B.T.B.’s Hotel Amnesty Program for Unlicensed Tourist Accommodations

Denmar Villar

A new law has come into effect giving unlicensed tourist accommodation properties the opportunity to register with B.T.B. and have all their outstanding taxes cancelled. While tourist accommodations are obligated to pay taxes, under the Accommodation Tax (Remission of Arrears) Act, all those unregistered accommodations that have been operating for the past few years can now earn a clean slate by registering their business. B.T.B. recently launched the hotel amnesty program. Today, representatives from the Quality Management and Capacity Development Department at B.T.B. held a press conference to explain further.

Denmar Villar, Registrar of Hotels, B.T.B.

“We estimate it could be anywhere from five hundred to fifteen hundred properties that are not registered.  We do not have that kind of information as to how much they have made in revenue but it is in the high numbers.”

Abil Castaneda

Abil Castaneda, Director of Quality Management and Capacity Development, B.T.B.

“We did an assessment before COVID and what they have found was that at least twenty to thirty percent of what we currently have, that number which is somewhere between two hundred to three hundred properties in the industry, primarily those that are selling on platforms like Airbnb and B.R.B.O. , which is specifically what this amnesty is targeting. It is not targeting hotels and resorts and that type. It is really focused on four different categories of accommodations we have in the country. One of them is apartments, condominiums, villas, and also rentals. These are the typologies that for the most part, we know that are operating on Airbnb and B.R.B.O., but many have not come yet to formalize their registration and get their license with B.T.B.”