What is pre-check-in for Spanish vacation rentals?
Pre-check-in is the capture of guest data — name, ID document, número de soporte, nationality, date of birth — before the guest arrives at the property, typically via an online form. It is the practical way to comply with RD 933/2021 (SES.Hospedajes) without making the guest scan papers at the door.
Pre-check-in is not a legal term in the BOE — there is no codified procedure called that. It is the operational routine that has imposed itself as a professional standard after Royal Decree 933/2021 came into force (operational for hospedaje since 2 October 2024). The RD requires every tourist accommodation to send SES.Hospedajes the full data of every guest, including the entire booking party, within 24 hours of check-in.
The data you must collect comes from Annex I of RD 933/2021 and for SES.Hospedajes includes at least: first and last name, sex, nationality, date of birth, home address, phone and email of the booking adult, document type and number, número de soporte of the DNI/NIE (not the issue date — this is a common mistake), kinship for minors, check-in/out dates, property address, payment data where applicable. With pre-check-in you capture all of that ahead of time so you do not fight the 24-hour deadline on the day of arrival.
Operationally, pre-check-in runs through a link or QR code you send the guest at booking confirmation (ideally 3-7 days before arrival), pointing to a form they complete from their phone. The form should upload a photo or scan of the ID document and validate fields up front (with OCR or manual review). What the guest still receives at the door is just the keys or lockbox code — the data is already in your system and, if you automate, already sent to SES.Hospedajes.
Pre-check-in does not replace SES.Hospedajes — it is not a substitute, it is the method to file in time. It remains your obligation to push the data via the XML/JSON API or through the MIR web portal within the time limit. And because you handle personal data and a copy of an ID document, GDPR and the LOPDGDD apply: a clear privacy notice, purpose limited to SES.Hospedajes compliance, retention of 3 years (the SES legal minimum), and deletion after that unless another legal basis applies.
Why it matters
Without pre-check-in you have two bad options: either capture the data at 10 PM with an exhausted guest standing at the door (near-certain breach of the 24-hour limit if more than one party arrives in a row), or ask the guest to WhatsApp a photo of their ID (an obvious GDPR problem). A good pre-check-in hits two birds with one stone: you comply with SES.Hospedajes without drama and the guest perceives professionalism — exactly what drives 5-star reviews on Airbnb and Booking.