For those renting villas, chalets, apartments, rooms, and the like through nontraditional means like Airbnb, Vrbo, HomeAway, Facebook, Instagram, and other similar media sites, business is about to get much more difficult. Legislation passed by the legislature in September regulating short-term rentals will soon be signed into law by the president of the country.
The country is promoting the new rules as a vehicle to protect tourists against scams, frauds, rip-offs, and discrimination. Really, it’s just another new tax law with some icing on top to appease the large-scale hospitality industry. [Read more…]