Val d’Isere Mayor Sends Warning Letter To Holiday Accommodation Owners

Property owners who rent out their chalets and apartments to skiers and snowboarders staying in Val d’Isere have been reminded they must now include their official registration number for tourist accommodation in any advertisements and promotions or face hefty fines.

The warning was sent out last month (March 2024) in a letter from Val d’Isere Mayor Patrick Martin and it follows a decision made last year by the French resort to set up the registration number scheme for tourist accommodation.

The letter from the mayor says: “You were informed by registered letter dated 29 November 2023 of this new procedure and reminded of the obligation to comply with the legal provisions provided for in Article L324-2-1 of the Tourism Code.

“In particular, it provides for the registration number to be published in advertisements relating to tourist accommodation and exposes any offender to a civil fine of up to €12,500 per tourist accommodation that is subject of a breach.

“To date, my office has noted that a significant number of tourist accommodations that appear on various websites do not mention this registration number and therefore do not meet the legal obligations.

“You have already been given three months to comply with these legal obligations and so am sending you this letter to remind you of your obligations.

“Therefore, I inform you that any promotions that do not show the mandatory registration number must be removed. Otherwise, from 1 April 2024, I will refer this matter to the competent Judicial Court in accordance with Article L324-2-1 of the Tourism Code.”

The City Council of the municipality of Val d’Isere set up an online service for the declaration and registration of furnished tourist accommodation in May 2023 and it came into effect at the beginning of this year.

Property owners can generate a registration number on the declaloc.fr website. They are then required to display this number on all their advertisements and promotions to comply with the legal provisions in Article L324-2-1 of the Tourism Code.

Similar schemes already operate in other countries such as Spain where owners of holiday accommodation have to apply for a VV license (Vivienda Vacacional). This enables them to legally rent to tourists and the registration number is displayed on plaques attached to the property.

But this latest move by Val d’Isere has been met with mixed reactions. Holiday accommodation scams rose again last year and there are those that believe the registration scheme will provide more confidence to skiers and snowboarders that they are dealing with a legitimate owner, tour operator, or travel agency.

However, some property owners believe it simply adds another layer of red tape and administration to those who are acting within the law, and who could be fined even though they are registered.

But scammers and those who rent out their accommodation illegally, and without registering, will continue to do so unless the registration scheme is policed effectively to identify those who are not registered, rather than those who are.

There have been reports that other ski areas have decided not to introduce similar schemes.