Home-Sharing On The Rise In Singapore Despite Government Restrictions

Although the likes of Airbnb are restricted from operating in Singapore, home-sharing has been slowly growing in the city-state as evidenced by the drop in hotel receipts and stagnant hotel rates, despite the pick up in tourist arrivals, reported Bloomberg.

There is also the rising number of complaints on short-term rentals. Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong in August revealed that they have received 415 complaints on short-term rentals during the first seven months of the year – making 2017 on track to reach 711 cases, up from 2016’s 608.

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Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore, said that the government could take “a bit of give-and-take” approach in regulating the industry.

According to her, the government could take “more of a laissez-faire approach. You consult, you do a little trial-and-error, rather than say no outright”.