Giuridico e Amministrativo

🏖 Federalberghi, Confindustria Alberghi, and Assohotel, top national hospitality organizations, are monitoring the debate on the reform of the tourist tax. They recently met with the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who assured no increase in taxes, simplified compliance, and allocation of tax to tourism. The organizations oppose tax mechanisms that increase fiscal pressure on families and businesses and suggest setting a reasonable tax cap, simplifying the tax mechanism, adopting a national regulation for consistency, and ensuring transparency in tax revenue use for tourism.

🚿 Solo Shower by Ponte Giulio, designed by Mirko Rogora, recently earned an Honorable Mention from ADI's Compasso d'Oro for superior quality in innovation, originality, and style. The shower system, developed for increased safety in hospitality environments, prevents scalding with a heat limit of 38°C and boasts a load capacity over 200 kg. Comprised entirely of stainless steel, it's built for longevity and eco-friendliness, adhering to rigorous ADA guidelines.

🏡 In September 2023, New York passed Local Law 18, enforcing strict short-term rental regulations, such as mandatory host registration, prohibiting entire apartment rentals for less than 30 days, and requiring host presence during guest stays. Penalties reach up to $5,000 for owners and $1,500 for platforms for non-compliance. Following the law, New York saw a 52% decrease in Airbnb bookings and a 46% drop in short-term rental demand, the most significant among the top 50 US markets. Hotel rates in New York rose by 7.4% from July 2023 to July 2024, outpacing the national average of 2.1%. Residential rents increased by 2.4% in the city, contrasting with a 0.8% national decrease. European cities are also revising short-term rental regulations, with Barcelona announcing a total ban within four years and Italy mandating a National Identification Code (CIN) from 2024 to regulate and control the sector.

🛫 London's Gatwick Airport experiences significant delays since Sunday due to bad weather and staff shortages in air traffic control. FlightRadar24 reported 95% of the first 100 scheduled flights today were delayed, with an average departure delay of nearly 40 minutes. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary calls for the resignation of Nats CEO Martin Rolfe amid the UK air traffic disruptions.

💸 Ryanair, criticized for opposing state aid to other airlines, must repay 13-14 million euros to Germany after the European Commission deemed the funds "incompatible with EU rules". This decision, relating to events in 2018, also requires Frankfurt-Hahn Airport to return 1.25 million euros.

🏠 Airbnb, 12 months after New York's crackdown on short-term rentals, reports that the city's rental prices have increased by 3.4%. The law prohibiting whole apartment rentals for under 30 days has left hotel and rental prices at historic highs. Theo Yedinsky, Airbnb's VP of Public Policy, advocates for LL18's reassessment to support travelers, local hosts, and businesses dependent on tourism. New York City's apartment availability remains unchanged at 3.4%, according to Apartment List.

✈ Wizz Air, starting from spring 2025, will operate a new daily year-round flight from Gatwick Airport to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, using their first A321XLR. The route will be the longest in the low-cost network and will launch on March 31, 2025. The flight duration will be 7 hours and ticket sales are already open.

💸 Ryanair's contracts with Frankfurt Hahn between 2013 and 2016 complied with EU state aid rules, while the EU Commission is investigating certain legacy marketing contracts involving the airline as state aid. Ryanair criticizes EU Commissioner Vestager's failure to reclaim a €6 billion C-19 state aid package from Lufthansa, which was deemed illegal by the EU General Court in May 2023. Ryanair urges the recovery of the illegal aid and measures to mitigate competitive damage caused by the €11 billion in total state aid approved for Lufthansa Group.

🚢 Clia responds to the Greek Government's decision to tax cruise passengers in Mykonos and Santorini, emphasizing that such measures should involve all stakeholders, including operators and local communities. Clia advocates for the tax to benefit local communities and to fund new projects and infrastructure, while urging a holistic approach to manage tourism flows without vilifying the cruise sector.

🛫 Gruppo Save reacts to easyJet's unexpected closure of its Venice base, stating easyJet had made similar decisions previously in Italy, like at Rome Fiumicino, without significant long-term impacts. Despite the closure, 15 out of 20 routes are already served by other airlines. Save also notes easyJet's unsatisfactory traffic and its record of delays and cancellations, especially in August.