The Legal Impacts of COVID-19 in the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry

26 is possible to find a more diversified offer than that offered by the traditional operators 55 . So much so that, under the umbrella of the collaborative economy or collaborative tourism, it seems that anyone who is in a position to provide a service to the tourists they receive in their municipality can do so and, subsequently, offer it on the market through digital platforms, regardless of whether they are professionals or individuals 56 . In any case, if the relationship is between professionals and consumers, the consumer rules will be applied to the legal relationship that arises. If, on the other hand, the relationship established is between equals (C2C), the rules contained in the CC for the performance of the contract and the possible responsibilities in case of damage to the tourist will be applicable. VI. Final Notes By way of conclusion, and relating what has been said to the advances made in the introduction to this work, it is necessary to indicate the opportunity that the commitment to the collaborative economy represents today in order to contribute to the relaunching and consolidation of a large part of the tourism sector in the post-crisis era due to the COVID-19. Indeed, it has been shown how economic savings in the most critical expenses, such as transport and accommodation, have served in the past to distribute tourist spending in the destination, so that they benefit other sectors as relevant to tourism development as restaurants, leisure, car rental, among others 57 . 55 BULCHAND GIDUMAL, J. & MELIÁN GONZÁLEZ, S., Una guía para entender la economía colaborativa: de clientes-consumidores a individuos-proveedores , op. cit. , p. 42. Among these platforms that have been sharpening the ingenuity of the various offerers, while finding a niche demand among travelers include Campinmygarden, which allows accommodation in the garden of the host; Evergreen club, which can be rented Bed and Breakfast at affordable prices; Toursbylocal, a website through which you can hire a private local guide; TripUniq, a platform where a local plans the visitor’s trip according to their interests and guarantees an authentic experience far from the typical trip for guiris; in the same line Withlocals. Finally, Wonowo should be highlighted, which allows planning a trip using only resources from the collaborative economy: transport, accommodation and various activities. According to its website, it is a meta-search engine for the collaborative tourist, a different way of travelling that means considerable savings compared to a traditional trip. Thus, the traveller pointing to a destination will be able to receive offers that will be searched in multiple websites linked to the collaborative economy such as Windu, Rentalia, Homeaway, 9flats.com, Blablacar, Roomorama, Only-apartments or Driiveme. 56 Ibidem , p. 45. 57 See , among otherss ZERVAS, G., PROSERPIO, D., & BYERS, J., “The Rise of the Sharing Economy: Estimating the Impact of Airbnb on the Hotel Industry”, Journal of Marketing Research, October 2017, pp. 687-705; as well as EUGENIO-MARTIN J., & INCHAUSTI-SINTES, F., “Low-cost travel and tourism expenditures”, Annals of Tourism Research , no. 57, 2015, pp. 140-159.