Airbnb: Regulation must enable, overregulation is bad

Regulation needs to be an enabler of the technology industry and not a hindrance. However, because technology often moves fast, it becomes difficult for regulators to keep up.

These were sentiments shared by Velma Corcoran, Airbnb Middle East Africa regional lead, in an interview with Connecting Africa on the sidelines of the Airbnb Africa Travel Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, this week.

During the Summit, the digital accommodation platform committed to supporting inclusive and sustainable tourism growth in Africa and pledged US$500,000 toward the sector.

That pledge followed an Economic Impact Report released last week that showed Airbnb contributed more than 23.5 billion South African rand ($1.23 billion at the time) to the South African economy in 2022.

"The challenge is often technology moves so much faster than government does, and by the time governments are thinking about regulation, things have already moved on," she said. "I think regulators need to become enablers and champions of growth, so if we want to grow tourism and support small businesses, it needs to figure out how it can create an enabling framework for that."

Airbnb Middle East Africa regional lead Velma Corcoran. (Source: Matshepo Sehloho)

She believes that regulation should not be about clamping down; it should be enabling as well as encouraging.

"However, it can also put rules that can help mitigate against unintended consequences. I think there should be regulation as it provides certainty as well as clarity. You can have regulation but also create an enabling environment because I believe overregulation is bad," she continued.

SA government plans to regulate Airbnb hosts

In 2019, the Department of Tourism passed the Tourism Amendment Bill which stated that short-term home rentals would be legislated under the Tourism Act. Furthermore, in 2023, the department released a new green paper for public comment that aims to further regulate small-time Airbnb hosts renting out rooms or garden cottages.

The Tourism Amendment Bill seeks to give Minister of Tourism Patricia De Lille more power to determine the thresholds of short-term home rentals listed on Airbnb and other home-sharing apps. Airbnb has, however, warned its hosts that the South African government's plan to regulate short-term rentals may have a negative impact on the digital accommodation platform. Airbnb has also encouraged its hosts to send their responses to the green paper before the closing date of October 31, 2023.

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*Top image source: Image by Freepik.

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa