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Less than 11% of total Airbnbs in the PHL are DOT-accredited

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By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror

THE Department of Tourism (DOT) has started accrediting local properties offered on the Airbnb booking platform, a step that enables the national government to regulate the business and collect taxes from them.

“Yes, we’ve started accrediting Airbnbs,” said DOT Assistant Secretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination & Resource Generation Ma. Rica Bueno in a Viber message to the BusinessMirror. “But one will not see it as an Airbnb category, as it really depends on the configuration, services or amenities.”

She explained, “We all know that Airbnb is a marketing platform for lodging/accommodations. Mostly here they are accredited as under Mabuhay accommodations or Homestay.”

Bueno acknowledged “there was a sudden increase in accredited Mabuhay accommodations, and I believe these are mostly Airbnb types.” As of April 30, 2021, the DOT has accredited 4,201 Mabuhay accommodations and 172 Homestays. Even if all are Airbnbs, these are just 11 percent of the total Airbnb listings in the country.

In a recent online briefing, Airbnb global co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Nate Blecharczyk said there were “39,000 listings [in the Philippines]. That number has remained largely consistent throughout the pandemic.” Published reports indicated, in Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranked fifth in the number of listed properties after Thailand (99,000); Indonesia (61,000); Malaysia (53,000); and Vietnam (40,000).

The DOT accreditation of Airbnb properties was prompted by instructions from Philippine lawmakers who had cited reports that mainland Chinese have been working illegally in online gaming firms and leasing condominium units via the booking platform. (See, “On Senate prodding, DOT says will regulate Airbnbs,”  in the BusinessMirror, Oct. 1, 2019.)

The taxman cometh

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has long pursued the taxation of Airbnb properties to legitimize their operations, and thus increase revenues for the government.

He said in a Viber message, “Airbnbs engage in taxable transactions. [So the plan to tax them] is immediate. They are subject to all applicable local and national taxes.” A former hotelier, Dominguez has also maintained that Airbnb properties have been eating into the market share of local hotels.

In response, Blecharczyk said in an email, “Airbnb works closely with governments, including the Philippine Government, to promote tax laws that aligns with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) recommendations for taxing the digital economy. We also work with hosts, including in the Philippines, to aid their understanding of their tax obligations. Airbnb supports the work of the OECD to reform the global tax system and believes a fair, modern tax system is good for all stakeholders.”

During the online briefing, Blecharczyk said Airbnb has improved its website and app to give Filipinos more flexibility when planning their travel and to make it simple for anyone in the Philippines to become a Host. These improvements include three new search parameters such as Flexible Dates, Flexible Matching and Flexible Destinations.

This followed a YouGov survey which showed Filipinos have been turning to Airbnb “for affordable and family-friendly domestic travel, as well as hosting to support themselves and their local communities during the pandemic.”

The ‘affordable choice’

The survey also indicated, “Travel with immediate family is the number one reason for domestic travel among Filipinos, with family vacations being the primary reason to travel this year for 6 out of 10 Filipinos.”

Also, an internal survey from February 1, 2021 to March 3, 2021 for Homes Hosts who hosted a trip during 2020, or Homes Guests who took a trip during 2020, revealed some 62 percent of guests stayed in an Airbnb with their family in 2020, and “over 58 percent of guests also said an Airbnb stay was a more affordable choice.”

In the same survey, 57 percent of Airbnb Hosts said the income they’ve earned through hosting has helped them to stay in their homes, and over half said they want to find more ways to host with Airbnb. Over a third of Filipino Hosts said they share recommendations with guests on their favorite local restaurants and businesses within their community.

Airbnb has also launched seven Host Clubs across the country — in Cebu, Baguio, Metro Manila, Rizal, Western Visayas, Lapu-Lapu and Quezon. “Host Clubs are Host-led networks of Airbnb Hosts, guests, small business owners and local community leaders who are passionate about home sharing. These clubs will support Filipino Hosts as they connect, collaborate and support each other as well as their local communities during the pandemic, by sharing advice and best practices on hosting,” said Blecharczyk.

Read full article on BusinessMirror

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