Taiwan’s Ministry of Communications Announces Severe Penalties for Unlicensed B&B Operators | Hotel and Travel Coupon Media Airstair

From July 13, Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation (equivalent to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) revised the ordinance to lay down rules for tourism businesses such as private accommodation and include harsher penalties, such as higher fines7. Liberty Times reported March 14.

The revision of the regulations is in response to the rapid increase in demand for private accommodation in Taiwan, just as the number of private accommodation in Japan is rapidly increasing. According to the latest statistics from the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, there are 3,775 hotels, hotels and other accommodation facilities in Taiwan, with 164,754 guest rooms. Of these, 13,122 rooms were allegedly provided by some 570 unlicensed operators who housed travelers without the necessary permits, and many of the illegally provided rooms were private residences.

[Main content of the Penalty Standards of the Development Tourism Regulations]
・If you do not have a lodging business license, you cannot rent out a room for lodging, whether you own it or rent it out.
・You cannot advertise on the Internet without a license from the hotel business.

After the revised regulations, without a business license, individuals and businesses will not be able to provide information on accommodation facilities to private accommodation platforms such as Airbnb. Violation of this regulation will result in a fine of TWD 30,000 (approx. JPY 110,000), and repeat offenders will be fined up to TWD 300,000 (approximately JPY 1,100,000). In addition, if you operate a hotel without a tourist hotel license, the regular fine is NT$90,000 to NT$450,000 (approximately NT$330,000 to NT$1.65 million). (Approximately 360,000 to 1.84 million yuan).

The reason why the recent amendments to severely punish homestays in Taiwan is because the safety of accommodation facilities operated by illegal operators and the living environment of local residents have become problems. In private houses, there is no fire prevention system in the facility, and there are no emergency measures such as evacuation orders and routes in the event of a fire. In addition, it seems that there are many cases where local residents who do not recognize it as an accommodation facility are worried because an unspecified number of guests (guests) visit regardless of nationality. Substantial increases in fines could act as a deterrent.

In Japan, there are also more and more cases that have developed into disputes and lawsuits across the country due to unlicensed lodging facilities. Many guests are immigrants (foreigners who come to Japan), and due to lack of understanding of the Japanese way of life, they often have disputes with nearby residents over garbage disposal rules and noise issues. Starting a private accommodation business in a single room of an apartment without permission violated the management rules of the apartment, and a series of cases occurred in Tokyo, Osaka and other places, and lawsuits were triggered.

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