It was refreshing to note that St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) views Airbnb and other homestay vacation rental services as an opportunity to be embraced (see related story). After all, there had initially been much objection to this “sharing economy” phenomenon at a global level from more traditional visitor accommodations, due to what was termed unfair competition.
However, since governments worldwide began making certain arrangements to collect taxes on related income, opposition to the practice subsided. SHTA suggests having the companies involved levy the same five per cent room tax its members pay, because even private landlords willing to comply now face difficulties doing so.
The employers’ organisation says this requires regulatory and fiscal reform that should be included in the so-called “country package” of restructuring measures to be supervised by the proposed Caribbean Body for Reform and Development COHO, as condition for COVID-19 crisis related liquidity support from the Netherlands. Perhaps that’s a better idea than introducing a real estate tax for non-residents.
The public through Parliament was also provided with some long-awaited updated stayover tourism figures, including an average occupancy rate of just over 70 per cent for both hotels and timeshare resorts as of February. Considering that the Dutch side is back to 81 per cent of its pre-Hurricane Irma inventory at 3,217 rooms and the pandemic’s impact, this can be considered reasonable.
Regarding short-term home vacation rentals, SHTA said it allows for entrepreneurship and economic diversification while spreading the risk, so the country does not rely on only a few large properties. The saying “if you can’t beat them, join them” comes to mind.
