Buying, selling or taking over a hotel or holiday rental: tourism registration, Google profile, Booking.com, Airbnb and reviews (2026)

Updated: 10 November 2026

When a hotel or holiday rental changes hands, the deed or transfer contract is only part of the job. You also have to notify the tourism registry, hand over the Google profile, sign a new Booking.com agreement and decide what to do with the Airbnb listing. This guide sums up what the official sources we read say (checked on 10 November 2026) and flags what we could not confirm. This is not legal advice: confirm every step with your adviser, notary or lawyer and with your local authority.

The short answer

The essentials:

Tourism registration: the change of owner must be notified. In Andalusia, Decree 143/2014 records it in the Tourism Register after an electronic notification.
Google: the profile and its reviews are kept if the current primary owner transfers primary ownership to the new one, so agree on it before signing.
Booking.com: the outgoing owner notifies Booking.com via the extranet and the new owner signs a new agreement with their own tax and bank details.
Airbnb: its help centre says there is no way to transfer an account to another host or move data between accounts.
Tripadvisor: we found no published official procedure; not confirmed.

Tourism registration, country by country

Each authority has its own procedure. What we could read:

Spain (Andalusia): art. 6.2.b of Decree 143/2014 lists «changes of ownership» among the data recorded in the Tourism Register after a notification, made electronically (art. 7.1). Art. 14.1 sets 15 days to notify changes to the registration conditions; we have not confirmed that this deadline covers a change of owner. Other regions have their own rules.
Portugal: the operator must keep the RNAL (local accommodation register) data up to date and update them within 10 days of any change, through the Balcão do Empreendedor (ePortugal). According to Turismo de Portugal, after Decree-Law 76/2024 changing the holder of the registration is again the rule, with possible limits in containment areas. The exact article of Decree-Law 128/2014 is not confirmed.
Italy: the subingresso (takeover) of the SCIA is usually filed with the municipality's SUAP, and the CIN is managed in the Ministry of Tourism's BDSR database. Its manual requires a delegation signed by the holder and leaves data loaded by the Region to the Region. Whether the CIN changes with the new holder: not confirmed.
Greece: for short-term rentals, the AMA is obtained by the owner (or usufructuary or sublessee) with their own TAXISnet credentials, and a manager who stops removes the property. How a hotel's MHTE holder is changed with the EOT: not confirmed.

Google: the profile and its reviews

Google's official Business Profile help says:

Only the primary owner can transfer primary ownership.
Steps: open the profile, settings, people and access, choose the user, Access, Edit, Primary owner, save. The buyer must first be added as a user.
Google says transferring primary ownership ensures all your business info, like reviews, is maintained.
The new owner or manager must wait 7 days before using all features (for example, removing other users).
Practical tip: write into the sale or transfer contract that the Google profile, website and domain will be handed over.

Booking.com, Airbnb and Tripadvisor

Each platform handles it differently:

Booking.com (staff reply in its Partner Community): the outgoing owner sends the takeover date and the new owner's name, email and phone through the extranet inbox; Booking.com contacts both; the new owner submits invoicing details, VAT number and IBAN, accepts the terms and, once the new contract is confirmed, gets a password link.
Booking.com: the property may go offline for a while and the new owner must connect their channel manager before going live. Whether reviews are kept: not confirmed in its official help.
Airbnb: its help centre says accounts cannot be merged, data or reservations cannot be moved between them, and an account cannot be transferred to another host. The buyer usually creates their own listing; that reviews do not move to the new listing is not stated explicitly in the help we read.
Tripadvisor: we found no official page on change of ownership, only user replies in its forum. Not confirmed.

Takeover checklist

Before and after signing:

Before: ask the seller for the tourism registration number, its status and who is primary owner of the Google profile.
Before: agree the takeover date and what happens to bookings already confirmed for later dates.
On the day: notice to Booking.com from the outgoing owner's extranet; add the buyer on Google and transfer primary ownership.
After: notify the tourism registry within the deadline of your region or country; new Airbnb listing; new tax and bank details on every channel.
Check that name, phone, email and registration number match everywhere: AI assistants and search engines read those sources.

How iQuota helps

If your hotel works with iQuota:

We keep your details, rates and terms in one place so AI assistants connected to iQuota can check them and book direct, with no commission and payment at the property.
During a change of owner, we update the holder, contacts and payout details with you, without losing the hotel's profile.
We do not guarantee bookings or that any particular assistant will show your hotel.

Want AI to give your real details and terms, with direct booking and no commission? The first 30 hotels join free until 30 June 2027.

See the Founding Hotels programme

Frequently asked questions

Do I lose my Google reviews when I sell the hotel?

According to Google's official help, if the current primary owner transfers ownership of the Business Profile, the business info, including reviews, is maintained.

Can I hand my Airbnb listing to the buyer?

Airbnb's help says there is no way to transfer an account to another host or move data between accounts. The buyer usually creates their own listing.

Does Booking.com require a new agreement?

Yes: according to its staff in the Partner Community, the new owner submits tax and bank details, accepts the terms and Booking.com confirms a new contract.

Which rule covers a change of owner in Andalusia's Tourism Register?

Decree 143/2014, which records changes of ownership after an electronic notification. Confirm the deadline and form with the Junta de Andalucía.

Does this guide replace a lawyer or adviser?

No. This is not legal advice: it sums up official sources and flags what is not confirmed.

Sources

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