Guest Registration in Spain | What Travellers Need to Know
Why does your holiday accommodation ask for personal details?
If you stay in a hotel, apartment, holiday home or villa in Spain, your accommodation provider is legally required to register certain information about everyone staying at the property. This requirement also applies to guests staying with Moraira Holiday Homes. The information is registered under Real Decreto 933/2021 and communicated through SES.HOSPEDAJES, the central guest-registration system operated by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior. So if we ask for your passport or identity-document details before your arrival, there is a straightforward reason: Spanish law requires us to register our guests. The requirement applies regardless of whether you are travelling from the UK, Ireland, another European country, the United States, Canada or elsewhere.
Last updated: September 2026
What is guest registration in Spain?
Guest registration is not new. Spain has required accommodation providers to register travellers for many years. Hotels traditionally completed a parte de viajeros, or traveller registration form. Real Decreto 933/2021 modernised and expanded this system to reflect the way people book accommodation today. The rules cover not only hotels, but also holiday apartments, villas, tourist accommodation, booking intermediaries and other types of paid accommodation throughout Spain. The current central reporting platform is called SES.HOSPEDAJES and is operated by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior.
What is SES.HOSPEDAJES?
SES.HOSPEDAJES is the electronic system used by accommodation providers to submit the information required under Spanish guest-registration law. The system is managed by the Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad, part of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior. The new central register became fully operational for the sector on 2 December 2024, replacing older reporting procedures used by accommodation providers. As a guest, you do not need to register directly with SES.HOSPEDAJES yourself. Your accommodation provider handles the required reporting.
Who has to register?
The rules apply throughout Spain and cover a wide range of accommodation. These include:
- hotels
- hostels and guest houses
- tourist apartments
- holiday homes
- holiday villas
- rural accommodation
- campsites
- bungalows
- certain booking intermediaries and online platforms
The Ministry of the Interior confirms that the rules apply to both professional and non-professional accommodation activity covered by the legislation.
Does every guest have to be registered?
Yes. Guest registration does not apply only to the person who made the booking. Everyone actually staying at the accommodation must be registered. Travellers aged over 14 are required to sign the accommodation registration form. For children under 14, their details are provided by the adult they are travelling with. This means that if a booking is made for a family of four, the required information must be provided for all four guests.
Which details are required?
Spanish law requires accommodation providers to register several identification and contact details. Depending on the traveller and document involved, these can include:
- first name
- surname
- second surname, where applicable
- sex, where recorded or provided
- identity-document number
- type of identity document
- nationality
- date of birth
- usual residential address
- town or city of residence
- country of residence
- telephone number
- email address
- number of travellers
- relationship between travellers when minors are included
The legislation also requires information relating to the accommodation, booking and stay itself. Not every field is necessarily something the guest has to type in manually. Some information is already available from the reservation and payment process.
Which identity document can be used?
The appropriate document depends on your nationality. The Spanish Ministry of the Interior lists:
- DNI for Spanish citizens
- national identity documents for EU citizens
- passport for foreign travellers where applicable
Your accommodation provider must ensure that the registered information corresponds with the document or identification system used to verify your identity.
Do I have to send a copy of my passport?
This is an important distinction. Being required to provide your passport details does not automatically mean an accommodation provider may keep a complete copy of your passport. In June 2025, the Spanish Data Protection Agency — the AEPD — clarified that the guest-registration requirements in Real Decreto 933/2021 do not provide a general legal basis for accommodation providers to request and retain a complete copy of a guest’s identity card or passport. A complete document contains additional personal information that is not necessarily required for guest registration, and routinely collecting the full copy can breach the principle of data minimisation.
Your identity must still be verified, but verification and storing a complete copy of your identity document are not the same thing.
Why does Moraira Holiday Homes ask for these details?
We do not request this information simply because we want additional personal data about our guests. As a professional holiday accommodation provider in Spain, we have legal registration and reporting obligations. We therefore collect the information needed to comply with Real Decreto 933/2021 and process the required information through the official guest-registration system. Once you have provided the necessary information, you do not have to contact the Spanish police or Ministry of the Interior yourself. We take care of the administrative process.
Are booking details also registered?
Yes. Real Decreto 933/2021 covers more than the identity of the traveller. Certain information connected with the reservation and stay also forms part of the registration requirements, such as:
- booking or contract reference
- reservation date
- arrival date and time
- departure date and time
- address of the accommodation
- number of rooms
- whether the accommodation has internet access
- information concerning the payment transaction
The official annex to Real Decreto 933/2021 sets out these categories of information. This does not mean every guest is necessarily asked to send separate banking or card information to the accommodation provider. Much of the relevant transaction information is already generated during the normal reservation and payment process.
Why does Spain collect this information?
