Airbnb head of public policy for Southeast Asia, Mich Goh, in a letter published in Malaysiakini on Feb 15 under the heading “Airbnb committed to responsible home-sharing”, revealed that there are currently no registration forms for hosts to register their properties with their local municipal authority, and existing forms are only for hotels, which do not apply for Airbnb properties.
While she may have implied that our local authorities were caught flat-footed, it could also mean that our municipal councils wish to maintain a clear separation between commercial and private properties.
In other words, residential areas are reserved for residents for tranquil living and trade activities should be confined to business zones and subject to commercial tariff for utilities such as water and electricity.
Locals and foreigners may rent an apartment or house for a year or more by signing a tenancy agreement, or an owner or tenant may rent out a spare room on monthly basis. Airbnb is a great platform for those who wish to rent out one or more rooms on daily or weekly basis.
Any website or mobile app that is truly home-sharing deserves the full support from all quarters, especially when the rental income goes a long way to help the owner pay off the housing loan or monthly rental by the tenant.
Such home-sharing allows visitors to experience hospitality offered by the hosts and is experiential tourism at its finest. But if entire apartments or houses are rented out without a live-in owner or tenant, they are nothing more than unlicensed hotels.
Apart from not paying licences and taxes, these private dwellings are likely to fail safety requirements and are a security threat to the neighbours with guests moving in and out at all times of the day and night.
Until these issues are sorted out, it would be irresponsible for any website or mobile app to promote room rentals disguised as home sharing. In the taxi business, Uber started as a ride-sharing app when strangers shared the ride in the same licensed limousine.
When it switched to using private cars at much lower rates, there was no longer ride-sharing and the app was only meant for e-hailing with the vehicle used exclusively without sharing with others.
Uber was ruthless without a moral compass in trying to capture the global market by disregarding local authorities and welfare of taxi drivers. Its CEO had to be replaced in 2017 to prevent an implosion.
Likewise, Airbnb need not be adversarial as it could have both licensed hotels and private dwellings that comply with regulations listed in its offerings, just like e-hailing apps offer both licensed taxis and private cars.
This will happen when Airbnb collaborate with local hotel associations to promote our Malaysian tourism industry. Guests should be offered not only convenience and experience but also safety and security for both visitors and locals alike.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
