Croatia is preparing new rules for apartments: the registration number enters the online sales of accommodation
Apartments or holiday homes without an appropriate registration number should no longer be able to enter online distribution in the future. This is one of the business-wise most interesting changes brought by the proposal for the new Hospitality Act.
The law has not yet been adopted. The Croatian Parliament adopted it in its first reading on July 3rd, while on October 6th the standstill period for the notification procedure to the European Commission ended. The next step is the Final Draft of the law, in which certain provisions can still be changed.
The registration number becomes part of the distribution
One of the main novelties relates to a unique system for registering short-term accommodation. A mandatory registration number is provided for rooms, apartments and holiday homes sold through digital platforms.
Croatia at the time adapts the national system to EU Regulation 2024/1028, The regulation, which applies from May 20, 2026, regulates the exchange of data between platforms and competent authorities. The goal is to more easily identify legal accommodation providers and limit advertising for unregistered properties.
For agencies and DMC's, this raises a very practical question: will the registration number become a mandatory field already when adding a accommodation partner to their own booking system?
Apartments will be re-categorized
The proposal also provides for periodic quality checks. Rooms, apartments, studio apartments, and holiday homes subject to categorization should undergo a re-categorization every ten years.
Rules for the operation of legal entities in residential premises are also changing. According to the proposal, the possibility of new solutions for rooms and apartments in such premises would be limited, while a transitional period would be provided for existing facilities.
Agencies will have to verify accommodation partners more closely
For the tourist agency, the change is not just administrative. If the proposed system is retained in the final text, the registration number becomes another element of control for suppliers, in addition to the solution, category, capacity, and other information about the facility.
This will be particularly relevant for incoming agencies that work with a large number of private apartments and holiday homes, as well as for travel-tech systems that connect such accommodation with platforms and sales channels.
In other words, part of the control over the legality of the accommodation inventory is gradually being transferred to the digital distribution itself.
