What Airbnb is proposing
In response to last year’s release of the draft green paper on the development and promotion of tourism in South Africa, Airbnb has asked local tourism authorities to introduce a regulatory framework that will establish a clear set of rules for the short-term rental industry.
Velma Corcoran, Airbnb’s regional lead for the Middle East and Africa, says a clear definition of short-term rentals needs to be established in accordance with international best practice to provide clarity on who and what constitutes a short-term rental platform, operator and host within the broader tourist sector.
Airbnb is also calling for a “clear and proportionate” national framework for the regulation of short-term rentals and the establishment of a simple online national registration system.
Corcoran adds: “New rules that distinguish between professional and nonprofessional activity will give authorities the insights they need to make data-informed decisions on the tourism industry, protect the everyday hosts who occasionally share their homes, and clamp down on property speculators who damage communities.”
Airbnb’s toolkit to help policymakers across the globe set up a government-administered registration system to support compliance of short-term rental rules includes the following best-practice recommendations:
Easy and accessible: A streamlined, online registration system that allows hosts to complete every step of the application process quickly and helps promote compliance. Compliance is greater when hosts are able to complete a single application process that incorporates all licence requirements into one. Reasonable data requirements: Consistent with data protection practices, hosts should be required to provide only the data necessary to process an application. For example, when registering their listing with a local government, they provide basic contact information to obtain a permit number. Together, the local government and Airbnb compare the registration numbers and listing URLs to promote compliance, thus limiting the amount of data needed to be shared.
Automatic renewal: To reduce their own administrative burdens, local governments should automatically renew short-term rental registrations unless a host decides to stop hosting short-term stays, or the short-term rental is the subject of multiple local code violations.
Reasonable fees: All hosts should pay a reasonable fee upon registration. Registration fees and the number of requirements should be proportional to the space and type of accommodation they share with guests. Reasonable onboarding: Governments can help boost compliance by offering hosts a reasonable timeline to get registered. Ample time between the enactment of new short-term rules and enforcement allows hosts to complete the registration process.