By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Hoteliers yesterday demanded that vacation rental owners be "held accountable" and pay their fair share in government taxes as several revealed how they "rescued" tourists from sub-standard properties.

Resort operators, speaking at the Cat Island Business Outlook conference, voiced mixed views on the competitive threat posed by the likes or Aribnb and VRBO and whether vacation rental owners should pay a flat across-the board fee or if Bahamians should be subject to a discounted tax. However, all agreed that Bahamian vacation rentals should be subject to tighter regulation and standards inspections.

Antoine Barbier, resort manager at Cat Island's Greenwood Beach Resort, said the property is "losing a lot of business" to the ever-expanding vacation rental market as he revealed how the resort once had to accommodate a guest at 10pm at night due to "shooting" at or near where they were staying.

"Another issue is some of them are not according to the standard," Mr Barbier argued, "so we have people come to the resort because things go wrong where they are staying. One time we had a guy coming at 10pm at night because they were shooting in the place.

"Nobody is checking these places. There is no regulation on it, so it's very tricky for us in this spot." Mr Barbier said that when he arrived on Cat Island some nine years ago there was just one vacation rental property in close proximity to the Greenwood Beach Resort. Since then, a further six have been constructed and another two are being built to leave the resort almost totally surrounded.

"A lot of people come and rent a house and then come into the resort. We try to promote a bit more. We are on Airbnb now, and hopefully we have the activities in the resort, but we are losing a lot of business because of the Airbnbs."

He added that Greenwood Beach's average occupancy dropped to 30 percent in 2023, compared to 35-40 percent the year before, but restaurant activity and demand for the property's adventure-based excursions remained the same, which he attributed to the vacation rental guest impact.

Similarly, a Fernandez Bay Village representative said they did not see vacation rentals as a competitive threat., adding: "We've rescued more people that have been in the Airbnbs so I just figure if you're going to come to a place you have never been to before, and as remote as Cat Island is, and you want to experience it at that level, the last thing you will want to do is rent a home and be by yourself.

"It will all work itself out, but I don't think those are a threat." Frank Wolfe, former owner of Shannas Cove Resort, agreed but also argued that the Government needed to collect its fair share of taxes from vacation rentals that are "right there on the street".

"What I don't want is the Government not making money from them. It's right there on the street," he argued, adding that vacation rental owners should each pay a $5,000 annual flat fee to the Government regardless of how much they were making or if the property was rented or not.

"Just make it very simple and easy," Mr Wolfe said. "Five thousand dollars, everybody has to pay. If you don't want to pay $5,000 because it's not worthwhile to do this, you cannot rent them out any more. It's that simple then. It's not fair to the hotel owner. We're paying VAT, we're paying taxes on all this stuff, and while the second home owners pay property taxes they are not paying any other fees.

"Just get the money, pick it up from the street. It's very simple. Just make it very simple. A $5,000 fee for everyone with an Airbnb. That's my opinion. I don't see it as a threat as such, but I might be the only one." Yvonne Rolle, owner of Rollezz Beach Villas, while agreeing that vacation rental properties should pay their fair share in taxes argued that Bahamians should pay less than foreign second homeowners.

Acknowledging that vacation rentals play a critical role in expanding tourism's wealth and economic impact, and drive Bahamian ownership in the economy's largest industry, she added: "The second home owners make a lot and sometimes way more so than the hotels, and nothing is being paid. That cannot be right....

"We find Bahamians typically don't go overboard with the Airbnbs, but I do take - and have nothing against our second home owners - but I find a lot of them are making, and don't use the word, but they are making a whole heap of money and nothing is benefiting the Cat Islanders.... The money that is being made, and knowing what we have to go through and what we have to pay and the hurdles that we have to go through..."

Ms Rolle said she has been told by the authorities to install four fire alarms around her property - something that vacation rentals do not face or have to comply with. "I say put the regulations in place," she added. "I believe that the local Cat Islanders should pay a lower fee. These people are getting involved, but I sure don't think it should be the same fee as the second home owners should get.'

Sherrie Cleare, general manager of the Orange Creek Inn, said she saw both sides of the vacation rental argument as her grocery store and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplier benefit from the presence of such guests. "They need to be held accountable," she added of vacation rental owners, pointing to the multiple taxes she has to pay as a resort owner and standards that must be complied with."