Government cracking down on Airbnb in SA

There should be a reasonable threshold before any tourism regulatory framework is applied. The third party insurance cover is sensible and Airbnb should police or facilitate this.
 
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lexity said:
Government-approved BA-funded 'competitor' to Airbnb loading....?
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Provinces and national government have had tourism agencies and marketing companies for all manner of tourism accommodation for decades. Simply looks like they're wanting to expand adhoc rentals such as airbnb to fall within the guesthouse sphere and under the auspices of the same regulations. If you're running airbnb as a fulltime business I don't see why it shouldn't. The question is where is the threshold between an adhoc mom and pop making a buck every couple months renting out their spare room/holiday home vs someone renting out 300 nights a year etc.
 
quovadis said:
Provinces and national government have had tourism agencies and marketing companies for all manner of tourism accommodation for decades. Simply looks like they're wanting to expand adhoc rentals such as airbnb to fall within the guesthouse sphere and under the auspices of the same regulations. If you're running airbnb as a fulltime business I don't see why it shouldn't. The question is where is the threshold between an adhoc mom and pop making a buck every couple months renting out their spare room/holiday home vs someone renting out 300 nights a year etc.
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The problem lies in cracking down on - or maintaining control over - a market in accomodation that is open to competition i.e. doesn't require State permission before it can serve its community.
 
lexity said:
The problem lies in cracking down on - or maintaining control over - a market in accomodation that is open to competition i.e. doesn't require State permission before it can serve its community.
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They can still compete as does everyone who are subject to regulations. The question remains at what stage regulation should apply. Do you think someone who has 20 properties each occupied for 100 days a year should be regulated differently to a bed and breakfast with 10 rooms and similar occupancy rate?
 
Somewhere on the golf course a big hotel group exec and a cadre given free stays and cocaine must have bumped into eachother...
 
quovadis said:
They can still compete as does everyone who are subject to regulations.
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No... they compete but only like the mafia compete i.e. nobody is allowed to lower the price. Those are the rules.

Cartels have a very weak defense against price-undercutting from new entrants. Spoiling the party. Hence the need for someone to raise the barrier to entry using an instrument of force i.e. the legal system.... and make it look like it is all about consumer-protection.

This is why State-regulation is always to the benefit of those producers who play by the rules and to the detriment of the consumer.

It's a scam. Nothing less than open competition will do. therwise it will sooner or later turn to ****.

quovadis said:
The question remains at what stage regulation should apply. Do you think someone who has 20 properties each occupied for 100 days a year should be regulated differently to a bed and breakfast with 10 rooms and similar occupancy rate?
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If you leave it to consumers to signal where the gaps in the market are... that is the fastest way to fill them.
 
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quovadis said:
They can still compete as does everyone who are subject to regulations. The question remains at what stage regulation should apply. Do you think someone who has 20 properties each occupied for 100 days a year should be regulated differently to a bed and breakfast with 10 rooms and similar occupancy rate?
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No regulations should apply to either. It is a luxury service with very low barrier to entry. If you don’t provide high quality service, you are out.

If someone wants to go balls deep in debt for 20 properties, they are free to take that risk. If they can sustain the business for 20 years and pay it off, then they surely deserve it to be in business no?
 
quovadis said:
They can still compete as does everyone who are subject to regulations. The question remains at what stage regulation should apply. Do you think someone who has 20 properties each occupied for 100 days a year should be regulated differently to a bed and breakfast with 10 rooms and similar occupancy rate?
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The problem is actual guest houses which operate under AB&B and not people looking to make extra income or offset some of their expenses. The number of properties you have shouldn't play a factor if each of them only has one or two extra rooms you're renting out and neither should the duration. It should be the primary nature of the business.

These proposed regulations are retarded as they will only raise costs to where it's unaffordable. There's already a ton of regulations you have to comply with if you have a property with people staying on it. The insurance I can agree with but the amount is unrealistic and it's also not feasible to have full time insurance if you're only renting out for a few nights a year.
 
The essence and original mission behind Airbnb was for a residential property owner to rent space in their home and supplement their income, but it has long since grown into an unregulated monster that is harming the regulated legal accommodation establishments worldwide. Short term letting in South Africa is governed by the Property Practitioners Act. The Act requires the letting party and any staff members engaged in the letting (rental) of residential property (other than their own home in which they reside) to be a qualified Property Practitioner regIstered with the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and be in possession of a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC), be registered with SARS for VAT and Income Tax and to be compliant with numerous regulations, including the Labour Relations Act, the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), and should annually issue their landlords with an ITb (3) income tax certifificate. A banking Trust Account must be in place, ito Sec 54 (1) or Sec 54(2) of the Income Tax Act and be subject to annual audit and submission to the PPRA. A Trust Account cannot be opened without a valid FFC. The unregulated manner in which Airbnb operates has severely damaged the compliant short-term rentals market in South Africa and is costing the Fiscus billions in loss of Income Tax, VAT, tourism levies, FIC compliance (money laundering) and is destroying the essential long term home rental market world wide, resulting in residential accommodation shortages for local populations, and impacting on property values. Airbnb has long since deviated far from its original mission and its high time that it and investors in Airbnb properties be subjected to regulatory compliance.
 
Many informal settlements and land is taken for free, multiple rooms built on it and then rented out to foreigners with free electrciry, in a taxi style manner. Government is not even bothering to come after these guys. We have vat. Tjats enough. Leave the market free and well prosper. Sa needs libertarianism. Government cant p4ovide you a glass of water and even taxes the air.
 
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lexity said:
No... they compete but only like the mafia compete i.e. nobody is allowed to lower the price. Those are the rules.
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Sure, all those retired couples who have invested in their own guest houses and bed and breakfasts are mafioso :ROFL:
lexity said:
If you leave it to consumers to signal where the gaps in the market are... that is the fastest way to fill them.
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Separate argument.
 
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propertypractitioner said:
The essence and original mission behind Airbnb was for a residential property owner to rent space in their home and supplement their income, but it has long since grown into an unregulated monster that is harming the regulated legal accommodation establishments worldwide. Short term letting in South Africa is governed by the Property Practitioners Act. The Act requires the letting party and any staff members engaged in the letting (rental) of residential property (other than their own home in which they reside) to be a qualified Property Practitioner regIstered with the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and be in possession of a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC), be registered with SARS for VAT and Income Tax and to be compliant with numerous regulations, including the Labour Relations Act, the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), and should annually issue their landlords with an ITb (3) income tax certifificate. A banking Trust Account must be in place, ito Sec 54 (1) or Sec 54(2) of the Income Tax Act and be subject to annual audit and submission to the PPRA. A Trust Account cannot be opened without a valid FFC. The unregulated manner in which Airbnb operates has severely damaged the compliant short-term rentals market in South Africa and is costing the Fiscus billions in loss of Income Tax, VAT, tourism levies, FIC compliance (money laundering) and is destroying the essential long term home rental market world wide, resulting in residential accommodation shortages for local populations, and impacting on property values. Airbnb has long since deviated far from its original mission and its high time that it and investors in Airbnb properties be subjected to regulatory compliance.
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So less Tax for the ANC to steal? I am all for Airbnb then.

So cheap accommodation is also going to be a thing of the past because you know it.
 
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