PETALING JAYA: Airbnb operators are unable to register with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) because there are no forms or other avenues for them to do so, Airbnb Head of Public Policy for Southeast Asia, Mich Goh, said today.
She was responding to a directive by the ministry for Airbnb hosts and operators to register with it and to obtain business licences from the local authorities.
“Registration forms are now available only for hotels, which do not apply to Airbnb properties,” Goh said. “We will also continue to work with authorities on collecting and remitting broad-based tourist tax at national level.”
The ministry issued the directive on Feb 15, and the move was welcomed by the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH).
Its CEO, Yap Lip Seng, said the move is crucial to ensure industry harmony in driving tourism for Malaysia where stakeholders form part of the system, and promotional activities and initiatives are aligned to encourage quality tourist arrivals, spending and satisfaction.
He said MAH is working alongside other industry representatives with Motac and the Housing and Local Government Ministry in drawing up regulations for the home-sharing model based on many proven laws in various cities around the world, such as Paris, Barcelona, New York, San Francisco, Santa Monica and Japan with its Minpaku Law.
“Many of these laws were drawn up with intention to protect local residents as home-sharing business had in fact driven property prices up to the disadvantage of locals, displacing them from main cities and indirectly raising cost of living, as well as causing disturbance and nuisance at residential areas,“ he said.
“We are expecting the same implementation here, as much as Airbnb had openly declared its willingness to cooperate with the government of Malaysia, we have yet to see actual actions from it to comply with existing laws (such as Innkeepers Act 1952, Registration of Guests Act 1965, Tourism Industry Act 1992, Tourism Tax Act 2017) and various tax laws.”
“If Airbnb is sincere to be part of the tourism industry of Malaysia, it must demonstrate its compliance to the laws of Malaysia and ensure hosts & listings that does not comply with registration and licensing requirement are removed from its platform immediately.”
