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.
Because the legislation currently does not allow the collaborative hosting economy platform to operate in the country's capital, the company expressed an interest in working with the authorities to remove the ban.
For now, the platform only offers the public accommodation in the interior of the country, the most popular destinations being Bocas del Toro, Río Hato, Boquete, Chiriquí and Playa Gorgona.
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.
Given the growing use of its vacation rental platform in Panama, Airbnb plans to offer other services such as ticket purchase, tours and paperwork management for tourists.
Airbnb executives reported that between 2017 and 2018, the number of visitors who demanded their services increased by 65%. This situation contrasts with the decrease in hotel occupancy registered in recent years in Panama.
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.
The company would be willing to charge the lodging tax in Panama if the restrictions on the rental of real estate for tourism purposes were eliminated, and if the data on property owners was protected.
These are the conditions that representatives of the property rental platform proposed to the Panamanian government to begin negotiating the possible collection of the 10% lodging tax, also paid by hotels, in order to formalize their operation in the country.
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.
The company has proposed to the government that a tax collection scheme be implemented for property owners that rent out rooms to tourists using its web platform.
Airbnb's idea is to establish a system similar to the one recently implemented in Puerto Rico, where the company signed an agreement with the government to collect taxes on rentals from homeowners.
The Tourism Authority in Panama estimates that the supply of residences in the country that are rented out to tourists now represents 20% of hotel occupancy.
Hotel occupancy remains at the same levels as a year ago, around 50%, according to data from the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic. According to hoteliers and the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) itself, it has not been possible to improve the figures due to an increasing supply of vacation rentals, an activity which has been banned since 2014 under Law 80.
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.
Already more than 1000 homes are available to rent through the web platform Airbnb, and most of them are centered around the Pacific coast.
The increasing supply of houses and apartments available for short stays is forcing hotels to change their methods of attracting guests in order to survive.In the case of Nicaragua, where the hotel supply is relatively nascent and not as developed as in other neighboring markets, the efforts that businesses in the tourism sector have to make to compete with Airbnb is even greater.
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