I would imagine (and hope) that one of
the imperatives of the newly formed Barbados Tourism Product Authority
(BTPA) in the new year will be to indentify and register all currently
unlicensed tourism accommodation offerings.
Frankly I have never understood how you
can ever successfully market any product, in this case the destination,
without knowing what ‘our’ room inventory consists of.
I will be quick to point out that I am in
no way advocating imposing any overtly deterrent restrictions on
persons wishing to mount the first rungs on a tourism ladder.
It should also not be a big stick
approach implying potential threats and intimidation. My initial
thoughts would be to build an online enrollment site, which could be
entirely self-funding through a small license fee. This surely should
not be a challenge as the BTPA has yet to launch a functioning website.
It’s all about protecting our quality, and making a level playing field
Any portal should allow for registering
critical quality assurance evidence like fire, health and swimming pool
certificates and public liability insurance together with the capability
of paying the annual fee online and revalidating participation each
year.
Accommodation providers initially would
be given a grace period to submit their documentation and if they did
not comply then clearly they would not be eligible for any marketing
support and/or concessions.
Like many other holiday destinations
approved properties would be given a unique identity number and allowed
to use approved signage guaranteeing some form of quality assurance
standards.
With the advent of websites like Airbnb
and Homeaway it has now become a minefield for the potential visitor who
presently has absolutely no idea if the thousands of lodging options
comply with minimum standards and this obviously does not enhance our
reputation.
If anyone is lured into thinking this
‘non-hotel’ element forms a miniscule part of our tourism sector, then
understand at the time of writing this column, Airbnb had a choice of
556 alternative Barbadian accommodation possibilities on offer and
Homeaway a mind boggling 1,277.
Many excellent examples of quality
assurance framework websites are already in operation on which to model
ours and I found the Failte Ireland one particularly impressive. Their
words, to me, seem to exactly define the intended purpose ‘working with
you, we will ensure that these standards meet consumer expectations,
help your marketing efforts and support product development’.
Barbados Government behind two years in paying VAT refunds!
I also believe that it would identify a
new source of revenue (especially VAT) that is not currently collected
and paid into Government coffers, possibly helping to level a playing
field where currently those complying with the rules are in many cases
severely disadvantaged. This might even allow the administration to
recover sufficient monies to repay small businesses like ours who have
not received agreed and due VAT refunds for up to nearly two years.
Government has to realise there is a
consequence to this policy. Hotels largely upgrade, maintain and enhance
their properties in the quieter summer months, when cash flow is
acutely stretched. If the owners feel that do not stand a realistic
chance of reclaiming the VAT element payable upfront will be repaid
on-time, then they simply won’t embark on those improvements. Plus with
our current reduced national credit rating, it is almost inhibitive to
borrow money at commercially available interest rates.
While many accept we have a largely
‘tired’ hotel plant it is almost entirely fallacious, especially when
the means to correct the problem is being at least partially withheld by
the people making that observation.
