Tourism ministry inspections of hotels this month found almost three-quarters of them to be overcrowded.
Forty hotels were inspected, and in over 70% of cases there was some level of room overcrowding. In some instances this was up to 50% or 66%. In most cases it was no more than 10%, but the tourism director general, Pilar Carbonell, described the findings as "very concerning".
There are defined standards of room size and their occupancy. In addition to affecting guest comfort, there are safety issues and ones to do with staff workloads. The number of employees is governed by the number of places a hotel has declared there to be.
Fines for over-occupancy range from 4,001 to 40,000 euros. The inspections are likely to result in total fines of over half a million euros. But there could be further punishment that goes beyond fines for the more serious infringements.
The hotels that were inspected were in the main resorts and were all three-star establishments (or three key) that have been the object of tourist complaints in the past because of overcrowding.
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Some of this is caused by Hotels offering cheap breaks to encourage the younger people in, It's an easy system to beat, So two people book the rooms all legitimate, then their mates book cheap flights only to the Island on any of the cheap airlines, once on the Island they meet up with their mates and doss in their hotel rooms free of charge. It has been going on for years and years. They are out on the streets all night and asleep all day keeping a low profile.
And the hoteliers have the cheek to cast doubt on the quality of private rentals! Atleast there are sufficient bedrooms/bathrooms/sunbeds for occupants in villas,mostly lovingly maintained by owners.The majority of renters have tried the hotel experience and will never go back to it. If the hotels are overcrowded and rental sector destroyed by fear ,where will they all sleep next summer? On the beach? Answers on a post card to Sr Barcelo!
So now you are cramming tourists in poky hotel rooms like Sardines,which shows the contempt and lack of respect that you have for tourists,all they are to you is a walking cash machine well,you won't be doing that for much longer because more and more of us are going elsewhere to countries that make us welcome and offer better value for hard-earned money.