INVESTMENT
However, investors will need to take into consideration the effects
of COVID-19 and the new Tourism Amendment Bill, which was
published in 2019.
If the Tourism Amendment Bill is promulgated, ‘short-term home
rentals’ will be legislated under the Tourism Act. The Bill also
empowers the Minister of Tourism to determine the ‘thresholds’
regarding these rentals … but no-one is quite sure exactly what that
means.
Airbnb issued a statement saying: ‘In Airbnb’s opinion, the current
wording of the Bill can introduce fundamentally unfair approaches
which may disadvantage residents who are currently benefiting
from platforms like Airbnb and making a difference to their
neighbourhoods. An example of this is the definition of “short-term
home rentals”, which is very broad, with no clear explanation of
what constitutes a “temporary basis”, or to which specific short-term
home rentals it applies.’
Airbnb generated an estimated R8.7 billion in South Africa in
2017/18, with year-on-year growth of 65%. Yet, the buy-to-let sector
of the local property market currently accounts for just 10.6% of total
sales. Maybe, amid all the headlines and uncertainty, those are the
numbers that investors should really be looking at.
13 I N V E S T M E N T
One positive aspect of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is that business
and leisure travellers will rethink their strategies when the market
reopens. And, perhaps, Airbnbs will be a more attractive prospect
than hotels or established guesthouses with multiple guests and
overlapping turnover. Airbnb hosts are in a unique position to
customise sanitation and hygiene protocols.
Mark van Dijk