Spain has 17 autonomous communities, plus Ceuta and Melilla. The legal duty to collect and report traveller information applies throughout the national territory. The correct submission system, however, depends on where your accommodation is located.
Use SES.Hospedajes in 15 autonomous communities, plus Ceuta and Melilla. Use the regional systems operated by the Mossos d'Esquadra in Catalonia and the Ertzaintza in the Basque Country. Registering with the wrong authority does not discharge the duty.
This guide explains the regional position, the applicable legal framework and the estimated number of advertised tourist dwellings in each community.
The national duty under Royal Decree 933/2021
Royal Decree 933/2021 regulates the documentary registration and information duties for people or businesses carrying out accommodation activities. Article 3 gives the decree nationwide scope, covering accommodation activities throughout Spain.
The rules include tourist dwellings, apartments, rural accommodation and other paid accommodation arrangements. The activity may be professional or non-professional — the legal classification can affect record-keeping duties, but it does not remove the need to understand the applicable reporting process.
Under Article 6 of Royal Decree 933/2021, operators must communicate relevant booking, cancellation and stay information electronically. The communication must generally take place immediately and within 24 hours of the relevant event.
You should therefore:
- Collect accurate information — verify the traveller's identity and obtain the data required by the applicable system.
- Report booking activity — communicate information connected with a reservation or contract within the legal timeframe.
- Report the stay — send the required information when the accommodation service begins.
- Keep appropriate records — professional accommodation operators must generally retain registration information for three years under Article 5.
- Use the correct authority — submit through SES.Hospedajes or the relevant regional police system according to the property's location.
The state duty is national. The receiving system is regional in two communities.
Why Catalonia and the Basque Country use different systems
Catalonia and the Basque Country have their own autonomous police forces with ordinary competence for citizen security in their territories.
- Catalonia — the Mossos d'Esquadra operate the Registre de viatgers d'establiments d'hostalatge.
- Basque Country — the Ertzaintza operate the Registro hostelero system.
These are not exemptions from traveller-registration duties. They are different channels for fulfilling the duty.
Catalonia — Mossos d'Esquadra
Catalonia's regional traveller-registration system predates the current national framework. Its legal basis includes Ordre IRP/418/2010, which regulates the registration and communication of accommodation guest information to the Direcció General de la Policia.
The official Mossos d'Esquadra traveller-registration system requires accommodation operators to submit the required information electronically. The regional guidance states that the information must be communicated within 24 hours of the start of each person's stay and retained for three years.
If your property is in Barcelona, Girona or elsewhere in Catalonia, submit through the Mossos system. Registering the property or guests on SES.Hospedajes instead does not, on its own, satisfy the Catalan reporting process.
Basque Country — Ertzaintza
The Basque Country uses its own registration system operated by the Ertzaintza. The current framework is based on the Order of 25 November 2022, published in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country and effective from January 2023.
The system covers accommodation businesses in Euskadi, including tourist accommodation. Operators must register the establishment, record the relevant guest information and communicate it electronically through the service provided by the Basque Government and Ertzaintza.
If your accommodation is in Bilbao, San Sebastián, Vitoria-Gasteiz or elsewhere in the Basque Country, use the Ertzaintza system. Do not assume that a SES.Hospedajes account replaces the regional registration requirement.
Why the difference exists
The distinction reflects the allocation of public-security responsibilities and the existence of established regional police systems. Catalonia's system dates from 2010, while the current Basque framework dates from 2022.
The legal position can be summarised simply:
- The duty — applies throughout Spain under Royal Decree 933/2021.
- The receiving authority — is SES.Hospedajes in 15 communities, Ceuta and Melilla.
- The regional exceptions — are Catalonia and the Basque Country, where the Mossos d'Esquadra and Ertzaintza receive the information through their own systems.
- The practical rule — follow the system designated for the location of the accommodation.
Regional rules and technical arrangements may change. Check the current instructions issued by the relevant authority before relying on an older guide.
The 15 communities using SES.Hospedajes
The following 15 autonomous communities use SES.Hospedajes for accommodation guest registration. The figures are estimated numbers of tourist dwellings advertised on digital platforms in May 2026, based on the INE data supplied for this regional coverage guide.
Villa Check In also identifies this division in the coverage section of its home page and provides a more detailed regional registration reference.
Andalusia
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 90,649
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Andalusia has the largest estimated number of advertised tourist dwellings among the regions covered by SES.Hospedajes. Owners and managers must complete the property setup and guest communications required by the national system.
Aragon
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 4,022
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Properties in Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel fall within the state system rather than a separate regional police submission process.
Asturias
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 6,914
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Asturias uses SES.Hospedajes for the communication of accommodation guest information covered by the national rules.
Balearic Islands
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 21,304
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
The national guest-registration duty applies to tourist accommodation across Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. Follow any separate tourism licensing requirements issued by the Balearic authorities as well.
Canary Islands
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 48,356
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
The Canary Islands are covered by SES.Hospedajes. The national guest-registration process operates alongside any Canary Islands requirements for tourism activity, licences and property operation.
Cantabria
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 7,123
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Use the national system for properties in Santander, Torrelavega and other parts of Cantabria.
