HOTEL and motel operators in Ballarat have joined forces to form a united front against unregulated accomodation providers like Airbnb.
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A group of operators met at the Mercure Hotel last night to discuss ways in which they will lobby the City of Ballarat to create and enforce laws that bring a “level playing field” for all operators in the region.
Iain Gunn from the Mercure said this would be the start of a campaign to provide support for all accommodation providers across the region.
“We sent out about 60 invitations, we’ve had plenty of interest, not just from the big operators, but also from the mum and dad businesses who are finding it difficult to compete,” Mr Gunn said.
“It was an informal meeting, we didn’t want it to be just us putting our opinions through, we wanted to hear all the issues that people were facing.
“It’s useful and very important to be able to report to different forums about what people are seeing.”
The agenda included ideas on how best to combat online businesses that did not pay commercial rates and insurances, online booking agencies, public holiday penalty rates and how Ballarat deals with major events.
“The shared accommodation platform is certainly topical,” Mr Gunn said.
“There’s certainly a groundswell developing around the country. Our issues are exactly the same as the national issues.
“We firmly believe in a united approach. what’s good for all in the accommodation business has to be good for Ballarat.”
Statistics provided to The Courier from AirDNA, a data and analytics resource which tracks availability and bookings made on Airbnb shows there were 219 homes and 75 private rooms available in Ballarat as of February.
This has grown from just 26 homes and 13 private rooms in June 2016 when data was first tracked.
The statistics also revealed that there were 11.425 nights available to be booked in February on Airbnb in Ballarat of which 4976 were utilised.
The average price for an entire house was $122.81 compared to a hotel room of $77.03.
There’s certainly a groundswell developing around the country. Our issues are exactly the same as the national issues.
- Iain Gunn, Ballarat Mercure
City of Ballarat Infrastructure and Environment Director Terry Demeo said the council saw regulation of the accommodation industry as a state issue.
"The City of Ballarat does not regulate the share economy, in regard to Airbnb,” Mr Demeo said.
“There is no state or legislative framework for the city to administer."
