Hotels in Ghana are facing challenges not from competition with Airbnb, but from an uneven playing field in terms of regulation, according to Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike, President of the Ghana Hotels Association.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, Dr Ackah-Nyamike dismissed the notion that Airbnb is directly outcompeting hotels for bookings. He maintained that the core issue is the disparity in regulations and the financial burdens placed on hotels that short-let operators often avoid.

“Our challenge has never been with competition at all,” he stated, emphasizing the unique value proposition of hotels. “We provide accommodation at the same place, we provide entertainment, provide food and drinks. We also provide some recreation activities, in some cases, car rentals.”

Dr Ackah-Nyamike argued that this comprehensive service offering gives hotels a distinct advantage, and framing the situation solely as a competition issue is a misrepresentation of the facts. The real concern, he stressed, lies with taxation, levies, and the overall cost of compliance.

“What we have not been happy about is the regulation of that sector in terms of taxes, in terms of levies, in terms of the regulatory fees that we pay that they don’t pay,” he explained. This difference, he added, allows Airbnb operators to offer lower prices, not through greater efficiency, but by operating outside the same regulatory framework.

While acknowledging Airbnb’s role in supplementing the hospitality industry, particularly during peak seasons – “To the extent that you can go to some hotel, the place is booked, and the only option that you may have is an Airbnb, so yes, it’s helping the industry as a whole” – Dr Ackah-Nyamike cautioned that these benefits are undermined by the existing inequalities.

“But it’s the unequal environment that it provides in terms of taxation. That’s what our issue has been,” he stressed. He made it clear that hotels would welcome Airbnb operators if they were held to the same standards.

“So once that sector of the industry is well regulated, and they are paying their tax, they are paying their levies, they are doing all the regulatory things that we do, we have no problem at all with that,” he said. He highlighted the numerous regulatory bodies hotels must comply with, including the Food and Drugs Authority, the Fire Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency, asserting that fairness requires equal treatment for all.

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