I live in Saint Lucia, a small island in the Caribbean--a beautiful country but a poor one. Home-sharing is really the only vibrant sector we have, and though only a small scale with less than 500 homes listed, it's doing really well. Unfortunately, the big hotels (foreign and local) see us as competition to their expensive rooms, and have now launched a crusade against us.
I've written a letter to Airbnb, but don't know where to send it or whom to speak with (I sent an email to taxefacts@airbnb.com, reach out through AirbnbAction's facebook page and AirbnbHelp's twitter account). I am also writing here in hopes someone here's our cries. I've reproduced the letter below for anyone who would like to read, and maybe support our struggle. Thank you.
"Dear Airbnb,
This letter is regarding a tax initiative currently being undertaken by multinational hotels and their lobbyist bedmates in my home country of Saint Lucia—a tropical island located in the eastern Caribbean.
Though an exquisitely beautiful Caribbean destination for visitors, everyday life for the average Saint Lucian is certainly no vacation.
Over the past 5 years, I’ve been forced to witness my family, my friends, and even my competitors resort to shuttering their storefronts and businesses; a painful trend that has become far too commonplace here.
It is true, tourism is big business here like in many other Caribbean islands—but it’s rare that any of that wealth trickles down to the other sectors of society. Island economies like mine survive on our looks, and due to our short-sighted governments, we’ve sold them to the highest bidders—often times these bidders are foreign real-estate developers who buy cheap & sell high, negotiating tax laws and concessions that make it nearly impossible for small business owners and locals like us to compete. I say nearly because you offer us hope!
Airbnb, whether you like it or not, you have found yourself on the planes of a David versus Goliath battle that’s taking place here in Saint Lucia, between the large hotels and the home-sharers who look to you as their slingshot.
Though there has been no official word on the potential tax on Airbnb and your home-sharers, the hotels and their lobbyists have been infiltrating your events, and are trying to woo you with their false promises about what they will use the tax money for.
Though I love hotels as much as the next person, this industry has exploited the systemic corruption in my country for far too long, benefitting from tax holidays and concessions that render them untouchable. To them, levying taxes against Airbnb home-sharers is simply another way to deepen their mote and fortify their defenses. In doing my research into the matter, I came across the following quote from your website www.AirbnbAction.com: “In some markets, Airbnb does not have the legal authority to collect and remit taxes because of outdated laws designed for large hotels with teams of lawyers and accountants, not regular people” Judging from this statement, it seems to me that you are aware of similar dynamics that exist in some countries, and how much more acute this issue can be in a poor Caribbean island like mine.
Airbnb, your platform truly is a source of relief for every single person who chooses to share their homes on your website. I would like to tell you my personal story:
My primary business is publishing and printing is my baby. We produce one of the only two remaining newspapers in this country. As you can imagine, publishing and newspapers have experienced their own industry disruptions through new technologies—very much like the travel and accommodation industry in which you operate. Compound those circumstances with the global recession, and factor in our extremely depressed small-island economy, and you quickly see a recipe for disaster. I’m faced daily with the thoughts of “what if I can’t make my loan payment this month?” and “Will I have to send another person home just so I can keep the doors of our business open?”
In the good ole’ days, I used to have engineers flying in-and-out from the U.S. to work on our printing presses and eventually I built a humble apartment to accommodate them—instead of putting them up in those fancy hotels each time. Eventually, due to many circumstances including the ones I listed above, my business changed and we were forced to downsize. For years that apartment stayed vacant, doing nothing more than collecting dust. In early 2016 I heard about a website called Airbnb.com and decided to give it a shot. 10 months later and I couldn’t be happier with my decision! In fact, next year I plan on turning another shuttered room of my former business into an apartment that I plan on hosting on your website.
Airbnb has given me renewed hope—that’s now threatened by a few greedy hoteliers. Never would I thought that at 58 years old I’d be starting a new business—but life is funny that way. My son helps me with the check-ins and cleans the apartment. Together, this mom and son team is ready to defend the single glimmer of hope in the abysmal economic realities of this little island."
