Margaret River-Busselton Tourism Association defends registration of Airbnbs to protect region’s character

The region’s peak tourism body has sounded a note of caution on the State Government’s potential changes to how Airbnb-type holiday stays are handled in the future. Input from the Margaret River-Busselton Tourism Association’s Short Term Rental Accommodation Reference Group informed its submission to the legislation review which closed earlier this month, looking into the recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry into the sector. While MRBTA did not represent all short-stay operators across the region, its advocacy filled the void left by the disbanded Registered Accommodation Providers Margaret River Region lobby group. The MRBTA submission said regulation of the sector was crucial to protecting the visitor experience and the Margaret River brand. “Short-term rental accommodation supply in the Margaret River region has grown significantly over the past decade and is an important part of the region’s overall product and experience mix,” the submission said. “MRBTA views considered regulation of this sector imperative to ensure that visitors have a quality experience, that negative impacts on residents are minimised and that competition with other short-term accommodation providers is fair.” MRBTA backed a Statewide registration platform, which was recommended in the parliamentary review but did not want it to duplicate the role of local governments which were in the best position to enforce short-stay regulations. The MRBTA document echoed the concerns raised by Shire of Augusta-Margaret River planners who said a 60-day exemption for some approvals risked the Shire’s zoning of where short stays were permitted. “This measure will undermine the local government’s current regulation efforts, pose a potential safety risk to visitors, particularly where homes are in bushfire-prone areas, and increase the likelihood of negative impacts on surrounding residents,” MRBTA said. The Shire was not involved in the submission but filed its own last month outlining concerns which included the 60-day exemption no matter the proposed location, allowing granny flats to operate as hosted accommodation and a lack of rigour in bushfire protection requirements. Former RAPMRR member and Bushy Lakes Chalets owner Rob McDonald said the MRBTA submission represented hard work in the background to represent “traditional” accommodation providers affected by a risk in unregistered short stays. “RAPMRR warned of the negative impacts that were visible in other parts of Australia and internationally and which we are now seeing as a result of residential homes converting to short-stay tourist accommodation,” he told the Times. The conversion of family homes to short-stay accommodation was a further factor in the region’s housing crisis and Mr McDonald said mandatory registration would protect housing and people at risk in high fire-risk areas. He also believed the 60-day exemption policy would be too difficult to police. “MRBTA is the governing tourism body in our region and as an operator it is great to see them supporting our industry,” he said. MRBTA co-chief executive Sharna Kearney said the submission was “generally consistent” with Shire and City of Busselton position statements. The MRBTA also opposed a possible rezoning of caravan parks to special use because it limited future tourism development of those sites.