Fans of AirBnB should see this as a positive step, since the regulations that are being discussed are intended to improve safety for vacationers, and do so without harming locals.
For the most part, the regulations seek to limit home rentals to more popular tourist areas that have a ubiquitous security presence and are safer than other areas, so that tourists don’t inadvertently rent a home in areas that are less safe. That sounds good, right?
Equally as important is an issue that is rarely talked about in the vacation home-rental sphere, which is the effect on the local population….while many homeowners do rent rooms, or occasionally their entire home, in order to supplement their income, there are entire neighborhoods in Cancun that are rented to tourists. The owners of some of these properties have evicted the families that have lived there for years, in order to rent the properties through Airbnb.
Thus the proposed regulations also seek to limit the number of rooms offered in specific neighborhoods.
“The concept of community disappears; the phenomenon is called gentrification, which has generated conflicts in other big cities in other parts of the world. We want to avoid this type of conflict, establishing not only the parameters of action, but the number of days of operation. This is not an exclusive proposal of Quintana Roo, it works in other parts of the world.”
~Marisol Vanegas Pérez, State Secretary of Tourism, Quintana Roo
Lastly, there is also discussion concerning the collection of tourism taxes that traditional hoteliers must pay, giving AirBnB hosts an unfair advantage. Most of the hosts polled say they don’t mind the new licensing and tax proposals as they understand it’s a part of doing business. Note that this could potentially raise nightly rates on the AirBnB platform, making it wise to compare rates with more traditional hotels and all-inclusive resorts.
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More Reading:
https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2018/09/quintana-roo-seeks-to-regulate-airbnb/
https://www.riviera-maya-news.com/hotel-association-says-vacation-rentals-account-for-half-of-reservations-and-must-be-regulated/2018.html
