If you manage a tourist accommodation in Catalonia or the Basque Country and you’ve researched how to comply with Royal Decree 933/2021, you’ve likely hit the same dead end.
Most online guides assume reporting goes through SES.HOSPEDAJES at the Spanish Ministry of the Interior. In those two autonomous communities, that’s not exactly the case.
The reason has to do with how public-safety competences are distributed in Spain. The practical consequence: the guest-reporting procedure is different.
This article explains why these regions have a separate regime, what each one requires, and how to plan compliance if your portfolio spans Catalonia, the Basque Country, or both.
Why Catalonia and the Basque Country are different
The duty to report guest data to the authorities predates RD 933/2021. It falls under public safety, an area where some autonomous communities hold their own competences.
In Catalonia, the Generalitat handles full policing through the Mossos d’Esquadra. Spanish national legislation provides that, in territories with a fully integrated autonomous police force, guest reporting goes to that force, not to the Ministry of the Interior.
In the Basque Country, the same applies through the Ertzaintza. The Statute of Autonomy and the relevant transfer agreements assign policing competences to the autonomous community. The reporting duty is fulfilled before the Ertzaintza.
The result is that the substantive obligation —collecting guest data and reporting it— is essentially the same as in the rest of Spain. The technical channel is different. SES.HOSPEDAJES is not the right tool. Each region runs its own system and procedure.
Do I need to register guests with Mossos and SES.HOSPEDAJES?
Short answer: no.
Reporting to the Mossos in Catalonia replaces the national channel. There’s no double submission. Same for the Basque Country with the Ertzaintza.
The location of the property decides the channel. A flat in Barcelona reports to the Mossos. A flat in Bilbao reports to the Ertzaintza. A flat in Valencia reports to SES.HOSPEDAJES. The OTA the guest booked through is irrelevant.
Catalonia guest registration: Mossos d’Esquadra requirements
If your accommodation is in Catalonia, reporting goes to the Mossos d’Esquadra through the channels the Generalitat provides. Electronic forms, dedicated applications or, in some cases, in-person submission at the relevant police station.
Things to keep in mind:
- Your substantive obligation does not go away. You still collect the same guest data —document, stay dates, relationship if minors are present, etc.— and report it.
- Deadlines are similar. Catalan authorities also require immediate or near-immediate reporting at the start of the stay.
- The penalty regime is national. Fines for non-compliance still come from Organic Law 4/2015 on Public Safety, just as in the rest of Spain. We break the brackets down in Penalties for non-compliance with RD 933/2021.
- Operationally still called “hojas de viajeros”. The Catalan workflow uses that term —“traveller sheets”— for what the national rule calls a guest report. Same concept, regional vocabulary.
To confirm the current procedure and official forms, check the Generalitat’s electronic seat (sede electrónica) or any specific portal the Mossos d’Esquadra maintain for tourist accommodations.
Basque Country: Ertzaintza guest registration for Airbnb and other rentals
In the Basque Country the situation is parallel.
Reporting goes to the Ertzaintza. The procedure is run by the Department of Security of the Basque Government.
As in Catalonia:
- You collect the data required by national regulation. The substantive obligation is identical to the rest of Spain.
- You report it to the Ertzaintza through whatever channels the Basque Government provides.
- Penalties for non-compliance follow the national framework under Organic Law 4/2015.
- You don’t also send the data to SES.HOSPEDAJES.
If you list a property on Airbnb, Booking, or any other platform, the channel doesn’t change. A Basque property reports to the Ertzaintza regardless of where the guest came from.
It’s worth confirming the current procedure on the Department of Security’s portal before you start.
What if I manage properties across multiple regions?
This is the case for many agencies. One property in Madrid, another in Barcelona, another in Bilbao. Operationally that means maintaining three parallel procedures:
- Madrid (and the rest of Spain): reporting to SES.HOSPEDAJES.
- Barcelona (Catalonia): reporting to the Mossos d’Esquadra.
- Bilbao (Basque Country): reporting to the Ertzaintza.
The data you collect from the guest is essentially the same across all three —the 18 RD 933/2021 fields are the baseline. The submission channel and technical format differ. In practice that forces you to:
- Configure separate credentials for each system. SES.HOSPEDAJES credentials don’t work for the Mossos or for the Ertzaintza.
- Learn each procedure’s deadlines and quirks.
- In digital workflows, ensure your tool can route submissions to the right system based on the property’s location.
What does RegistroViajero cover today?
As of today, RegistroViajero only submits guest reports to SES.HOSPEDAJES (Ministry of the Interior). That means:
- If all your properties are in territories that use SES.HOSPEDAJES (Madrid, Andalusia, Valencia, Galicia, Castilla y León, etc.), you’re our ideal use case.
- If you have any property in Catalonia or the Basque Country, today we can’t be your only solution. You’ll need to complement RegistroViajero with the specific tool or procedure for those regions.
- Integration with the Mossos d’Esquadra and the Ertzaintza is on our roadmap, but we can’t yet commit to a public release date. We’ll post updates on this blog.
This honesty is deliberate. We’d rather you know where the limits are before you try us, not after. If most of your portfolio is in Catalonia or the Basque Country, any tool that claims to cover “all of Spain” today should be able to demonstrate both integrations, not just SES.HOSPEDAJES.
A reasonable interim strategy
If your portfolio is mixed —part SES.HOSPEDAJES territory, part Catalonia or Basque Country— the cleanest operational pattern while you wait for unified integrations is:
- Centralise digital check-in in a single tool. Guests always fill in their data through the same form, regardless of the region. That cuts friction and keeps the data consistent.
- Split the submission by property: those in SES.HOSPEDAJES territory go automatically; those in Catalonia or the Basque Country are exported or entered into the relevant regional system.
- Document the process for your team: who reports to which system and with which credentials.
It’s an intermediate pattern, but it minimises administrative duplication while the technical ecosystem catches up.
Next steps
- If your business is in SES.HOSPEDAJES territory and you want to automate compliance, we explain how to automate guest registration end to end.
- For the full regulatory context, read what RD 933/2021 requires.
- For penalty amounts (which apply equally across all three jurisdictions), see the penalties for non-compliance.
This article is informational and does not replace legal advice. Procedures for the Mossos d’Esquadra and the Ertzaintza can change. Always cross-check with the official portals of the Department of Interior of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Department of Security of the Basque Government.
