Airbnb and Booking Are Removing Listings Without CWTON Number - How to Prepare?
Booking platforms are required to remove listings without a valid CWTON number. Here is what you need to do to keep your listing.
Airbnb and Booking Are Removing Listings Without a CWTON Number
If you rent out your apartment on Airbnb, Booking.com, or any other booking platform, this is critical information: starting May 20, 2026, platforms are legally required to remove listings that don't include a valid CWTON registration number. This isn't a threat or speculation. It's a legal obligation under EU law that platforms cannot ignore. In this article, I explain how this will work in practice and what you need to do to keep your listings from disappearing overnight.
Why Will Platforms Remove Listings?
Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the collection and sharing of data relating to short-term rental accommodation services imposes specific legal obligations on booking platforms. This isn't a "recommendation" or "best practice" - it's law, and non-compliance exposes platforms to serious financial and legal consequences across the entire European Union.
Platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com operate globally and are used to regulations. Similar systems already exist in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and many other countries. For platforms, implementing new requirements in Poland is a routine procedure. They won't look for excuses not to do it - they'll deploy the system and start enforcing.
What Are the Platform Obligations?
The EU regulation imposes five main obligations on booking platforms. Each one directly affects your listing.
1. Registration Number Requirement
When publishing a new listing or updating an existing one, the platform must require a CWTON registration number. This means a mandatory field for the number will appear in the listing creation form. Without filling in this field, you won't be able to publish your listing.
This applies to all platforms that facilitate short-term rental in Poland:
- Airbnb
- Booking.com
- Vrbo (formerly HomeAway)
- Noclegi.pl
- Nocowanie.pl
- TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals
- Google Vacation Rentals
- Any other platform offering short-term accommodation bookings in Poland
2. Registration Number Verification
Platforms can't simply take the entered number on faith. They are required to verify that the number provided is valid and corresponds to the given property. In practice, this means the platform:
- Checks the number in the CWTON database (automatically, via API)
- Verifies that the number matches the address listed in the ad
- Checks whether the number has been suspended or cancelled
- Performs verification periodically (not just at the time of initial publication)
Entering a made-up number won't work. The system will detect it, and the consequences will be worse than not providing a number at all - providing a false registration number carries a fine of up to 10,000 PLN.
3. Removing Listings Without a Valid Number
This is the heart of the matter. If the platform determines that your listing doesn't have a valid registration number, it is required to:
- Notify you about the need to add a number
- Set a deadline for completing the data (usually a few days to a couple of weeks)
- Remove or hide the listing if you don't add the number by the deadline
- Block the creation of new listings without a number
It's not clear whether platforms will immediately remove a listing or first "suspend" it (hide it from search results). But the effect is the same: guests won't find your listing and won't be able to make a reservation.
4. Sharing Data With Authorities
Platforms must share data with relevant authorities (municipalities, tax offices, inspectorates) upon request, including:
- Host identity (profile data from the platform)
- Property addresses
- Number of overnight stays sold in a given period
- Revenue generated from rentals
- Registration numbers listed in ads
This means regulatory bodies no longer need to painstakingly search for illegal rentals - they'll get data directly from platforms. The change is enormous and has far-reaching consequences, especially regarding taxes.
5. Activity Data Reporting
In addition to sharing data on request, platforms are required to regularly report aggregated data on short-term rental activity. This data will be used for:
- Monitoring the scale of STR in individual municipalities
- Housing policy planning
- Enforcing any overnight stay limits imposed by municipalities
- Tax analysis
Implementation Timeline
Here's the expected timeline for platform actions in Poland:
Early 2026 - Preparation
Platforms are adapting their systems. New fields appear in listing forms. Informational messages go out to hosts about upcoming changes. On Airbnb and Booking, you may see banners encouraging registration.
March-April 2026 - Warnings
Platforms send warnings to hosts who don't yet have a registration number. Emails, in-app notifications, banners in the listing management panel. This is the last moment for a stress-free CWTON registration.
May 20, 2026 - Enforcement
From this day, platforms formally require a registration number. New listings cannot be published without one. Existing listings receive an ultimatum - add the number within X days or the listing will be removed.
June-July 2026 - Listing Removal
Listings without a number start being removed or hidden. This is the hardest moment for those who ignored earlier warnings. And it coincides with the start of the summer season - the worst possible time to lose visibility on a platform.
How to Add a CWTON Number on Each Platform
Airbnb
Airbnb already has experience with registration numbers in many countries (France, Spain, Portugal, Japan, many US cities). The process is simple:
- Log in to your Airbnb account
- Go to the "Listings" tab
- Select the property you want to update
- Go to the "Property info" or "Local regulations" section
- Find the "Registration number" field
- Enter your CWTON number
- Save the changes
Airbnb will automatically verify the number with the CWTON database. If the number is correct, you'll see a green confirmation. If it's wrong, the listing won't be published.
Booking.com
Booking.com, as the largest booking platform in Europe, implements regulations very efficiently:
- Log in to the Booking.com panel (Extranet)
- Go to the "Property" tab
- Select "General info" or "Licenses and regulations"
- Find the section for the registration number
- Enter the CWTON number
- Confirm and save
Booking may require additional verification, such as uploading a scan of the registration confirmation. This is standard procedure on the platform.
