties. The 2025 Jubilee celebrations in Rome partly prompted the new rule.

🌱 Preferred Travel Group, in partnership with the Travel Foundation, launches its Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve Net Zero by 2050, aligned with the Glasgow Declaration. The plan includes five key pathways: Measure, Decarbonize, Regenerate, Collaborate, and Finance. The company conducted a baseline emissions inventory, establishing objectives aligned with the Paris Agreement and Glasgow Declaration, and prioritized actions via a structured scoring system. By 2025, they aim to refine policies and engage associates to reduce Scope 3 emissions from business travel and events, leveraging a Climate Task Force and Climate Steering Committee for strategic implementation.

🏨 Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based hotel operator, added eight new hotels in 2023, expanding its portfolio to 51 properties with roughly 1,200 new rooms. This growth led to an increase of over $60 million in asset value. HVMG, deriving 70% of revenue from full-service hotels, was also ranked in the top 20 of Atlanta's Top Workplaces 2024 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for the sixth consecutive year, from more than 8,000 applicants. The company manages over 8,700 rooms across 17 states.