NEW REGISTRATION LAW - Ralf Rogler

April 30, 2025, by Ralf Rogler

New Registration Law – A Clear Understanding and Concrete Steps to Avoid Chaos and Secure Funding

On January 1, 2025 , the Federal Registration Act came into effect in its new form . The most important change: German citizens are no longer required to fill out and sign a registration form at lodging establishments. In other words, the registration requirement for German guests has been abolished by federal law.

As a rule, however, when guests check in at a lodging facility, local authorities use this information to calculate visitor fees such as the tourist tax, issue and bill guest cards—which often include a wide range of benefits, such as free public transportation—and generate statistical data on guests’ places of origin and length of stay. The rather unromantic term “registration system” is thus directly linked to up-to-date guest data and cash flows for tourist destinations.

Data collection has so far been linked to the registration process

The amendment to the registration law promised to reduce bureaucracy and significantly streamline hotel check-in processes. Is this a major breakthrough—or even a revolution? The fact is that, due to the requirements tourism destinations place on the registration system, the issue has caused quite a stir in the industry and sparked extensive debate about its usefulness and feasibility.

How should guest contributions be recorded in the future?

Due to the ongoing travel boom within the country, new destinations are emerging, and in tourist towns, with municipal budgets stretched thin , the question of how to finance the necessary infrastructure is arising . It’s no wonder, then, that there is a growing demand for a visitor fee and a pragmatic collection system linked to the registration process.

Will the amendment accelerate digitization processes?

That’s reason enough to take a look at how things work in practice at tourist destinations and in the hotel industry, to examine the impacts at various levels, and to venture a glimpse into the future.

This also raises the question: To what extent can digital systems meet these new requirements—or even use this legislative change to drive digitization processes forward? Guest data and money… now that’s exciting!

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