👋 Welcome to this weeks newsletter. Lots of news and updates this week. Here's a summary:

• ✈️ A 60% ETA Fee Hike? What does the UK government’s proposed fee increase mean for European visitors—and for your bookings?

• 🇬🇷 New Rules in Greece: Stricter short-term rental regulations - Keeping an eye on what’s happening in Europe

• 🏠 Spain’s Tax Shift: Could Spain’s new tax proposal be driving a surge of interest from UK buyers in holiday homes?

• 🏙️ Kensington & Chelsea Council Takes Action: The rise of short-term rentals in one of London’s most desirable areas has sparked a wave of monitoring.

• 🤖 A Game-Changer in Travel?: OpenAI’s new digital assistant will offer a new way of travellers finding and booking accommodation

See you next Saturday at 5pm?

Phil

Founder, My Holiday Guide

IN THE NEWS

Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) Fee planned to Increase by 60%

The UK government plans to increase the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) fee from £10 to £16. This 60% increase is part of an effort to make the immigration system more efficient and reduce reliance on taxpayer funding. However it may deter visitors from Europe and other countries from booking your property.

Here's a summary of key points regarding the proposed ETA fee increase:

• ETAs are required for visitors who do not need a visa. This includes travellers from over 50 countries currently, and will extend to European travellers from April 2, 2025.

• The fee increase is expected to generate an additional £269 million per year.

• There is a temporary exemption for airside transit passengers. This primarily affects Heathrow and Manchester airports and is being kept under review.

• The business travel industry has criticised the proposed fee increase, with concerns that it will discourage inbound travel.

• It is estimated there will be 30 million ETA applications per year, and even a small percentage requiring a visa could significantly increase the Home Office's workload.

• The legislation is subject to approval by both Houses of Parliament. If approved, the new fees will be introduced by amending the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018.

Short Term Rental Registration Scheme

Although there is still no firm timeline for the implementation of the statutory registration scheme for England, Chris Bryant MP, minister of state for media, tourism and creative industries confirmed in parliament that it is coming “very soon”, with it being implemented within this year.

Greece Enforcing Stricter Rules On STRs

Keeping an eye on what’s happening in Europe, this article discusses new regulations in Greece aimed at improving the safety and quality of short-term rentals and address over-tourism, due to be implemented by the 1st October this year.

Here are some key points:

• A one-year ban on new short-term rental registrations has been implemented in certain popular districts of Athens.

• A new daily tax on short-term rentals, increasing to €8 (£6.76) during peak season and €2 (£1.69) during the winter.

• Basements and semi-basements that do not meet the new standards will not be allowed.

• New safety requirements include natural lighting, ventilation, air conditioning, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, escape signs, and a first aid kit.

• Rentals must have civil liability insurance and certification from a licensed electrician.

• An inspection framework will be put in place, with fines for non-compliance, starting from €5,000 and doubling for repeat offenders.

Positive Impact of Spain’s Tax Hike

Spain's proposed tax hike on non-EU resident property owners seems to be having a positive impact on UK residents enquiring about purchasing holiday homes in the UK such as the ones available in Silverlake, Dorset.

Other News

• Kensington and Chelsea council are raising concerns about the increase in short term rentals, reaching 9,584 in 2024 compared to about 8,100 the previous year. The council has since hired a specialist consulting firm to track STLs across multiple holiday letting platforms and found properties which exceeded the 90-day limit in any calendar year.

• On Thursday this week OpenAI said that it is releasing a digital assistant that can autonomously complete online searches and purchases for travel, events, restaurants, and more via it’s new Operator feature. You can find out more here.

• Hostaway has secured $365M at a $925M valuation as it looks to cash-in on the boom in short-term rentals.

INTERIOR DESIGN
Interior design inspiration and decor tips.

PROPERTIES OF THE NEWSLETTER
We all love looking at and getting inspiration from other properties so here’s our top pick for this edition.

NO FOMO
Missed last weeks newsletter? Here’s one thing you might like.

2025 Predicted Trends

In last weeks newsletter we delved into a number of predicted trends for 2025 according to a report by Holiday Cottages.

You can read the full newsletter here:

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