One of the most important legal requirements for any tourist accommodation in Spain is submitting the traveler registration. With the implementation of Royal Decree 933/2021, guest registration must be conducted through the SES HOSPEDAJES platform nationwide, except in Basque Country and Catalonia. Starting in 2025, the Civil Guard’s hospederías service will be deactivated, displaying the following message:
Traveler registration in the Civil Guard’s Hospederías has been a mandatory requirement for tourist accommodations since 1959. However, in 2013, Law 4/2013, of June 4, on measures to flexibilize and promote the housing rental market was approved, requiring all tourist accommodations—whether hotels, hostels, rural houses, or even private apartments—to register their guests to “guarantee public safety”.
With the implementation of Royal Decree 933/2021, the number of required data fields has significantly expanded to a total of 21 mandatory fields according to Annex I of the decree, including personal data, documentation number, nationality, and other details. This registration must be completed within 24 hours of the guest’s arrival or departure, ensuring greater security and control.
According to this law, non-compliance could result in fines of up to €30,000.
In the tourist accommodation sector, Spanish legislation is constantly changing, so tourist property owners must stay updated on all modifications. The most recent legislative change was Royal Decree 933/2021, from the Ministry of the Interior, which establishes guest documentation registration obligations for individuals and legal entities engaged in accommodation activities. It should have begun implementation through the Ministry of the Interior’s platform SES.HOSPEDAJES.
The transition to operation was supposed to occur in 2022, but technical difficulties delayed it to January 2023, and after another extension, the Ministry of the Interior postponed the date again until October 2024.
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Traveler registration consists of completing both a registration and a Traveler Form for every guest regardless of age. These data must be sent to authorities 24 hours after accommodation.
This data must be kept for at least 3 years in the establishment’s traveler registration book, so that in case of emergency, authorities can access the registration book.
Currently, the main and mandatory communication method is through the SES.HOSPEDAJES digital platform. Other methods like in-person, postal mail, or fax have become obsolete for most tourist accommodations and are only maintained in specific regions for exceptional reasons.
It is the responsibility of the tourist accommodation owner to ensure the accuracy of the data provided by guests, a process that can be tedious but can be automated thanks to the Check-in Scan tool.
Traveler registration requires traveler data as well as stay information:
A digital certificate or Cl@ve authentication system is essential to access SES.HOSPEDAJES and submit traveler forms. The platform also allows integration with automated check-in systems that streamline the task and prevent errors in completion.
Communication of traveler data in Civil Guard hospederías must be done within 24 hours of guest check-in or check-out at the specific accommodation.
This communication can be done through several methods:
The consequences of not registering or registering incorrectly can result in financial penalties. For a minor infraction, penalties range from €100 to €600; for serious infractions, from €600 to €30,000.
In addition to financial penalties, failure to communicate guest data may lead to proceedings initiated by the tax agency.
Failure to register guests or doing so incorrectly can result in fines ranging from €100 to €30,000, plus possible additional administrative sanctions. The administration has strengthened oversight since SES.HOSPEDAJES implementation, increasing inspections and penalty enforcement to ensure compliance with current regulations.
