10-05-2025
Action on illegal lodgings hailed: Budget hotels also want fee move reviewed
Published on: Saturday, May 10, 2025
Published on: Sat, May 10, 2025 Text Size: 'While tourist numbers are up, hotel receipts are down. This might be due to tourists staying at unregulated STRA units, which don't contribute to the economy through licensing or taxes,' Ong (3rd from right) said. Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah chapter of the Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association (MyBHA) commended City Hall for its recent crackdown on 207 illegal STRA (Short Term Rental Accommodation) operators and urged for a statewide expansion of enforcement. 'We hope the government sustains this momentum and take a page from Penang's proactive STRA regulation efforts,' said its Chairman, James Ong Kim Loke. There is concern that unregulated STRA platforms may be contributing to lower hotel revenues, despite rising tourist arrivals. 'While tourist numbers are up, hotel receipts are down. This might be due to tourists staying at unregulated STRA units, which don't contribute to the economy through licensing or taxes,' Ong said. He also urged the State Government to intervene in City Hall's (DBKK) decision to revert to the original hotel licensing fee structure, calling it outdated and unsustainable. He said the licensing fees, calculated based on the number of occupied rooms per night, unfairly burden hotel operators and contradict the principle that such fees should be fixed operational expenses. 'This by-law is not cast in stone and can be overridden if the will is there. It is not right to charge guests indirectly through a fluctuating licensing fee. 'It penalises hotels for doing better,' said Ong. He added that MyBHA members had two meetings with DBKK last year, but the sessions were largely one-sided. 'We were just informed the old directive from 1989 allowing RM10 per room per year would be lifted by January 1, 2025. It gave the impression that it was non-negotiable.' Ong said some hotels have yet to pay the new 2025 licensing fees, pending the outcome of MyBHA's request for an urgent meeting with DBKK on the matter. He said Melaka and Penang imposed fixed business licence and signage fees while revenue from heritage tax is transparently managed and reinvested in tourism. He criticised DBKK's method of charging licensing fees as a revenue-based model, calling it an unpredictable and punitive fluctuating tax. A second-class 100-room hotel operating at 60 percent occupancy, he explained, would face a licensing fee of RM4,800 per month amounting to RM57,600 annually. 'This is just too much for small players like us. Why single us out? Are hotel operators the only ones occupying Kota Kinabalu City?' he said. He warned that unless changes are made, hotel operators may be forced to raise room rates, making them less competitive and giving more ground to illegal operators. MyBHA Sabah also hopes to seek an audience with Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, the state's Finance Minister and former Minister of Tourism. 'He should understand our predicament better. Our members are doing their best to run viable businesses. We just want fair governance and a conducive environment to survive in 2025.' * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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