Is Airbnb impacting the hotel industry?
Accommodation service appears to thrive as there is less red tape
JOHN could have rented out his high-rise residential unit in Cheras for RM1,500, but that would not cover his monthly instalment of RM2,500.
He turned to Airbnb, charging RM240 a night. The unit can accommodate eight, 12 would be a squeeze but he has done it. John operates his unit like a hotel; guests leave at noon and the next group “checks in” between 2pm and 4pm. He has hired a property agent to look after the unit. He needs to keep that schedule 15 days a month in order to get RM3,600.
“It is a lot of hard work. So having an agent to look after the unit helps,” says John who was managing the place himself the first couple of months.
He did not mind giving 20% of the RM240 he was charging to the agent. John pays for the cleaning services of between RM50 and RM80 after the departure of each group and a small percentage to the platform. John bears the cost of all repairs.
Another Airbnb host Ann took up the Airbnb challenge after her tenants left about four years ago. She is not as active as John and puts the unit up for short-term rent as and when she needs money. She and her sisters bought a Petaling Jaya apartment about a decade ago. Because it was difficult to get long-term tenants who would look after the place, they decided to let it out the Airbnb way. Unlike John, Ann does the cleaning and guest-screening herself.
She charges RM120 a night for a pax of two, and an additional RM20 for next guest. Her unit can accommodate up to four.
“It helps with the maintenance,” says Ann. Her older sister, Penny, who immigrated to Britain about 30 years ago, is also an Airbnb host in London. Penny is tech-savvy and in many ways, she has embraced the click economy, whether it be for business or pleasure. She convinced Ann to become a host.
Says Penny: “I could have gone to another home-sharing website but I am happy where I am. The system is well structured. The income/outgoings and tax dues are listed down clearly.”
As cities around the world put up regulations or tighten operating rules for Airbnb and similar platforms – Kota Kinabalu deems them illegal – Airbnb announced a 99% year-on-year growth in guest arrivals in Malaysia, in a recent statement.
Airbnb head of public policy for South-East Asia Michelle Goh says in an email that Malaysia welcomed more than two million guests over the past year, “making it the fastest growing market for Airbnb in South-East Asia”.
“There are now 44,000 listings in Malaysia on Airbnb, marking an almost 60% year-on-year increase,” Goh says.
As part of the company’s commitment to empower Malaysia’s tourism industry, the company