THE Riverina's short-term accommodation hosts and guests will soon face strict new laws as they brace for the Christmas period's regional tourism boom.
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Stays like Airbnb will be required to abide by a new code of conduct which will enforce a 'black list' system for problematic hosts and antisocial guests, among other regulations to improve services.
The new code is said to be centred on minimum standards of good behaviour under a two strikes policy, where parties can be placed on a public exclusion list for five years if they are disruptive, damaging, dangerous or threatening.
Wagga Airbnb superhost Glen Oakman welcomed the tightened guidelines coming in December, and said while he hadn't dealt with any overly troublesome guests, he supported the policy.
"I don't think the issue of partying and such is as much of a deal here as it would be in, say, Sydney, but there is still that risk that we should be prepared for," he said.
Mr Oakman, who now hosts 17 properties in the region, said the current regulations for Airbnb properties were vague.
"At the moment, there aren't really any concrete regulations, we don't know what's happening, so anything that helps bring about some clarity and set out some ground rules would be appreciated," he said.
The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is also developing a government-run premises register to launch in 2021.
Already booked out completely across his 17 properties for the next three weeks, Mr Oakman said he was excited to see a clear register of what hosts are available.
"There's an arts festival coming up and a few weddings, and I'm completely booked, as well as already taking about 10 calls a week for the touch footy carnival which isn't until February next year," he said.
"Having that registry will not only help guests find good accommodation, but also show the need for more stays and maybe encourage potential hosts to start up."
Measures as extreme as an exclusion register were not entirely supported by those in the industry, however, with Wagga's BNB Suite Management owner Aaron Irlam saying there was room for overreaction.
"You have to consider the different levels of severity with these things, it isn't just a black and white situation a lot of the time," he said.
"A lot can change in five years too, having someone in their 20s make a mistake does not necessarily mean they should live with that for five years. People do grow up."
Mr Irlam, who organises cleaning and property management duties for Airbnbs and rentals, said a star rating system would be better suited to the industry.
"I think it should come down to individual reviews, kind of like Uber, where the host and guest each start with five stars and people can leave reviews and star ratings of how they found that guest or host so others can decide for themselves," he said.
"In the end, I'm not entirely against a register, but it just needs to be managed in the right way and I don't know if that will be the case."
In other news:
Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation Kevin Anderson said the growing industry was lacking in rules.
"The popularity of short-term rentals has exploded in recent years and is now a $30 billion a year industry," he said.
"While the sector has gone from strength to strength, what has been missing is a clear set of rules to protect the rights of both hosts, guests and neighbours, and which put mutual respect front and centre."
Mr Anderson said the establishment of an exclusion register would weed out the bad on both ends.
"We have all heard the horror stories of hosts doing the wrong thing or the house guests from hell behaving disgracefully in holiday rentals," he said.
"If you are going to carry on like that in someone else's house or neighbourhood, be warned - under these new rules you will be banned, and for a very long time.
"The standards are enforceable, with powers available to NSW Fair Trading Commissioner to take disciplinary action, including penalties and exclusion from the industry for repeat offenders.