Owners of Malaysian Airbnb-apartments should have a license to operate, as well as relevant insurance cover, according to Sabah Hotel Association (SHA) president Christopher Chan.
Chan expressed concern over the boom in unlicensed accommodation providers, which he alleged were misleading tourists.
“We are aware of some tour operators who have purposely taken advantage of the enforcement issue by either buying or renting residential premises to house their tour groups in, thereby by-passing hotel accommodation and offering cheaper rates to the tourists as there is no service charge or Goods and Services Tax,” Chan told the Borneo Post.
According to Chan, hoteliers and Airbnb owners have an uneven playing field, due to different land costs and the massive amounts spent on building hotel rooms. He said a three-star hotel room costs around MYR300,000 (US$70,000) to build, with higher star-ratings costing much more.
While he admitted that a number of hotels need to have some work done to live up to customers’ expectations, Chan called for regulation of Airbnb services, such as licencing and insurance requirements, before they are allowed to operate. These units must also follow fire department and tourism ministry rules, he said.
The SHA consulted with the Malaysian Insurance and Takaful Association, which said that it cannot advise on the risk management coverage for Airbnb.
The move is also for the safety of Airbnb operators, said Chan, as unscrupulous guests could duplicate the unit’s keys and later return to commit burglary.
“From [an Airbnb] operator’s point of view, the risk factors … are high and the guests are not protected against any third party liabilities in the event of fire, theft, burglary, accidents and so on,” he added.
“Anything that happens in hotels is covered by insurance and protected by government by-laws. So the risk exposure of hotels is minimal.”
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