Other Platforms
Smaller platforms (Noclegi.pl, Nocowanie.pl, Vrbo) will have similar fields in their management panels. It's worth checking each platform separately and adding your CWTON number on each one. If you don't update a platform, you risk having your listing removed on the very platform that generates your bookings.
What if You Have Multiple Properties?
Each property (apartment, flat, house) has its own CWTON registration number. This means you must:
- Register each property separately in CWTON
- Add the correct number to the correct listing on each platform
- Don't mix up numbers - the number from apartment A must go on apartment A's listing, not B's
If you manage ten or twenty properties, create a simple spreadsheet: property, address, CWTON number, platforms where it's been added. You'll save time and avoid mistakes.
Data Sharing With Authorities - What It Means in Practice
For many hosts, the most significant change isn't the registration number itself, but the fact that platforms will share revenue data with regulatory bodies. What does this mean specifically?
Tax Office
Until now, tax audits of short-term rentals were difficult. The tax office had to search for listings on its own, identify hosts, and estimate revenue. Starting May 2026, the tax office can simply request data from Airbnb or Booking and compare it with your tax return.
If you haven't been properly reporting your rental income, now is the last moment to get your tax affairs in order. The new regulations drastically increase the risk of detecting irregularities.
Municipality
The municipality will receive data on how many overnight stays were sold in individual properties within its area. This will allow it to:
- Enforce any overnight stay limits (if the municipality introduces them)
- Monitor the scale of rentals in specific neighborhoods
- Identify properties operating without registration
- Plan housing and tourism policy
Inspections
Regulatory bodies (trade inspection, fire department, sanitary inspection) will gain easier access to information about accommodation properties. Inspections may become more frequent and more targeted.
Experiences From Other Countries
It's worth looking at how the implementation of similar regulations went in other EU countries, because Poland can learn a lot from their experiences:
France - Pioneer of Regulation
France implemented a short-term rental registration system back in 2017. Airbnb has been cooperating with the French system for years. Results: thousands of illegal listings removed from platforms, multi-million euro fines for platforms that delayed implementation, and effective enforcement of the 120-day limit in Paris.
Barcelona - The Firm Hand
Barcelona requires a tourist license from hosts. Airbnb removed thousands of unlicensed listings after the system was implemented. The city conducts active inspections using platform data. Fines reach hundreds of thousands of euros.
Amsterdam - Close Cooperation
Amsterdam limited rentals to 30 nights per year. Airbnb automatically blocks bookings once the limit is exceeded. The system works based on data shared with the city by platforms. Hosts who tried to circumvent the system were identified and penalized.
The common takeaway from these experiences: platforms take regulations seriously and implement them effectively. Don't count on Airbnb or Booking "turning a blind eye" to a missing registration number in Poland. They won't.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I have bookings after May 20 but don't have a number yet?
Existing reservations probably won't be cancelled immediately. But the platform may block you from accepting new reservations until you add the number. It's best to register with CWTON as soon as possible and not take the risk.
What about listings on my own website?
You must include your CWTON number in all listings, not just on platforms. If you have your own website with a rental offer, add the registration number to the property description. The platform won't verify it, but a regulatory body can.
What if the platform removes my listing by mistake?
Contact the platform's customer support. If you have a valid CWTON number and it was entered correctly, the platform should restore your listing. Keep your CWTON registration confirmation handy for situations like this.
Can I bypass the system by renting without platforms?
The CWTON registration requirement applies to all short-term rentals, regardless of the distribution channel. Renting without platforms (e.g., through ads on OLX, Facebook, or directly) doesn't exempt you from the registration requirement. And in case of an inspection, lack of registration means the same fine - up to 50,000 PLN.
What to Do Now - Action Plan
Here are the specifics. A checklist, point by point:
- Register with CWTON - if you haven't done so yet, this is priority number one
- Note down the registration number for each property separately
- Log in to every platform where you have a listing (Airbnb, Booking, Noclegi.pl, etc.)
- Add the CWTON number to every listing on every platform
- Check that the number displays - open your listing as a guest and see if the number is visible
- Update your own website - if you have a website with a rental offer, add the number
- Get your tax documents in order - platforms will report your revenue to authorities
- Prepare documentation - house rules, evacuation plan, GDPR privacy policy
Each of these points takes 15-30 minutes. The whole thing will take you one afternoon. In return, you'll have peace of mind and certainty that your listings will remain active after May 20, 2026.
Summary
Airbnb, Booking.com, and other booking platforms will remove listings without a CWTON registration number. It's not a question of "if" but "when." The EU regulation leaves platforms no room for maneuver. The registration and verification system will operate automatically. The only way to protect your listings and revenue is to register with CWTON and add the number to every listing on every platform.
Registration is free. Adding the number to a platform takes a few minutes. The consequences of not having a number - lost listings, lost revenue, fines up to 50,000 PLN - are incomparably greater than the effort needed to register. The decision is simple.
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