The government has taken into cognizance the growth in the Airbnb business, the largest and biggest peer-to-peer exchange service for hospitality around the world. This has led to an argument why Airbnb listing must be cheaper than a hotel room.
Another school of thought believes that Airbnb listing should be regulated and also subjected to occupancy taxes just like the hotels.
One notable difference between the Airbnb listing and the hotel industry has got to do with regulations and taxes on short-term rentals.
Hotel operators are forced to collect an additional sales tax on every room. Further, on every amount charged on a room, an additional occupancy tax is charged alongside.
Over the years, Airbnb listing has always been exempted from occupancy tax laws and most times does not pay the local government sales tax.
Though, Airbnb listing charges value-added tax (VAT). This is the tax paid based on the profit made from sales of goods and services, and this is usually associated with accommodations within most European nations.
Consequently, the above reason might be one reason why Airbnb listing must be cheaper than a hotel room.
Let us look at the amenities at the disposal of Airbnb and the hotel. When you stay in the hotel, you want luxury. In addition to paying for the comfort and locations, you pay for the services, 24×7 check-in, housekeeping, and toiletries, etc
Expectations when you use a hotel include;
- A staff working to serve you
- A restaurant, coffee shop or a store on site
- Room service, minimal fridge with items you can buy.
- Occasionally, you get free breakfast, a coffee maker, etc
- Reliable room lock, a safe place
- Fitness room, a printing or a faxing room, and conference room.
Expectations when you use an Airbnb listing include;
- An apartment or a private room which gives you a first-hand experience of where you are visiting.
- You could get WIFI, cookies, fruits and bottled water in most cases.
- You could also have access to large space and other facilities as made available by the host.
Considering the amenities available to both Airbnb listing and hotel, Therefore, we can conclude that Airbnb listing must be cheaper than a hotel room, and in most cases, the intending guest finds the Airbnb offering a less expensive alternative to several hotels.
So, looking for an accommodation that does not fit the usual hotel bill, give the Airbnb listing a try.
Another factor that will make Airbnb listing cheaper than the hotel room is the fact that the missing labor and cost involved with the running of an Airbnb listing. Citing of hotels in major cities and premium locations is quite expensive, so, hotel owners factor that into their price.
Citing of a hotel is usually in a choice environment basically for sightseeing, hotels also ensured your comfort and entertainment are well catered for. Other things to enjoy ranges from theme park on-site, room servicing, provisions of toiletries and other things not mentioned.
All these certainly come at a price and this will surely have an impact when it comes to fixing their rates. For Airbnb listing, you have your home, a clean room, and a comfortable bed, a WIFI, cookies, and some value-added service that the host has thought necessary to include.
All these put together will make the rate of Airbnb listing nothing compared to that of the hotel in terms of price.
Airbnb listing must also be cheaper than a hotel room because of the advantage they have over the hotel in terms of strict regulations and government scrutiny in the hotel industry. Please note that Airbnb is not totally out of regulations.
Here are some of the things you need to watch out for;
- Know your city’s law. The regulations concerning short term rentals, do your property qualify to use for Airbnb. When you adhere to these laws, it will save a lot of fines. So, do your homework.
- Get a license before you start operations. When operating short-term rentals, there need to obtain an operating license. Failure to do this will bring about nasty fines. So, save yourself this stress and do the necessary things
- Pay your taxes. A lot of operators evade tax payment and this could bring about back-payment and fine when discovered by tax officers.
- If you don’t own a property, check whether subletting is permitted. Not every landlord will be happy about you giving out your apartment keys to strangers. It is advisable to seek written permission.
- Do not shy away from taking a robust insurance plan.
- Adequate health and safety plan. Though tough health and safety plan as it applies to the hotels might not be applied, basic health guidelines must be adhered to; provide first aid kit and fire extinguishers,
functioning smoke alarm and carbon dioxide detector, mark out a fire escape route, and certainly, be sure to have emergency numbers of hospitals
Why an #AirBnB listing MUST be #cheap-er than a #hotelroom ?
Click To Tweet
Conclusion
The choice we have for traveling and living are numerous. So, whatever your preference might be, you are sure to have your perfect place in other to have a pleasurable vacation
The post Why an Airbnb listing MUST be cheaper than a hotel room? appeared first on Short Term Rental Income Experiment.
Short Term Rental Income Experiment - Making the best of your home or vacation property