/ Airbnb forced to cancel thousands of bookings in Japan

  Airbnb had to cancel thousands of reservations in Japan due to a lack of compliance with a new law that will come into force mid-June aiming at regulating the sector. From 15 June onwards, hosts will have to register their accommodation with the authorities in order to continue renting them. This is a laborious procedure that many have not been able to carry out. "This weekend, we contacted hosts who had not yet acquired their registration number to let them know they will not be able to accept new bookings without it," explained Jake Wilczynski, Airbnb spokesperson for the Asia-Pacific region. "We have informed these hosts that we are turning off the possibility for them to rent their accommodations," he added. The Airbnb representative refused to give the number of users affected by this, but local media reports that about 80% of the 60,000+ registered housing are affected. Officially, Mr. Wilczynski is quite positive, saying that many hosts have already been able to take the necessary steps and that others are completing the process. "We are on a good track to register tens of thousands of new accommodations in Japan in the coming months," he says. The various home-sharing platforms have welcomed this law, seeing it as a welcome clarification in a sector that so far was developed in a legal gray area. However, the controversy over short-term rentals in Japan comes as the country works to attract 40 million foreign visitors in 2020, year when Tokyo will organise the Olympics, against nearly 29 million in 2017. Moreover, some hosts expressed concern over the requirements of the new legislation. "The registration process is a puzzle," says one of them. "I'm discouraged and I plan to give up," said a regular Airbnb user, who rents an apartment in Tokyo. In addition to these administrative burdens, the law also imposes various restrictions. Indeed, it limits the rental period to 180 nights per year and per housing, and it authorises local authorities to issue more decrees limiting the legal framework. The city of Kyoto has for instance decided to allow home-sharing in residential areas only between mid-January and mid-March. In Tokyo, many districts, such as Shinjuku, have also taken measures such as days or geographical areas restrictions.

Article translated into English by Claudia Pinheiro.