Earlier this year, the core topic of debate in the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Tourism was the significant concern among authorities about quality control of the short-term let market. It was highlighted that short-term letting accommodation can be freely listed on sharing platforms or with Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), even if hosts haven’t carried out any safety assessments on the property or in some cases are not even meeting minimum regulatory standard, leaving guests safety at risk and allow profit from unsafe environments.
In a proactive new partnership, specifically designed to protect Cornwall’s tourists, Cornwall Council has formed a Primary Authority Partnership with industry self-regulators Quality in Tourism, assuring the company’s already established Safe, Clean and Legal TM framework. This enables accommodation providers to demonstrate they reach safe operating standards, giving consumers peace of mind.
The assessment of houses on sharing platforms such as Airbnb and One Fine Stay has been discussed at great lengths in the industry with suggestion that hotels and B&Bs have been competing on an ‘unlevel playing field’ for some time in terms of health and safety provision.
The disjointed compliance regulations in the tourism sector mean that these more traditional accommodation types are required to adhere to strict safety regulations, whilst the sharing economy currently has no regulated accreditation scheme in place or mandatory safety checks to comply with. Safe, Clean and Legal TM provides a solution that not only ensures the safety of consumers and protection of tourism professionals but is a scheme that can be applied across all accommodation types from Yurts through to large 5* hotels.
Marketing Cheltenham 