Sharing economy here to stay

Chairman of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Stephen Austin is highlighting the need for Barbados to be properly prepared for the sharing economy and the changes it is bringing to tourism here, as well as around the world.

At the recently held BHTA’s 3rd Quarterly General Meeting at the Hilton Hotel, Austin addressing those in attendance on the theme ‘Are we prepared?”, made it clear that the sharing economy and its growing number of stakeholders are here to stay. With that in mind, Austin noted that recent figures showthat
more than 7,000 visitors used Airbnb during the Crop Over period. That figure, he maintained, is quite significant.

He made the comments while noting that the sector is fast expanding, and while it may not affect a number of the traditional hotels, there are instances of some players in that sector offering cheaper accommodation than traditional hotels.

“If you are not on board with the Airbnbs and the HomeAways of the world, you are a step behind… Airbnbs of the world are not going anywhere. The sharing economy is not an alien from outer space; it is not from Jupiter or Mars. The sharing economy is a platform that suppliers may use to market their product directly to visitors,” he said.

Austin added, “They pay a commission yes, but it is a different thing; they are offering experiences now. It is no more just let me offer you this hotel or this property and it has a fancy pool and such like. They are telling you, you can live in a chattel house for 20 bucks, drink coconut water, eat Bajan food and your budget could be a thousand dollars to stay a whole week”.

Hinting at the need to create standards for the various players in that aspect of the tourism sector, Austin said the BHTA welcomes the decision by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley to embrace the sharing economy by the introduction of the new 10 percent levy on that sector, which facilitates stakeholders being able to contribute to the Barbados economy. That 10 percent shared accommodation levy introduced in the mini budget earlier this year, he maintained, is a step in the right direction.

“I have worked with the Ministry of Tourism, the BTMI and BTPA on the Tourism Working Committee which established guidelines for registration as well as communication to all the tourism partner re the implementation or interpretation of the new room rate levy. The sharing of information has facilitated for over 500 new properties to be registered by the BTPA; that’s 500 new properties that have come out of the woodwork... We are fortunate that the taxing of the sharing economy has allowed for more people to come forward and say I want to contribute,” he added. (JRT)