Whose name is
on the contractwith the guest?

Because it decides which law applies. Letting accommodation in your own name, as the operator, requires no professional authorisation: you are the counterparty, you carry the obligations, and the guest knows who is responsible. Managing or letting a property that belongs to someone else, for reward and as a regular business, is a regulated activity in Belgium under the law of 11 February 2013, reserved to those registered with the professional institute for estate agents, with protected titles attached. We are not registered, so we do not do it. When an owner wants their flat operated, they lease it to us and we become the operator.

Possibly not, and that is the first thing to check rather than the last. In a building in co-ownership, the deed of co-ownership and the co-ownership rules may restrict or prohibit short-term letting, and a decision of the general meeting can be enforced against you. Owners regularly list a flat first and read those documents afterwards, which is an expensive order to do it in. Send us the deed and the rules and we will tell you what they say, including when the answer is that this one cannot be done.

Three things, in this order. It must be notified to Toerisme Vlaanderen before it is offered anywhere. It must meet the basic requirements set by the 2016 tourist accommodation decree, fire safety among them. And it needs a fire safety certificate issued by the mayor of the municipality. Since 20 May 2026 the European short-term rental regulation also applies: each unit has a unique registration number which must appear in every listing, and the platforms are obliged to check it. A listing without one is a listing waiting to be taken down.

A fair question and the reason this answer exists. For a direct booking with us, the balance is payable on arrival rather than months in advance, which limits what you have at risk to a deposit rather than a holiday. If you book through a platform, that platform's payment protection and cancellation terms apply and they are generally stronger than anything a small operator can offer, so we will not talk you out of using one. We would rather answer this plainly than be asked it later.

No, and it is shown separately on purpose. The accommodation price is the total payable for the accommodation itself; the municipal tourist tax is a charge the municipality levies per person and per night, and it is stated as its own line so you can see what is ours and what is not. We would rather show two honest numbers than one number that quietly includes a tax and invites you to think the accommodation costs more than it does.

No. That arrangement — acting for an owner, letting their property, taking a commission — is exactly the regulated activity we are not registered for. What we can do is lease your flat and operate it ourselves: you receive rent, we deal with the guests, and the obligations of an operator sit with us, including notification, fire safety and the registration number. If you would rather have a commission-based manager, use someone registered with the professional institute, and check the register before you sign.