The summer season has barely started, hoteliers are already angry at the omnipresence of Airbnb. Lack of security, absence of tourist tax, 26 hotels across France have just taken the American platform to court.
As the Avignon festival opens its doors this Saturday, June 29, a real showdown is taking place between Airbnb and hotel professionals. The Mignon hotel, located on rue Joseph-Vernet in the city center of the City of the Popes, is one of the 26 hoteliers to have taken the furnished tourist accommodation rental platform to court, this Thursday, June 20. The move is supported by Umih, the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries.
What hotel professionals primarily criticize is the difference in rules between them and Airbnb. “We are in a weak position vis-à-vis them.“, sighs Leonidas Vadillo, manager of the Mignon hotel which has 16 rooms. For him, there is a breach of security on the platform side. Having a 24-hour surveillance system, the hotelier denounces the absence “a security system checked and maintained every year”leading to insecurity problems, such as “prostitution networks“.
We don’t fight with the same rule.
Leonidas Vadillo, manager of the Mignon hotelto France 3 Provence-Alpes.
Likewise, the hotel must receive a visit from the firefighters every five years. Rules which are not applicable at the American platform level. “Many Airbnbs would be shut down if they had to do this.“, poursuit Leonidas Vadillo.
Before the rise of Airbnb, the manager of the Mignon hotel maintains that 70% of his customers were tourists and 30% professionals. “Today, there are almost no tourists.“Despite the work to offer an offer adapted to professionals, the manager cannot find his missing clientele who are instead moving towards seasonal rentals between individuals. A hard blow for the manager who has to live with 20 seasonal rental apartments nearby.
While the tourism market is almost returning to its level before the health crisis, Leonidas Vadillo considers that he does not feel the effects of growth within his establishment. “All the growth is going to Airbnb and Booking.“
Part of the hotel industry is suffering from this unfair competition and may close its doors.
Leonidas Vadillo, manager of the Mignon hotelto France 3 Provence-Alpes.
He even considers that with the increase in costs, following inflation, they have “no means to adapt“. “We will be forced to close“, he breathes with despair. However, Leonidas Vadillo demands nothing, “it’s more for the principle than for the money“. He wishes “attract the attention of the population” with this warning cry.
The Mignon hotel is not the only establishment to position itself against the platform, there are 26 across France, several of which are in the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes. The Union of Hospitality Trades and Industries presented the action of these professionals before the courts on June 20, 2024.
The employers’ organization of the hotel and catering sector denounces, among other things, the platform of not removing “announcements of more than 120 days for main residences“and not to pay “tourist tax“. She also points out the responsibility of the platform to welcome “illicit advertisements, in violation of applicable regulations” on his site.
For its part, Airbnb reacted through a press release addressed to AFP: “If this new legal action proves to harm Airbnb’s business or the ability of French hosts to rent their property, we will consider all options, including legal, to protect these rights.“
The 26 hoteliers and Umih will meet before the Lisieux Commercial Court on September 6, 2024.
