Airbnb operators say they are ready

WESTERN BUREAU:

Airbnb accommodation owners who operate through the Jamaica Home Sharing Association (JHSA) say that they will be ready to welcome tourists and other guests during the second phase of the reopening of the country’s tourism sector.

“As business and leisure guests prepare to return, the association has worked assiduously to support its members to fully comply with the Ministry of Tourism COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocol,” said Sherie-Ann Anderson, the president of the JHSA. “Hosts are implementing enhanced measures outlined in the protocol document for the peer to peer (a private individual who is renting out an entire house or apartment).”

“Hosts are implementing enhanced measures outlined in the protocol document for the peer to peer accommodation sector. Many hosts will be ready to welcome guests as early as the second phase of entry while protecting the health and safety of guests and communities alike,” added Anderson.

The first phase of the reopening of the local tourism sector commenced on Monday, June 15 after the sector was brought to a standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the closure of the country’s borders on March 24 as part of a national effort to contain local transmission of the coronavirus.

However, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said that business tourism and Airbnb players would not be allowed to participate until the third phase of the reopening of the sector.

COMMITTED

“We have been in discussions with the leadership of Airbnb. In fact, we were on a programme with the vice-chairman a few days ago, and that platform we are encouraging not to be part of this first phase because it’s difficult for us to track the visitors who will come [and] disperse all over Jamaica, given the way in which Airbnb is structured,” said Bartlett at the time.

However, according to Anderson, the JHSA is aligned with the Ministry of Tourism’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and is committed to playing its role in the process while working with stakeholders as the country reopens its borders on a phased basis.

“As the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jamaica Home Sharing Association is fully cognisant of its role in the whole of society response, bolstering our partnerships across sectors, and contributing to a stronger and more resilient tourism sector during and post- COVID-19,” said Anderson.

Anderson said many visitors, who embrace the diversity of Jamaica’s community tourism product, are ready to return to the island and are watching developments with great interest. She said some have already started to make bookings.

“We stand committed to hosts and our nation in sustaining a COVID-resilient environment for guests to stay and enjoy what our beautiful island of Jamaica has to offer; while positively contributing and rebuilding this very important sector for all stakeholders,” said Anderson, whose group has more than 4,000 members.

“In addition to our outstanding and world-leading hotels and resorts, we anticipate an increase in demand for smaller, personal, private, unique and authentic spaces, and the peer to peer community is ready to meet this demand,” added Anderson.