Cantabria opens the public consultation for the new decree on hotel establishments

The Official Gazette of Cantabria publishes this Thursday, October 22, 2026, the resolution by which the Preliminary Draft Decree regulating hotel establishments within the scope of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria is submitted for prior public consultation. The initiative is promoted by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport, through its General Secretariat, and will entail the repeal of Decree 81/2010, of November 25, which has been in force for more than fifteen years. The text is published in BOC number 203, with the official reference CVE-2026-8223.

Ten business days to submit allegations

The resolution, signed in Santander on October 13, 2026, by the General Secretary of Culture, Tourism and Sport, Alejandra Perales Zamorano, sets a deadline of ten business days starting from the day following its publication in the BOC to submit opinions on the future regulation.

Contributions must be submitted in writing and addressed to the Directorate General of Tourism and Hospitality, located at calle Albert Einstein, 4, first floor, Santander. They may also be registered in the registries and offices provided for in article 134.8 of the Cantabria Law 5/2018, of November 22, or through the participation portal enabled at https://participacion.cantabria.es/.

The consultation is limited to four specific points:

• The problems that the future regulation intends to solve.
• The necessity and opportunity of its approval.
• The objectives of the regulation.
• Possible alternative solutions, both regulatory and non-regulatory.

Infrastructure and service requirements

According to the file itself, the preliminary draft responds to the “changing reality” of the tourism sector and the need to review the minimum infrastructure requirements applicable to each modality and category. The Ministry emphasizes that the quality level consists of two factors—compliance with infrastructure requirements and the provision of services—and that both must be consistent, preventing an establishment from being classified based on only one of them.

The text provides for a distinction between the requirements applicable to new-build establishments and those undergoing renovations in existing constructions. In the latter case, the viability of the construction solution, the number of places to be offered, or the permissibility of urban planning will be weighed, with the aim of opening a market niche in historic centers and in nuclei with protected buildings or properties between party walls whose structural characteristics condition compliance with current requirements.

It is also proposed to eliminate requirements that the Department considers obsolete in light of technological advances, such as the obligation to have price lists stamped by the tourism administration, and to undertake an administrative simplification that limits the cases eligible for waivers, both in the preliminary project phase and in the registration following the inspection visit.

No new classification system

The Department clarifies that a new hotel classification system is not being implemented, but rather a revision and adaptation of existing requirements. The quality level of the criteria of the system adopted by the Hotel Stars Union, already followed by some European countries, is maintained in order to reduce divergences between the hotel regulations of the different autonomous communities.

The competency framework is based on article 24.20 of the Statute of Autonomy for Cantabria, approved by Organic Law 8/1981, of December 30, and Royal Decree 3079/1983, of October 26, on the transfer of functions and services in tourism matters. The primary regulation is Law 5/1999, of March 24, on the Regulation of Tourism in Cantabria, whose article 15 refers to a specific regulation for hotel establishments. Decree 81/2010 was already modified by Decree 64/2013, of November 7, to eliminate unjustified obstacles to the start of activity.

The procedure is based on article 51 of Law 5/2018, of November 22, on the Legal Regime of the Government, the Administration and the Institutional Public Sector of Cantabria, and on article 133 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure. In any case, the Department rules out non-regulatory alternatives.

Impact on the sector

The future regulation affects the entire Cantabrian tourism sector, particularly hotels, apartment-hotels, and guesthouses, which face a complete review of the conditions that determine their classification and activity. The period for submissions now opens the way for employers’ associations, city councils, and citizens to influence a text that will completely replace the framework in force since 2010.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 203, of October 22, 2026, Department of Culture, Tourism and Sport, pp. 54786-54788 (official reference: CVE-2026-8223).