THE “SHARING ECONOMY”
AirBNB and its ilk have brought into the international
market millions of additional new rooms, at the grand
cost of Eur0 per room. Using the Starwood example
of having cost Marriott $13billion for its ownership
and franchise of 375,000 rooms, a well-marketed in-
ternational hotel room costs Eur31,000. Moving on
to issues relating to accommodation, I point out that,
perhaps due to this factor too, the perception is that
hotel rooms are not being filled as wholly as they were
within the recent past. Dr Gulia is thus asked whether
or not this is really an issue seeing that tourists will
still be coming to Malta and nonetheless partaking of
our product.
Dr Gulia firmly asserts that “more so than being con-
cerned about this surge in availability of private ac-
commodation, the hospitality industry is concerned
about private operators working without the necessary
licenses; a matter that is tantamount to unfair compe-
tition. And one has to always ensure that the expecta-
tions of people who want to visit Malta are being met.”
A couple of years ago the tour operator was in a very
strong position, however nowadays with the improve-
ments and developments in technology, dynamic
bookings have enabled tourists to fashion their own
holidays. They turn to the internet to book their flights
and seats on the plane, book their hotel and even
the restaurants they plan on going to while in Mal-
ta. They look for a holistic experience. This is why we
need to provide different streams of accommodation.
Dr Gulia explains that “to this end the Authority
needs to ensure that all operators are licensed and
conform to the regulations that are in place. This is
of course a challenge but experience has shown us
that people who operate underground eventually get
discovered as they need to go public to sell their ser-
vices. The Authority has the power to close and fine
operators if not licensed, however such operators are
provided with the correct guidance to be in accord-
ance to local regulations and are given the opportuni-
ty to regulate themselves. At the end of the day tour-
ism is growing, breaking records each year so these
providers are required to keep operating – legally!”
At the end of the
day tourism is
growing, breaking
records each year
so these providers
are required to
keep operating –
legally
20
Issue 05
HOSPITALITY MALTA