Regulation of Airbnbs still on the agenda, says Bartlett

WESTERN BUREAU:

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says regulation of peer-to-peer accommodation, such as Airbnbs, remains a priority, with over 30 per cent of last year’s 4.3 million visitors to the island opting for such stays.

Speaking at a JAPEX breakfast event on Tuesday at the Jewel Grand Hotel in Montego Bay, Bartlett clarified that Airbnb itself is a brand and a business model, but the Government is addressing the wider peer-to-peer accommodation sector, which he described as “the fastest-growing accommodation subsector within the tourism space”.

“Last year, over 30 per cent of the visitors who came to Jamaica had Airbnb-type experiences. We use Airbnb colloquially to define the peer-to-peer accommodation,” Bartlett said.

Bartlett further explained that the regulation push is rooted in destination assurance, the pledge that Jamaica offers visitors a safe, secure, and seamless experience.

“It behoves us then to have all of these areas of accommodation on our radar. We need to know where you’re going so that we can respond to whatever your concerns are,” he stressed. “At the end of the day, we have situations where we get media reports of incidents in very remote areas of Jamaica where we have no knowledge of, there’s no registered group to understand that. Yes, this is where you are. This is how things are going there. We have to make sure that we protect the integrity of the destination.”

SAFEGUARDING BRAND JAMAICA

Bartlett rejected the idea that regulation is meant to undermine peer-to-peer rentals. Instead, he framed it as a way of safeguarding Jamaica’s tourism brand.

“The plan to enable greater accountability in all areas of the accommodation subsector is critical, and it is not intended to destroy. It is intended to enhance and to build,” he said.

Bartlett also reminded the industry that Jamaica has long been a champion of the sharing economy.

“Just for the record, your minister here was the poster child for Airbnb at the beginning. I was chairman of the Executive Council of the UN Tourism when they came before us, and there was a heavy push back to peer-to-peer accommodation by the formal hotels,” he recalled.

“And as chairman, I stood up and said we are democratising the accommodation subsector, we are innovating, and, therefore, business models are going to emerge, and then they are going to fold, and they’re going to emerge again. Peer-to-peer is an innovation. The share economy, we call it, and, therefore, I persuaded them to accept, and that’s how Airbnb became a global phenomenon today. Jamaica was the first country in the Caribbean to have Airbnb presence, and they came here as a result of my initiative.”

He added: “I make that point only to give comfort to all of those who are involved in that element of the accommodation sector, that under no condition will any of our programmes, policies, or direction be geared at hurting but rather to enhance and, most importantly, to protect the integrity of destination Jamaica.”

Despite Bartlett’s assurances, tourism leaders have warned that the unchecked rise of short-term rentals threatens the survival of smaller traditional hotels.

Earlier this year, Christopher Jarrett, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, told The Gleaner that some small hotels in the capital have seen a 30 per cent drop in business as entire apartment buildings are converted into Airbnb-style rentals.

Nicola Madden-Greig, past president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, has also cautioned that what was once a “small man business” has become large-scale commercial operations.

Jarrett has argued that Jamaica cannot afford to delay regulation any longer.

“We’ve been calling for regulation for several years. Now it is urgent. We’re not against competition, but we want fair competition,” he said.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com