According to the legislation, the guest-registration system forms part of Spain’s public-security framework. Personal data reported under Real Decreto 933/2021 is stored under the responsibility of the Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad. Its processing is restricted to the Spanish police and security forces within their responsibilities for the prevention, detection and investigation of crime. Judicial authorities and the Public Prosecutor’s Office may also have access within their legal powers. It is therefore not a general tourist marketing database or a database freely accessible to unrelated government departments.
How quickly must guest information be reported?
The accommodation provider has strict reporting deadlines. Certain information must be communicated immediately and in any event within 24 hours following events including:
- making or formalising a reservation
- cancelling a reservation
- the start of the accommodation service
That is why we may need some information before you actually arrive at your holiday home.
How long is the information kept?
Professional accommodation providers must maintain the required digital guest register for three years from the end of the accommodation service. The handling of personal information is also subject to applicable Spanish and European data-protection requirements.
Does this apply to British and American travellers?
Yes. The requirement is connected with staying in qualifying accommodation in Spain, not with being a Spanish citizen. British, Irish, Dutch, Belgian, American, Canadian and other international guests therefore all have to be included in the guest registration when staying in covered accommodation. The identity document used may differ depending on nationality, but the registration requirement itself still applies.
Do children have to be registered?
Yes. Children are also included in the guest register. For children under 14, their details are supplied by the adult accompanying them. Travellers over 14 must sign the guest-registration form themselves in accordance with the rules.
What happens if an accommodation provider does not register its guests?
Compliance is the responsibility of the accommodation provider. Real Decreto 933/2021 classifies the absence of the required records or failure to make mandatory communications as serious infringements. Errors in the records or submitting required information after the deadline can be treated as minor infringements. This is why professional accommodation providers take the registration process seriously. For guests, the most important thing is simply to provide the requested information accurately and on time.
Is guest registration unique to holiday villas?
No. You may encounter the same type of registration when staying at:
- a hotel
- hostel
- guest house
- campsite
- holiday apartment
- rural accommodation
- holiday home
- villa
Real Decreto 933/2021 also contains separate registration requirements for vehicle-rental businesses. So being asked for identification details when travelling in Spain is entirely normal.
What does this mean for your holiday in Moraira?
In practice, very little changes for your holiday. Before or around your arrival, we need the information required to complete the Spanish guest registration. Moraira Holiday Homes then takes care of the administrative process. You do not have to visit the Guardia Civil, Policía Nacional or another Spanish authority yourself. Once the registration is complete, you can concentrate on what you actually came to Moraira for: enjoying your holiday.
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Frequently asked questions about guest registration in Spain
Do tourists have to register when staying in Spain?
If you stay in accommodation covered by the Spanish guest-registration rules, the accommodation provider must register the required information about you. You do not normally submit this information directly to the Spanish authorities yourself.
Does guest registration apply to foreign visitors?
Yes. The requirement applies to guests staying in covered accommodation in Spain regardless of nationality.
Do I need to provide passport details?
Foreign travellers may need to provide details from their passport or other accepted identity document so their identity can be registered and verified.
Can a hotel or holiday rental ask for a complete copy of my passport?
A complete copy should not routinely be collected simply because of the SES.HOSPEDAJES guest-registration requirement. The Spanish Data Protection Agency has stated that collecting a complete copy for this purpose generally involves excessive personal data.
Do children need to be registered?
Yes. Children are included in the guest registration. For children under 14, the accompanying adult provides their information.
Why do you need my home address?
Usual residence information is among the categories included in Real Decreto 933/2021.
Why is my telephone number or email requested?
Contact information also forms part of the information covered by the current guest-registration rules.
Are payment details included in SES.HOSPEDAJES?
The legislation includes certain information concerning the booking and payment transaction. This does not necessarily mean that guests must separately send complete banking or payment-card details to the accommodation provider.
How quickly must my information be reported?
Certain required communications must be made immediately and no later than 24 hours after the relevant reservation, cancellation or start of the stay.
How long is the accommodation register kept?
Professional accommodation providers must retain the required digital register for three years after the accommodation service has ended.
Where is the information sent?
The required information is communicated through SES.HOSPEDAJES, the system operated under the Spanish Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad.
Do I need to register with the Spanish authorities myself?
No. When you stay with Moraira Holiday Homes, we handle the accommodation-related guest registration on your behalf.
Guest registration with Moraira Holiday Homes
When you book a villa, apartment or penthouse with Moraira Holiday Homes, we take care of the mandatory Spanish guest-registration process. We will ask you for the information required to complete the registration correctly. If you have any questions about why a particular detail is needed or how the registration works, please contact us before your arrival. We would much rather explain the process clearly than leave you wondering why the information is being requested.
