Do German authorities require guests' data?

[Tomasz81]

Hi, does anyone know if German (Berlin) authorities require Airbnb hosts to request personal data from guests (e.g. passport number)?

[Stephanie]

Hey @Rom5 ,

I'm going to tag some of our wonderful German hosts that might be able to shed some light on your question. @Till-and-Jutta0 @Gabi37 @Gregor12 

Thanks

[Till-and-Jutta0]

@Tomasz81 

1. Your listing has no license number. Please refer to https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/854/berlin?locale=en about the local housing policy.
2. The Finanzamt might ask for your guests’ data. Provide them on request.
3. I think, the Berlin City Tax authority needs some data.
4. The Bundesmeldegesetz requires, that you register all guests on the Meldeschein, see https://www.happy-hosting.de/meldepflicht-fakten/. Authorities might ask for them later.

You see, there are a lot of rules and regulations. You should be familiar with them before start hosting in Berlin. The Berlin Club https://www.facebook.com/groups/betterhostingberlin/ might help you further.

Happy Hosting!

[Till-and-Jutta0]

@Tomasz81 Any chance that this reply was helpful for you?

[Asja50]

This reply was very helpful to me. I am hosting for the first time since a decade, in Berlin. Could you kindly suggest the easiest way to collect guests data required by the law? The Airbnb guidelines suggest “buying reporting certificates online” but there is no link to an example of such certificates. 
thank you for your insight 🙏

Asja

[Emilie]

Hi @Asja50, 

Hosting for the first time in a decade is quite special, congratulations! I wanted to tag in @Till-and-Jutta0 for you so they get a notification of your questions and can hopefully come back with more insights. 

Additionally, if you need any further advice, since this is an old post from 2022, I would recommend that you start a new conversation here 👈. That way other hosts will be more likely to see it and able to help. 🙂

Best of luck, I can't wait to hear how it goes!

Thanks,

Emilie

[Asja50]

Thank you Emilie 🕉️

[Nailah5]

Yes, it's in the law:

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bmg/__29.html

[Emilie]

Thank you @Nailah5 for the useful link!

I'll mention @Asja50 here as well so they get a notification of your response in case they're interested to learn more about those regulations - I hope hosting has been going well for you this year so far, Asja ☺️

[Joost57]

This is for a stay for over 6 months.

[Till-and-Jutta0]

@Joost57 This German law regulates STR and LTR:

Foreigners under 3 months: hosts must register the guests locally (Besonderer Meldeschein für Beherbergungsstätten).

Foreigners over 3 months: hosts need to issue a certification (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) to the guests, with which they have to register themselves within 14 days at the city administration (Bürgerbüro).

High fines may apply if you don't follow the law.

More: https://www.happy-hosting.de/meldepflicht-fakten/