NEWS TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS CONTINUED FROM THE BACK
with current regulations”. However, evidence from
Amsterdam, where Airbnb is subject to regulation, suggests
the problem is enforcement (‘Enforcing the rules’, this page). EC guidance on “how existing
EU law should be applied” to the home-share sector, published in June, disappointed those seeking tougher oversight. Hotrec, the European association for hotels and restaurants, dismissed it as “foggy” and “ignoring the liability of platforms”. The EC does suggest: “Member states should differentiate between individual citizens providing services on an occasional basis and providers acting in a professional capacity.” It also notes: “Consumers [should] enjoy a high level of protection from unfair commercial practices.” And it argues: “Collaborative economy platforms should fully cooperate with national authorities to record economic activity and aid tax collection.” Hotrec said: “We see some
positive steps, but many issues need clarification. Besides consumer protection, taxation and employment issues, the hospitality industry calls [for] the compliance of service providers with food and health and safety legislation.” It called on governments
“to set up the registration of activity” by ‘sharing’ platforms and said: “The solution lies in the enforcement of existing regulations at national level.” UK industry consultant
Andy Cooper pointed out: “The EC guidance will have little legal effect. There are no pan-European rules on accommodation safety, so there are no standards with which the sector could be forced to comply. Any laws which do exist are managed nationally. The EU cannot force individual member states to do anything.”
UNWTO New Business Models in Tourism Seminar: Demands grow
‘Enforcing the rules is key to ensure fair competition’
The enforcement of existing regulations on ‘sharing economy’ businesses is key to ensuring fairness between new platforms and traditional names in travel and hospitality.
But enforcement is the main
problem, according to Jos Vranken, managing director of Netherlands tourism marketing body the NBTC, which has witnessed the explosive growth of accommodation site Airbnb in Amsterdam. Vranken told a UN World
Tourism Organization (UNWTO) seminar on New Business Models in Tourism that Amsterdam had been among the first cities to regulate Airbnb and levy a 5% tax on its rentals. He said: “Amsterdam has 700,000 inhabitants yet we have world appeal and exponential growth in tourism, with increasing demand for accommodation, so Airbnb has taken off hugely.” The city authorities had
responded by imposing rules that Airbnb ‘hosts’ may rent out only primary homes, not secondary
Rifai: We need to establish some standards
Travel businesses and regulators ignore peer-to-peer platforms at their peril, according to UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai. He told the UNWTO seminar: “The business-as-usual scenario is gone, but we are still operating businesses in many traditional ways. We need to be up to date with technology. We need
70
travelweekly.co.uk 25 August 2016
FAVILLA: ’The way forward is to review and adjust the rules’
or holiday homes, and may do so for a maximum 60 days a year, otherwise they are classed as B&Bs. Vranken said: “[We have] the
60-night rule, a maximum four people per booking and the 5% tax. It is a city tax on tourists in hotels so it is also on Airbnb.” But he told the seminar: “The
real question is how to enforce this. About a quarter of all listings
to understand the power of platforms. They can’t be resisted.” But he added: “Without fairness
there is no sustainability. “We need to establish some
standards. We need a sense of responsibility on safety.” Rifai said it was a priority for
“governments to take charge [and] to rethink regulations on traditional providers”. Chema Gonzalez, chief strategy
and business development officer at accommodation platform
BeMate.com, agreed. He said: “If you open a hotel you need to comply with more than 400 rules.
If you open an apartment, you have to comply with none. “We are not saying apartments should have to comply with the same regulations as hotels. However, let’s be fair and have some regulations on the apartment sector.”
on Airbnb in Amsterdam are multiple listings by real estate firms. When they are told they can only market for 60 days they don’t care, because there is no enforcement. “Companies like Airbnb and the municipal authorities move at different speeds. Airbnb moves fast and governments don’t know how to proceed. “It requires enforcement, [but]
there is a real reluctance to enforce regulations. Municipal authorities don’t have the resources.” Vranken suggested: “It is a
potential killer of the model.” UNWTO deputy secretary
general Marcio Favilla suggested the ‘sharing economy’ term was misleading, saying: “The peer- to-peer economy is in most cases economic activity – it [involves] economic transactions at a profit.” Favilla said: “The way forward is
to review the rules, adjust them if needed and guarantee enforcement. “We have to see fair competition.
We have to maintain a level playing field on quality, on consumer protection and on labour issues.”
Taleb Rifai
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