Castile and León
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 7,573
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Tourist dwellings and rural accommodation in the region use SES.Hospedajes for the national traveller-information duty.
Castile-La Mancha
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 4,938
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Owners in Toledo, Cuenca, Albacete, Ciudad Real and Guadalajara should use the state system for the required guest communications.
Comunitat Valenciana
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 51,268
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
The Comunitat Valenciana has one of the largest advertised tourist-dwelling markets in Spain. Use SES.Hospedajes for guest reporting, while continuing to meet the community's separate tourism-registration and operating requirements.
Extremadura
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 2,293
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Properties in Cáceres, Badajoz and other parts of Extremadura use the national platform.
Galicia
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 17,361
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Galicia uses SES.Hospedajes for the reporting duty created by the national framework. Regional tourism rules remain separate matters.
Madrid
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 13,431
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Accommodation operators in Madrid must use the state system for the required traveller communications.
Murcia
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 6,382
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
The Region of Murcia is included among the communities covered by SES.Hospedajes.
Navarre
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 1,557
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Navarre has its own police force, the Policía Foral, but it does not use a substitute traveller-registration system for this purpose. Properties in Navarre therefore use SES.Hospedajes.
La Rioja
- Estimated advertised tourist dwellings — 1,371
- Reporting system — SES.Hospedajes
Use the national system for accommodation located in La Rioja.
Ceuta and Melilla
Ceuta and Melilla are autonomous cities rather than autonomous communities, but they are included in the national coverage.
- Ceuta — SES.Hospedajes applies.
- Melilla — SES.Hospedajes applies.
The figures supplied for this guide do not provide separate estimates for advertised tourist dwellings in Ceuta and Melilla.
How the figures should be read
The 15 community estimates listed above add up to 284,542 advertised tourist dwellings. Villa Check In's home-page coverage section currently refers to 284,624 tourist dwellings in the regions it covers.
That difference is 82 properties. It may result from a data revision, rounding or a different extraction of the INE dataset. Treat the figures as estimates rather than a live register of licensed properties. The figures also do not establish whether an individual property is legally authorised to operate.
The important compliance point is geographical — identify the property's autonomous community first, then select the correct reporting system.
Outsourcing registration to Villa Check In
Hosts and property managers may handle guest registration themselves, or appoint a professional organisation to manage the process.
Villa Check In provides end-to-end guest registration in the 15 SES.Hospedajes communities, plus Ceuta and Melilla. Its service includes:
- Guest self-registration — send travellers a secure link so they can provide the required information before arrival.
- Data review — check submissions for missing or inconsistent information before transmission.
- SES.Hospedajes submission — submit the guest information to the national system within the applicable timeframe.
- PMS integration — connect booking information through an API with property management systems such as Guesty, Lodgify, Smoobu and other supported PMS providers.
- Fixed links — use a stable registration link where an OTA restricts third-party compliance providers or limits how external services communicate with guests.
- Guest-Flow tools — use the free tools for adding bookings, tracking registration progress and managing fixed registration links without relying entirely on an OTA's messaging workflow.
- Remote digital certificates — obtain a digital certificate through remote video identification, without attending an in-person appointment. See the digital certificate guide.
Major online travel agencies increasingly control how hosts communicate with guests. When an OTA restricts third-party compliance providers, you may lose access to the workflow that best fits your legal obligations. Fixed links provide a practical alternative because you can place the registration route in your own booking communications, website or direct messages.
For Catalonia and the Basque Country, Villa Check In takes a different role. It does not submit guest information to the Mossos d'Esquadra or Ertzaintza systems. Instead, it directs owners and managers to the correct regional police system and can still arrange remote digital certificates for properties anywhere in Spain.
If you have properties in more than one community, separate the portfolio by reporting destination. Villa Check In can manage SES.Hospedajes properties while helping you identify the correct regional route for Catalan and Basque properties. You can contact Villa Check In to discuss the location and structure of your portfolio.
A practical regional checklist
Follow these steps before accepting your next booking:
- Identify the property location — record the autonomous community or autonomous city where each accommodation sits.
- Select the reporting system — use SES.Hospedajes everywhere except Catalonia and the Basque Country.
- Check the regional position — use the Mossos system in Catalonia and the Ertzaintza system in the Basque Country.
- Confirm the required data — collect the traveller and transaction information required by the applicable rules.
- Set a reporting workflow — make sure booking, cancellation and arrival events are monitored.
- Submit within the deadline — do not leave communications until after the relevant 24-hour period.
- Keep evidence — retain submission confirmations and records for the required period.
- Review changes — check official guidance periodically because technical systems and regional instructions may change.
Final position
Royal Decree 933/2021 creates a nationwide accommodation reporting duty. Spain's 17 autonomous communities do not all use the same submission route, however.
Use SES.Hospedajes in Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, the Comunitat Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, Madrid, Murcia, Navarre and La Rioja. Use the same national system in Ceuta and Melilla.
Use the Mossos d'Esquadra system in Catalonia and the Ertzaintza system in the Basque Country. Check the current official instructions when setting up your process, and outsource the administrative work to a professional organisation if you do not want to manage guest registration manually.