Accommodation juggernaut Airbnb has released the details of its submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into short-stay accommodation.
The booking platform’s submission calls for a clear and simple statewide regulatory framework, a sliding scale of regulation, fair new powers for strata and a mandatory code of conduct.
Airbnb ANZ head of public policy Brent Thomas said the inquiry was recognition the current rules for home sharing in WA were broken.
“Many of the rules were written last century before the internet existed and often vary wildly between councils,” he said.
“At a time when local tourism is struggling, these rules are acting as a handbrake on growth.
“We strongly believe with the one-size-fits-all approach to regulation, as suggested by the Australian Hotels Association, is unfair and heavy-handed. It would be grossly unfair to make someone sharing a two-bedroom home follow the same rules as a twenty-bedroom international hotel.”
Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive officer Bradley Woods previously told the Mail Airbnb had misrepresented the position of the association in order to distract from the fact they simply didn’t want to play by the same rules.
The Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association also submitted their policy statement on holiday homes to the parliamentary inquiry.
It stated changes to ‘level the playing field’, including equal regulatory standards, payment of rates equivalent to existing commercial properties, and thorough ‘policing’ of compliance, would create a fairer system and raise the hurdle for home owners considering offering their houses to paying guests.
What Airbnb’s submission calls for:
- Simple statewide rules - A clear and simple statewide regulatory framework, like there is in Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales, that protects the choice to home share responsibly.
- Sliding scale of regulation - A nuanced approach that differentiates between a person sharing their own home or primary residence, and someone sharing their holiday home or non-primary residence more regularly.
- Fair new powers for strata - empower strata communities with new powers to fairly manage behaviour of guests and home sharing, similar to Victoria and New South Wales.
- Mandatory code of conduct - A new mandatory industry-wide code of conduct that is fair, reasonable and representative.
Related content
