THE Department of Tourism (DOT) is looking to regulate Airbnb facilities.
DOT officials made this commitment at the agency’s budget hearing at the Senate on Monday.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat told the BusinessMirror, “We need a national law [to regulate Airbnbs]. Senators [Richard] Gordon and [Nancy] Binay instructed us to draft a law regarding Airbnbs.”
Gordon is a former tourism secretary and currently vice chairman of the Senate Finance committee, while Binay chairs the Senate Tourism committee.
She added that the regulation of Airbnbs can also be accomplished via local ordinance. “This will enable us to get more accurate data regarding how many Airbnbs we actually have,” she noted, as their owners will need to get business permits and other licenses to operate their facilities from local government units.
Airbnb is basically an online marketplace where rooms, homes, condominium units owned by private individuals are rented out to tourists at usually less than hotel and resort rates. The San Francisco-based company has also added “travel experiences” in destinations through services offered by private individuals registered on the site.
A search through Airbnb for Philippines indicated about 5,000 rooms and homes available for short-term or long-term lease. It also has some 50 travel experiences on offer.
Pogo workers
Complaints from condominium dwellers who have noticed other units being rented out as Airbnbs have been rising. Said Benny Ramos (not his real name) in Filipino, “In our condominium, there are a lot of Airbnb tenants who are messy; they are mostly Chinese. This is a growing problem in our condo.”
Mainland Chinese working in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) usually come in on a tourist visa, though reforms in recent months led by the Department of Finance have compelled all concerned to follow Philippine immigration, labor and tax laws. An earlier estimate by this paper’s sources put Chinese Pogo workers at some 300,000. Several property consultants have said Pogo workers are driving the demand for condominium units and worker dormitories.
Visitor arrivals from China grew by some 36 percent to 1.04 million in the first seven months of the year, albeit slower than the 40-percent boost they gave in the same period last year.
According to STR’s Consumer Travel Insights of 2018, “Travel is increasingly about seeking new, unique and authentic experiences due the rise of the sharing economy.” This is why, said STR Business Development Manager for Asia Pacific Fenady Uriarte, there is a growing number of travelers, especially those between 16 and 34 years old, who prefer to stay in Airbnbs when they go on vacation. “Airbnb offers guests a more authentic experience than hotels can offer,” she noted.
Hotel Sales and Marketing Association Inc. President Christine Ibarreta said, so far, the hotel industry has yet to be widely affected by the growing number of Airbnbs in the country. She explained, “for four-star hotels and serviced apartments, we’re still doing very well in revenues and revenue per available room, which is important business-wise.”
She noted that guests who use Airbnbs are “mainly the millennials who are more adventurous and budget conscious. They normally go out with friends and colleagues and stay in AirBnbs.”
She added, these kinds of guests also have the option to book themselves in two- to three-star hotels, whose rates are a little bit higher [than Airbnbs], but have upgraded facilities and professional staff.”
The Department of Budget Management (DBM) has proposed a P3.48-billion budget for the DOT Office of the Secretary in 2020, almost 13 percent higher than the latter’s budget this year. Of the amount proposed for 2020, the largest chunk at almost P2 billion will be allocated to the office’s Market and Product Development Program.
There will also be available some P4.58 million for the Tourism Development Fund “sourced from the accreditation, identification card, sticker and code fees…” in accordance with Republic Act 9593, or the Tourism Act of 2009.
The DOT also has access to trust receipts from contributions of the Duty Free Philippines Corp. amounting to P134.12 million in accordance with strict disbursement rules.
The DBM proposed a budget of P78.76 million for the Intramuros Administration in 2020, up 23.3 percent from 2018’s budget; and P250.44 million for the National Parks Development Committee, up 6.2 percent from the latter’s budget for 2018.
The DOT aims to attract 9.2 million foreign visitor arrivals in 2020, up 12.2 percent from this year’s target of 8.2 million. It is also aiming for P661 billion in inbound tourism receipts next year, 17.2 percent higher than this year’s target receipts.
Image credits: Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo