The Iberian Director General of Airbnb, Arnaldo Muñoz, says the collaboration between his company and the Portuguese government in ensuring all owners are submitting correctly registered properties, "is something unique and allows Portugal’s tourism to grow."
The collaboration between Airbnb and Turismo de Portugal means that, as from December 1st, all new property listings automatically will be registered on the Turismo de Portugal Alojamento Local web portal.
"The data put in by new landlords will be shared with Turismo de Portugal, which can help to detect if people are breaking the law - we will facilitate this detection", said Muñoz who says those not complying will be removed from the Airbnb website.
This demonstrates that when "things are done correctly it makes sense to develop tools that help to comply with the rules," according to Muñoz, who says this cooperation is "almost unique and allows Portugal’s tourism to grow.”
Airbnb also collects the tourist tax in Lisbon, which has raked in over €3 million for the city council this year. Ever the diplomat, Muñoz said this tax is fair because it applies to everyone and the money is used to improve the city.
Answering recent criticism leveled at Airbnb and other rental platforms, Muñoz said that Airbnb allows people to stay in their homes because it guarantees extra income, in relation to housing there are more empty properties in Lisbon than there are in Airbnb spaces so, it is this restriction in supply that has pushed prices up, not the rental platforms.
The craze has taken off in Lisbon which now has the same percentage of Airbnb short-term rental properties registered as have Paris and San Francisco, at 25%, with the market in Portugal growing 28% in the last year to 60,000 listings.
It is not credible that these 60,000 listings are AL compliant. Muñoz said that new property listings are being cross-referenced as from December 1st , rather than existing properties for rent. These soon may be checked out to see if they have AL numbers - the technology exists and Turismo de Portugal has a duty to ensure that the laws are followed.
For property owners looking to go legitimate, contact the National Association of Local Lodging Establishments at www.nalle.pt and/or ask afpop for information.