Government must extend grants, low-interest loans and other concessions to small and mid-sized tourism accommodation providers if it expects them to meet the same standards as the large hotels under the new Tourism Accommodation Bill.
That is the call from chief executive officer of the Small Business Association (SBA), Dr Lynette Holder, who warned that without such support the legislation could impose an unfair burden on smaller operators and leave them vulnerable to hefty penalties.
Holder said the SBA welcomed the principle of ensuring internationally accepted standards across the accommodation sector to protect Brand Barbados, but insisted that the playing field must be level.
“There’s nothing wrong with us having internationally acceptable standards for our tourism products. That is laudable. But if you are going to say to an Airbnb host that they have to meet the same standards as Sandy Lane, while giving Sandy Lane significant concessions, then clearly you must extend some concessions to the Airbnb too. That would be a fair system,” she declared.
Imbalance
According to Holder, large hotels enjoy access to Government-backed incentives to upgrade their properties, ranging from favourable loans to grants, while smaller operators are often left to finance improvements entirely on their own. She argued that this imbalance was unsustainable, particularly as the Bill places the same compliance demands on both groups.
“You’re asking them to subscribe to the same standard as the bigger players, but you’re not extending the concessions to them. That’s not fair, and Government cannot preside over an unfair market,” she added.
The Bill, recently introduced in Parliament, makes it mandatory for all properties offering tourist accommodation to be licensed. Operators will be required to meet specific standards before they can legally advertise or receive guests. It also sets out penalties for breaches, including fines of up to $250 000 for non-compliance.
While acknowledging that the figure represents a maximum ceiling and would ultimately be subject to a judge’s discretion, Holder said such sums could cripple smaller properties if applied without adequate checks.
“For a small accommodation property, $250 000 is nothing to scoff at. Even a fraction of that could have devastating consequences. So my concern would be the capacity of the regulator to be able to conduct those audits, those checks, to ensure that persons
are meeting the standard and don’t then have to be penalised unfairly,” she said.
Holder drew attention to comments suggesting that the Ministry of Tourism’s compliance team may consist of only about a dozen officers. She questioned whether such a small unit could reasonably monitor the hundreds of operators in the sector.
“You’re talking about hundreds of players in the sector. How are 12 persons going to audit them in a consistent and transparent manner? The market must be regulated fairly,” she cautioned.
She added that this was not the first time Barbados legislation had attached large penalties without ensuring that the necessary administrative systems were in place.
‘Huge penalties’ “Oftentimes, the legislation includes these huge penalties when you’re not compliant, but then there’s no process, no structure, no system in place to ensure that Government can administer in a fair and transparent manner. What we don’t want to see is that individuals get notices of huge fees they have to pay, and they don’t have a clue how those fees were arrived at,” Holder added.
The SBA head said she had spoken with some property owners who expressed support for the intent of the Bill, but who also shared the view that concessions must be extended to them if they were being asked to operate at the level of major hotels.
“Any right-thinking Barbadian would support that. If you’re giving the big players grants and access to funding to maintain their properties, then you must extend those same opportunities to the mid-tier and small providers. Otherwise, it is simply not fair,” she emphasised.
Despite her concerns, Holder was clear that the small business community accepted the need for regulation and recognised the importance of maintaining Barbados’ reputation as a high-quality destination.
“All of us have to appreciate the need to protect Brand Barbados. That is a given. We want to make sure that when tourists engage us for accommodation or other services, we are offering a product that meets internationally accepted criteria and makes the consumer happy. Rightthinking Barbadians will support that view. But it has to be implemented in a way that is fair and achievable,” she said. (CLM)
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