Unregistered holiday apartments could number more than 3,000

The number of unregistered holiday apartments currently being rented out to foreign guests is likely up to three times higher than the number of registered apartments, Business Today has learned

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The number of unregistered holiday apartments currently being rented out to foreign guests is likely up to three times higher than the number of registered apartments, Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Tony Zahra told Business Today.

According to statistics published by the National Statistics Office last week, show that the number of tourists that visited Malta between January and May 2019 increased by 2.8% when compared to the same period last year.

During this period, the number of visitors staying in rented apartments increased by 13.9%, while hotel occupancy registered a decrease.

“The number is enormous,” Zahra told BusinessToday. “For every one that is registered there are two, if not three that are not.”

The MHRA, he said, had held a number of talks with government regarding the matter, with Zahra stressing that all that was necessary was for authorities to ensure proper enforcement.

“Enforcement is the issue. Statistics clearly show that while arrivals have increased by some 5%, hotel occupancy has decreased, so these people must have stayed somewhere,” Zahra said.

The share of tourists staying in collective accommodation – defined by the NSO as hotels, guesthouses, hostels, and other similar types of residences - has remained relatively constant, decreasing by roughly 4% between 2013 and 2018, with Zahra insisting that the issue was not simply about the hotel industry.

“The law is clear. For you to rent out an apartment you need a licence. Without a licence you can’t rent and to rent you must pay eco-tax, you must pay tax on the income and so on. These are all things you need to do,” Zahra insisted.

He said that ultimately, those who were not registered were akin to business owners who were being allowed to operate with an unfair advantage when compared to others who were registered.

The 2019 annual Hotel Performance Survey conducted by Deloitte found that hotel occupancy levels had registered a decline for the first time in a number of years.

Deloitte financial adviser Raphael Aloisio, who conducted the survey pointed out that the quality of holiday apartments available on Airbnb had increased to the point that the platform was challenging 4-star hotels more than any other sector.

Speaking at the launch of the results, Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi revealed that an agreement had been reached with booking.com - one of the largest platforms for booking holiday accommodation – where anyone offering this type of self-service accommodation would need to input an MTA license number to be allowed to sign up.

He said the MTA was also in discussions with the popular review site TripAdvisor in order to implement a similar system, insisting that this would help regularize the situation and ensure there is a level playing field.

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