Caribbean hotels draw line in the sand over Airbnb taxes, Booking.com commissions

St John’s, Antigua:

Jamaica’s move to tighten regulations on Airbnb and other short-term rental operators is gaining wider Caribbean backing, with regional hoteliers now demanding equal taxation across the accommodation sector while also pushing back against new commission practices by Booking.com that they say could drain millions from the region.

Speaking at Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Antigua,  Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) President Sanovnik Destang said Caribbean governments must ensure that hotels and short-term rental operators compete under similar tax and regulatory rules.

“We are advocating that all sectors of the accommodation industry should be under the same tax rate,” Destang declared during a press conference. “If the tax rate on hotels in a destination is 10 per cent, it should be the same. Everyone should make a fair contribution.”

The comments come as Jamaica moves to strengthen oversight of the rapidly growing short-term rental market through legislative measures and increased emphasis on tax compliance.

Destang said the issue was heavily discussed among tourism ministers, hoteliers, and stakeholders during the Caribbean Travel Forum held Tuesday as part of Marketplace activities in St John’s, Antigua.

Airbnb and similar platforms have become major competitors to traditional hotels throughout the region, with many operators accused of functioning outside established tax and regulatory systems.

However, Destang stressed that the CHTA was not seeking to eliminate the sector.

“It is part of the tourism ecosystem, and it is not going anywhere,” he said.

Instead, the CHTA has developed what it describes as a balanced regional framework aimed at ensuring fairness, accountability, and sustainability within the accommodation industry.

The framework, developed after examining conditions in 14 Caribbean destinations, recommends mandatory registration and regulation of short-term rentals while recognising that smaller operators cannot reasonably be subjected to the same standards as large resorts.

“We cannot expect a short-term rental with one or two rooms to operate like a large resort. That would not be realistic,” Destang said.

At the same time, the regional tourism body is also fighting another battle, this time with online booking giant Booking.com.

Destang strongly criticised a policy that would allow commissions to be charged on government taxes collected by hotels, including VAT (Value Added Tax) and GCT.

“That US$10 is not Booking.com’s revenue. That is supposed to go to the government,” Destang argued, explaining that hotels could end up paying commissions on taxes they are legally required to remit to governments.

Under the arrangement, he said, if a hotel charges US$10 in tax and Booking.com applies a 20 per cent commission, the hotel would effectively pay an additional $2 to the platform while still being required to hand over the full tax amount to government.

“It’s basically going to come on the backs of hotels,” Destang said, warning that the policy could create “leakage in tens of millions of dollars very easily for the Caribbean.”.

He said even smaller hotels with limited dependence on Booking.com could lose tens of thousands of US dollars annually under the system.

Destang noted that some Caribbean countries, including Dominica, have already moved to make such practices illegal by preventing commissions from being charged on government taxes.

“We’ve drawn a line in the sand and said that we’re not going to accept it,” he declared.

The twin issues of Airbnb regulation and online booking commissions are expected to remain major points of debate across the Caribbean as governments and tourism stakeholders seek to modernise the region’s tourism industry while protecting revenues and ensuring fair competition.

 janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com