Editorial: Crackdown

I had to laugh the other day when I saw one of the headlines in one of the Spanish newspapers it stated:Majorca set for a record season as crackdown on illegal offer is announced. Now the illegal offer is the so-called holiday home rentals. So if hotels are heading for a record season  and there will be effectively no “room at the  inn” why is a crackdown on the holiday rental market needed? Surely, if hoteliers are heading for an occupancy level of 100 percent they shouldn´t be too concerned if the person in the apartment block next door is planning to rent out his or her property during the summer to help pay the mortgage. It is clearly evident that the hoteliers want to have a monopoly on the tourist accommodation market. They say that it is illegal competition and they want all holiday lets stopped. But at the same time it could be argued that the hoteliers are not being too sporting by introducing all inclusive packages which are effectively ruining hundreds of small bars and restaurants in the resorts. In other-words you can´t have your cake and eat it. If the hoteliers want a massive crackdown on illegal holiday lets then perhaps they should listen to the complaints of many bar and restaurant owners. Their livelihood is being put at risk by all inclusive holidays. In an ideal world I would like to see legislation introduced which governs illegal  holiday lets and also legislation which also takes into account the damage of all inclusive holidays to the bar and restaurant trades in the resorts.