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.
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.
At least 10% of small B & B type hotels in Costa Rica are no longer active.
It has been estimated that in San Jose alone 10 hotels have closed their doors, however, it is not known how many of these types of establishments are operating in the country. "The information comes from knowledge held by private sector authorities, including the National Network of Small Hotels of Costa Rica (Renaph) and the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels (CCH), through which it can be inferred that they have been affected by the economic situation," reported Elfinancierocr.com.
During the first six months of the year 1.32 million visitors entered the country, while in the same period of 2012 it was 1.28 million.
The result is in line with the behavior of the international industry, as globally there was growth on average of about 4% between January and June, said Ruben Pacheco, president of the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels (CCH).
Eleven business chambers are insisting that the reforms to the Labor Code incite illegal strikes.
Nacion.com reports: "The amendments were approved unanimously by the Legal Affairs Committee of Congress, on August 1st, and have already been presented to the plenary."
"The chambers are opposed to the reforms regarding strikes, unions and syndicated workers, which are strengthened at the expense of standing committees (promoted by solidarism), something that encourages protests".
According to the Chamber of Costa Rican Hotels, homeowners and private condominiums represent unfair competition in accommodation services for tourists.
According to Flora Ayub, director of the Chamber, the cost of staying in a house or condominium is lower than in a hotel, because they do not have to pay for items such as income tax, insurance or patents.
Renting hotels and low interest loans to businessman with financial problems, have joined other traditional forms of money laundering.
The latest news from the U.S. State Department on the subject, shows that profits from trafficking in cocaine and other drugs, internet gambling, financial fraud, human trafficking, corruption and smuggling, are the sources of the assets that are "cleaned" in Costa Rica ".
The Chamber of Costa Rican Hotels disagrees with the Chamber of Tourism in the perception of the profitability of the industry, and has suggested their separation.
A survey last month by the National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) on the perception of the sector’s profitability, employment and demand for tourism services, showed a picture of optimism that surprised operators and industry observers, as complaints from Costa Rican tourism businesses have been constant since the crisis of 2008-2009.
The Chamber of Hotels & Restaurants is continuing its attempt to eliminate the mandatory gratuity on bills.
The tax, equivalent to 10% of the invoiced amount for food and accommodation services in restaurants and hotels and referred to as a tip, is income that should be distributed among employees. However, many operators do not pass the money on to their staff.
Projections for the months of November and December are 53% and 57% respectively.
For the same period in 2009 numbers were 44% and 52.6% in November and December.
"Before the financial crisis, the average occupancy in November 2008 was 60.6% in November and 51.5% in December. In 2007, according to statistics from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), November closed at a 67% average occupation and 58% in December," writes the article in Nacion.com.
Tourists are renting more and more houses for leisure purposes, competing strongly with the traditional hotel industry.
Vacation rental is defined as the renting of villas, houses, apartments or country estates for a few days or weeks, and is growing fast around the world. Central America is no exception to this phenomenon, which suits especially families or small groups.
In 2009, the arrival of international tourists dropped 9%, while domestic ones 15%. 2010 should be better.
The recovery will only be felt in the second half of the year, even though since November 2009 most statistics are showing a trend shift from negative to positive.
An article in Elfinancierocr.com analyzes the subject, with opinions from tourism entrepreneurs and institutions.
A smart combination of marketing, promotional packages, agreements with wholesalers, and good service has allowed some hotels to “be doing well.”
Generally, it is hotels with less than 40 rooms, which don’t depend on large flows of tourists, that are less seriously affected by the crisis in regards to securing a good clientele with occupancy levels above 80%.