South West hoteliers are seeking tougher regulations on holiday home operators in the Busselton and Augusta-Margaret River shires in the face of increasing private accommodation in residential areas & static occupancy rates at larger establishments.
South West hoteliers are seeking tougher regulations on holiday home operators in the Busselton and Augusta-Margaret River shires in the face of increasing private accommodation in residential areas and static occupancy rates at larger establishments.
Earlier this year, the Department of Planning and Infrastructure established the Holiday Homes Working Group to examining issues such as customer service, consumer protection and enforcement of minimum standards, and develop a regulatory framework to govern the use of residential dwellings for short-stay holiday accommodation.
The working group, which was due to report its finding on October 31, has had its reporting period extended to March 2007.
Broadwater Hotels and Resorts chief executive officer Scott Cogar, who entered a submission to the working group on behalf of the Australian Hotels Association and its constituents in the South West, said the holiday homes market now represented at least 50 per cent of the bed supply in Busselton shire.
He said holiday homes should face the same basic regulatory require-ments, including minimum standards and ratings, as other commer-cial accommodation in the region.
“If were going to develop the regional tourism product in WA, there have to be some basic rules and standards that must apply before you can enter the supply market,” Mr Cogar said.
“We’re not talking about protect-ionism, we’re talking about a level playing field and transparency.”
In his submission to the working group, Mr Cogar highlighted that occupancy rates of the formalised hotel market in the Shire of Busselton had been static for five years at an average of around 50 per cent, which he partly attributed to the rising popularity of holiday home accommodation.
“Not many operators, if any, can survive in a regional market in WA with the labour shortages, with the costs of getting produce out to regional areas, running at an average of 50 per cent occupancy,” he said.
Geographe Bay Tourism Association general manager Matt Walker said the tourism industry did not object to people renting out their properties as holiday homes, provided there was some level of quality assurance.
The association entered a submission to the working group, stating: “The tourism industry in the Geographe Bay and Margaret River Wine Region has a number of concerns regarding the recent increased use of residential dwellings as holiday accommodation.
“The GBTA is not ardently against the use of residential dwellings for short-term holiday accommodation, however GBTA members do feel strongly that these operators should be subject to the same requirements and regulations as any other commercial business in the tourism sector.”
Mr Walker said other coastal regions were experiencing similar issues in terms of a holiday home/residential mix, citing the Byron Bay local shire in New South Wales as one group that is closely watching developments in WA.
“There are a lot of eyes on WA and I think it’s a great opportunity for our state to make a few of the tough decisions and provide some direction for the industry,” he said.
Holiday Homes Association chairman Ian Wiese said calls for accreditation and standards in line with other commercial accommodation could be impractical for smaller owners.
“It certainly would be practical for the larger property managers, but there’s also the mum and dad investors who run holiday homes down here and have done very well,” he said.
Mr Wiese said the terms of reference for the working group were drawn up because of the grey legal area of the holiday homes sector.
