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The hospitality sector in Kingston and St Andrew, collectively referred to as the Corporate Area, has been quite active in 2025 so far, with a series of music and sporting events providing steady business for those with rooms in the capital city.
However, while grateful for the increased inflows hotel operators are concerned that most of the new business is going to operators of short-term rental properties, many of whom do not operate at the high standards expected in the industry, hoteliers say.
“We are having very high occupancy levels in the New Kingston area for all our participating members,” Christopher Jarrett, chairman of the Kingston Chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association, JHTA, told the Financial Gleaner.
“Outside of that we know that the Airbnb space has been eating up quite a bit of business, so notwithstanding the fact that we expect a strong showing of visitor arrivals, we might see some erosion of those numbers being taken up by the Airbnb purveyors,” he said.
The JHTA represents hotels and other visitor accommodations in the tourist industry and includes properties, such as Courtleigh, Jamaica Pegasus, Altamont Court, Spanish Court, Christar Villas, Liguanea Club, Courtyard by Marriott, AC by Marriott and Terra Nova.
Jarrett said, in times past, with an influx of visitors the traditional hotels would all be at 100 per cent capacity or close, but in recent years some hotels have hovered around the 80 per cent mark while the Airbnb facilities have cashed in.
The JHTA spokesman feels more can be done to regulate the short-term rental sector.
“They are taking up more than the hotel rooms in my view with respect to the increasing number of available rooms. You find because they are unregulated, they don’t have to meet the several requirements of the hotels in terms of fire, health and food safety. There is a myriad of qualifications and certifications that have to be made by the hotels that are not a requirement of an Airbnb. They just put up a website, open their door, and they are on their way,” Jarrett said.
However, under the Tourist Board Act and Resort Cottages Act, the Jamaica Tourist Board, with the help of Tourism Product Development Company, has the authority to licence and regulate all tourist accommodations in Jamaica, including short-term rentals.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism Senator Delano Seiveright stated recently that last year Jamaica welcomed nearly 840,000 Airbnb guests, inclusive of local and international visitors, bringing in more than $32 billion in revenue for their operators and owners.
This showed the tremendous growth in the sector from 59,500 guests in 2017.
Jamaica recorded 4.2 million tourist visitors last year.
“What we’re seeing is a democratisation of tourism, from Trench Town (Kingston) to Treasure Beach (St Elizabeth) to Portland to Negril (Hanover/Westmoreland). Every day Jamaicans are opening their doors, their culture and their talents to the world, and earning income. It’s an amazing situation to see tourists walking in Flankers,” Senator Seiveright said in his recent address in the Senate.
Flankers is a community in Montego Bay, St James known more for its outbursts of violence rather than extending a warm welcome to visitors.
Susan de Campos Palermo who operates two short-term rental properties in St Andrew said some customers prefer the more intimate, familial experience they provide over the large traditional hotels.
“Many persons prefer smaller places because they are not as restricted as the hotels. Sometimes you stay at an Airbnb and a family member can come and look for you. Some may have different attractions, for example in Irish Town we have a river pool and waterfall, spa, bar and restaurant, so people tend to gravitate to that, and they will go down to their event and come back up (to Irish Town),” de Campos Palermo said.
She was speaking of Rafjam, a 10-room bed-and breakfast she operates in Irish Town. She also has an apartment in a residential complex.
Business has been good since the end of last year, de Campos Palermo said, beginning with the Freedom Street concert featuring Vybz Kartel on New Years Eve, as well as sporting events such as the football match featuring Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, the annual Boys and Girls Championships, the recent Grand Slam Track meeting.
She expects the positive streak to continue into the Carnival season including the road march on April 27.
“We were fully booked for the Kartel concert, even at the Irish Town property, which is 30 minutes from Kingston. We had to transport people down (to Kingston),” said de Campos Palermo.
The Airbnb host lists poor roads, unreliable staff and constantly meeting the requirements of TPDCo as some of the challenges of operating a short-term rental property off the beaten track.
In addition to Airbnb, Raf Jam is also listed on Booking.com, Expedia, Trivago and Tripadvisor.
According to the Jamaica Homes website, locally, there are approximately 5,000 active Airbnb listings, and it is estimated that this number could double by 2029.
Worldwide, there are over a million Airbnb hosts and 7.7 million active listings on the platform. More than 100,000 cities worldwide have Airbnb listings, and more than 150 million worldwide users that have booked over 1.5 billion stays on Airbnb.
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