The draft guidelines could have a chilling effect on the local economy and affect VM2020 campaign goals

by NUR HAZIQAH A MALEK/ pic by TMR FILE

THE short-term accommodation (STA) regulatory framework proposal should be considered carefully as it could hurt local families or the tourism industry, Airbnb Inc warned.

Head of public policy (South-East Asia) Mich Goh (picture) said STA has become an economic lifeline for many families via hosting communities such as the Kuala Lumpur Home Sharing Club.

“Many hosts are struggling to repay their home loans or pay the bills, but have managed to tide themselves through by hosting.

“As more Malaysians are predicted to default on their mortgage in the second half of 2019, it is important that the government does not make it harder for locals to earn extra income and undermine its shared prosperity vision,” she said in a statement yesterday.

She added that Airbnb is concerned that the draft guidelines could have a chilling effect on the local economy and affect its Visit Malaysia 2020 (VM2020) campaign goals, including 92.8 million local visitors and RM76.9 billion in expenditure goals.

“If the government wants to ensure prosperity is shared by all Malaysians — not just those in big cities — it should introduce clear and sensible STA rules.

“Airbnb has long supported regulation, and we continue to advocate for a regulatory framework that balances the need to share prosperity and address Malaysia’s unique challenges,” she said.

Goh said the foundation of any new framework should be a simple, online and national-level registration system that streamlines processes and encourages the highest levels of compliance.

“With the right rules, STA and hotels may be able to not only coexist, but strive and give travellers greater choice of experiences and accommodation,” she said.

Goh added that a complicated framework, which makes it harder and more expensive for locals to become STA hosts, would restrict consumer choice, limit competition and stifle innovation in the accommodation sector. She also suggested that the government to look at other countries’ experiences.

“We’ve worked with hundreds of jurisdictions around the world to introduce rules that work and would encourage the Malaysia Productivity Corp (MPC) to look at the experience of countries such as Portugal, who successfully reformed its rules and reduced red tape for all parts of the industry with the intention to grow tourism.

“We look forward to continue working closely and collaboratively with the MPC to develop the best regulatory framework for Malaysia,” she said.

According to the recent EMIR Research’s inaugural National Worry Index, 86% of Malaysians were concerned about the basic needs’ costs and unaffordable homes, while 76% were worried about being in debt to sustain living costs.

STA as an industry itself provides an opportunity for thousands of locals and families to earn supplemental income, thus easing living costs.

Similarly, the Airbnb units available in Malaysia are benefitting from the current issues faced by the hotel industry, where the overbuilding of hotels are hurting operators and revenues.

According to data from STR Inc, Kuala Lumpur’s revenue per available room for January 2019 to May 2019 was down by 9.5%.