After an abrupt drop reported in March and April in consumer interactions associated with vacation properties, since the beginning of May in all markets of the region interest in this topic has rebounded.
Through a system that monitors changes in consumer interests and preferences in Central American countries in real time, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for the different products, sectors and markets that operate in the region.
The growing tendency to lease rather than buy, not only real estate and cars, but also services and products, is forcing traditional companies to reinvent themselves completely, not to be left out of the new digital and collaborative economy.
Although in Central America this trend is not yet as marked as in other regions of the world, companies that want to prevail in the future must pre-empt it and begin to redefine their long-term strategies, considering these changes that while leading the new generations, are not alien to other age segments of the population.
With the legal framework approved in Costa Rica, which regulates the provision of tourist rental services in housing through digital platforms, Airbnb executives anticipate a considerable drop in the number of hosts in the country.
On September 5, the Legislative Assembly reported that file 20865, the framework law for the regulation of non-traditional hosting and its intermediation through digital platforms, was approved for the second debate.
In Costa Rica, the bill to regulate the provision of tourist rental services in housing through digital platforms, which includes a 13% tax and would require suppliers to register, which would make this accommodation option more expensive.
The deputies approved in their first debate, file No. 20,865 Framework Law for the regulation of non-traditional hosting and its intermediation through digital platforms, reported the Assembly on August 28.
A 3% additional to the 13% VAT that was expected to be charged in Costa Rica as a tax on accommodation services provided through the Airbnb platform and other similar platforms was finally removed from the bill being discussed in the Legislative Assembly.
Bill 20.865 for the regulation of non-traditional hosting and its intermediation through digital platforms, which is discussed in the Legislative Assembly and determines the taxes to be charged for the activity, will be modified by the Economic Affairs Commission.
A month before the ballotage, Costa Rican tourism entrepreneurs are asking the two candidates for clear proposals on issues such as the impact of Airbnb, the tax burden and the image of the country at an international level.
Following the trend of the main business associations in the country, the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) has started to raise its concerns and ideas with the two presidential candidates regarding how to improve competitiveness of the sector.In the first meeting, with Fabricio Alvarado, candidate for the Restauración Nacional party, representatives of Canatur asked for urgent issues to be attended to, such as the case of the holiday rental platform Airbnb and the impact it is having on the operation of hotels and hostels.
As of July this year, 8 thousand people were registered on the web platform along with 14 thousand rooms available for rent in Costa Rica.
While Airbnb.com authorities continue their efforts to consolidate the business by offering to the Ministry of Finance to charge sales tax for transactions made in Costa Rica, the number of Costa Rican rooms and residences available on the website continues to increase, as well as than the number of users within the country.
Although Airbnb offered to collect the sales tax for transactions made in Costa Rica through its platform, the Treasury is evaluating asking the US for information on the hosts.
The Directorate General for Taxation will try to exhaust all routes first with the company Airbnb, but as a second alternative, it has announced that if it does not reach an agreement with Airbnb, it could request information on the hosts, making use of international agreements for exchange of information with other governments, such as as the US.
A bill being prepared by the hotel union would force platforms such as Airbnb to pay 13% sales tax and an additional 5% for national parks.
The bill is being drafted by the National Chamber of Tourism, which intends to submit it to the Legislative Assembly.If passed, this law would take effect for all platforms used for renting accommodation for tourism purposes, such as Airbnb, Homeaway and others.
The new law against tax fraud obliges anyone renting houses and flats for less than 30 days to register and pay sales and income taxes.
Services of renting houses, apartments and condominiums for periods less of than one month must pay sales and income taxes, and those who carry out such activities must register as taxpayers of the two taxes, in order to not be subject to fines.
The company's proposal states that in just two months it could start making tax
payments, putting to the test the responsiveness of bureaucracy against the speed of the real economy.
Airbnb, one of the leading global companies that is taking advantage of the momentum that the technological revolution has provided to the collaborative economy, has now created a housingsupply available for seasonal rental in Costa Rica which is equivalent to 18% of the supply of hotels.
In Costa Rica between 2010 and 2015, the proportion of tourists staying in rented homes instead of hotels increased from 4% to 11%.
Of the more than 9.6 million tourists who visited Costa Rica in the last five years, almost 700 thousand claimed to have stayed in rented homes using platforms such as Airbnb or Homeaway, instead of hotels.Figures compiled by Nacion.com indicate that the greatest trend was seen in the province of Guanacaste, specifically among tourists coming into the country through the Daniel Oduber airport.
In Costa Rica the total amount of accommodation available for rent through the web platform Airbnb is now equivalent to 18% of the hotels in the country.
The figure has been confirmed by the union of hoteliers, who say there is now a total of 11,000 homes offering accommodation for tourism through Airbnb.On top of this data there are also residences rented to tourists through other platforms such as Homeaway or VRBO.
Accepting that Uber, Airbnb and crowfunding are here to stay, the National Markets and Competition Commission of Spain is in favor of reducing requirements for traditional operators and not adding any new regulations for incoming competitors.
EDITORIAL
The incursion of digital platforms that connect users through collaborative schemes has invaded economies and made life easier for users, but has caused complications for governments whose laws are one step behind the progress being made in markets.
People with kidney failure can now travel normally, covered by a coalition of companies united by the concepts of a sharing economy.
EDITORIAL
The best demonstration of the advantages that exist today because of the unstoppable "sharing economy" is the association of global companies Uber and Airbnb with 0a Uruguayan startup, Connectus Medical, to help solve the problem of the travel needs of people who need regular hemodialysis treatment.