Hit By Virus Hotels Call For Tighter Rules On Home Sharing Services

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Dozens of hotels including five-star establishments have announced retrenchments and pay cuts in recent days.PETALING JAYA: Hotels are calling for the tightening of regulations on Airbnb and similar home-sharing services, as several big players announced closures, mass lay-offs and pay cuts after taking a beating from the Covid-19 crisis
The Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) said the crisis has only strengthened the argument for such controls
“We do not know who comes in and out of a building with these home-sharing services,” MAH interim president Halim Merican said
“We have seen in recent weeks that some of these places have been used for parties during MCO (movement control order).”He told FMT he was nevertheless aware that the government was working on such regulations
MAH is hoping that the expected legislation would ensure a level playing field for hospitality providers
Halim said it expected hotels to take longer to recover from the Covid-19 crisis than the eight months they took after the SARS outbreak in 2003
Michael Quay, who heads MAH’s Melaka chapter, said a level playing field was especially needed by budget hotels and three-star establishments
“We pay for licences, permits and taxes,” he said. “Home-sharing establishments should be paying for these too
“We are subject to safety regulations and inspections and have to install smoke detectors and other safety features. They do not have to
“With Covid-19, we adopt new operating procedures, such as sanitising. These all mean extra costs.”Quay said hotels were not expecting revenues to return to the pre-Covid-19 levels after the MCO expires because of the rules they would have to adhere to
Social distancing rules, for instance, would reduce the number of restaurant patrons and disinfection would add to the cost of operation, he added. - FMT

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