Tag: Airbnb
Airbnb and sectional title schemes – check-in or checkmate?
Airbnb is dominating the property conversation right now. Record tourism numbers, mounting pressure on housing supply in cities such as the City of Cape Town (COCT), and fresh regulatory movement from the city have pushed short-term letting beyond a side hustle. It is now serious business. However, alongside the opportunity, a growing and increasingly litigious tension is emerging in sectional title schemes.
Airbnb and sectional title – navigating short-term letting
With short-term letting, particularly Airbnbs, increasing in South Africa, owners and tenants are voicing concerns about properties in complexes, estates and apartment blocks. While freehold property owners can act freely, sectional title property owners are bound by different laws
What insurance do you need as an Airbnb host?
Airbnb launched in South Africa in 2015. Since then, the number of home hosts has grown to more than 35,000 with South Africans pocketing more than R3.8 billion over this time. The ripple effect of this booming Airbnb community has also proved significant, resulting in an economic impact of approximately R10 billion and supporting upwards of 22,000 jobs. So what’s the catch?
Navigating the sharing economy – first comes disruption, then comes regulation!
Although the benefits derived from a sharing economy are substantial, there are some clear legal challenges which might warrant the imposition of restrictions on how these platforms are allowed to operate.
Regulation of Airbnb is draconian
Government published the Tourism Amendment Bill on April 12. If this had happened on April 1, one could have believed that it was an April Fool’s Joke, so comical is the logic underlying the bill. The amendment, once adopted, will mean that all ‘short-term home rentals’ are legislated under the Tourism Act.
Regulating Airbnb encourages anti-competitive behaviour
The Tourism Business Council of SA (TBCSA) has called on government to regulate Airbnb in South Africa. TBCSA claims that Airbnb is threatening the viability of conventional lodging providers such as hotels and could lead to job losses.
The sharing economy – Labour Law unintended consequences
The sharing economy (i.e. the community based on-line market) continues to expand at a rapid pace throughout a broad range of industries with Uber and Taxify dominating the taxi/ private vehicle hiring industry and Airbnb now the largest hotel accommodation and hospitality service in the world.
Your brand in a digital world – more useful, more relevant?
Imagine you are going for a weekend away…you’ve Googled how to get there and what to do, you’ve Uber’d a car to the airport...
