Tourist apartments in Valencia will apply a mechanism to monitor noise as in Barcelona

From the moment a person uncorks a bottle, the device registers the noise and sends an alert to the tourist to tell him that “no parties here”.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
09 June 2022 Thursday 20:28
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Tourist apartments in Valencia will apply a mechanism to monitor noise as in Barcelona

From the moment a person uncorks a bottle, the device registers the noise and sends an alert to the tourist to tell him that “no parties here”. This is how Nacho Suárez, CEO of the company Room Monitor, summarizes the operation of his device, which through the Internet Of Things (IoT) controls the decibel level and alerts the user that "it is going too far".

A device that already works in Barcelona, ​​promoted by the Association of Tourist Apartments of Barcelona (APARTUR) and in the Spanish capital through Madrid Aloja, which brings together 4,000 homes for tourist use.

In Barcelona, ​​for example, APARTUR promoted its implementation in 2016 to reduce neighborhood nuisances and the degree of satisfaction is high. Now in Valencia, replicating is being studied by the Association of Regulated Tourist Housing of Valencia (VIUTUR).

The system will have a label associated with it, the "WeRespect" seal, with which it is intended to distinguish regulated tourist apartments that do control noise through this digital monitoring system and action and signage protocol, the same as in Barcelona, ​​but also in Madrid or Paris.

How does it work? When the Room Monitor firm's device detects a possible excess of noise, it gives an automatic alarm signal to the person in charge of the assigned tourist apartment, to the 24-hour service telephone number or to the client himself so that he can act quickly.

The company has also prepared the night concierge service, which would ensure the peace of mind of the neighbors and who, in practice, would be a professional who would circulate around the city on a motorcycle to go when called upon to appease the spirits due to the excessive noise in any of the associated apartments.

The Association of Regulated Tourist Homes of Valencia wants to try it after knowing the experience of Barcelona, ​​where it has been in operation for almost five years. When the company was consulted, it assures that in the first quarter of 2022 they have reduced by 95% the neighborhood complaints in the Barcelona apartments. 72.4% were fixed after the first alarm received by the tourist, and in only 1.03% of cases (in 61 incidents) did the Urban Guard have to intervene. The figures of the company in Barcelona are similar to those of Madrid, where 1,814 first alerts resolved the conflict due to noise.

The cost for full service is 50 euros per accommodation unit, without the night security service. The association is currently negotiating the cost of the pilot program and looking for ways of financing to start it up as soon as possible. They have not yet raised it with the Valencia City Council, with whom they acknowledge having constant "pulls and tugs". They did present it to Turisme Comunitat Valenciana, which encouraged them to continue working along these lines.

Miguel Ángel Sotillos, president of the Association of Tourist Apartments of the Valencian Community, says that this project aims to show that all the problems in the city are not caused by tourism: “We are accused of not being able to live in the same building that has apartments, but the city of Valencia has only 6,000 holiday apartment licenses, it is impossible that everything is our fault, "he says.

At the moment the project is designed as a pilot test in Valencia capital and later they will see its usefulness and possible application in other destinations. In the Valencian Community, according to the INE, there are a total of 115,147 tourist apartments, 25.4% of the national total. In the city of Valencia alone, Turisme Comunitat Valenciana has 5,393 homes classified as tourist accommodation units.