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Westminster Council calls for tighter restrictions on short-term rentals
Reading Time: 3 minutesUK: Westminster City Council has called for central London to tighten its restrictions on disruptive short-term rentals, ahead of an official government consultation.
£1bn fund for UK hospitality businesses unveiled
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £1 billion fund for hospitality and leisure firms affected by the Omicron variant. The announcement comes as rising cancellations are reported by hospitality businesses. According to the government website, many have lost between 40 and 60 per cent of their December trade. The new fund will enable hospitality businesses in […]
STAA calls for clarification over UK government lockdown grants
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: The Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA) has called on the government and local authorities to make sure that short-term rental businesses are explicitly included in the latest lockdown grant scheme for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses. STAA says that last year, many companies in the short-term rental sector had their grant applications refused, due […]
Plum Guide “secures UK government’s Future Fund backing”
Reading Time: 2 minutesWorldwide: “Vacation homes for the elite” service Plum Guide has secured taxpayer backing in the form of a convertible loan through the UK Government’s Future Fund which was set up to support ailing startups during the pandemic. The company is believed to have raised £13 million during the summer from its existing investors, including the […]
ABTA estimates over 90k travel jobs lost, calls for government support
Reading Time: < 1 minuteUK: According to a survey of its members, The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) estimates around 93,000 jobs have been lost or put at risk by the pandemic. In response, ABTA has written to the chancellor to attempt to restore consumer confidence and save jobs. 39,000 jobs from its various members are confirmed to […]
Scottish government to clamp down on short-term lets by next summer
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: Airbnb-style short-term lets are set for more regulation over the next 12 months, as the Scottish government prepares to implement a new licensing regime by next summer. Ahead of next year’s Scottish Parliament election in May, MSPs previously announced plans to introduce restrictions on short-term lets but these were put on hold due to […]
STAA submits five-point plan to advise government on industry recovery
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: The UK Short Term Accommodation Association has announced the submission of a five-point recovery plan as part of continuing discussions with the government. The plan has been submitted to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and hopes to get the industry back on its feet after the restrictions have ended. The five points […]
Government issues guidance on Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims
Reading Time: < 1 minuteUK: Almost one week after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the launch of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the government has published guidance for employers to claim the temporary scheme. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is open to all UK employers for at least three months, starting from 1 March 2020, and is expected to be […]
Government in the Bahamas urged to introduce vacation rental tax structure
Reading Time: 2 minutesBahamas: A Family Island resort operator has urged the Bahamian government to ‘get a handle’ on the vacation rental industry and bring in a tax structure to collect the “millions” it is currently forfeiting. Edwin Mulford, a long-time boutique resort operator on Cat Island, reiterated concerns that the government was missing out on significant tax […]
Short-stay accommodation operators in Tanzania told to register or face arrest
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTanzania: The Tanzanian government has told short-term rental accommodation operators to register their facilities in the next 50 days or face arrest, in a move affecting Airbnb users. Tourism is considered to be one of the greatest sources of hard currency income for the East African country, which was the fifth-biggest African market for Airbnb […]