Much anticipated bed and breakfast bills introduced in Guam

HAGÅTÑA, Guam—Senator Tina Rose Muna Barnes is looking to bring more opportunities for the local community to participate in Guam’s diversifying visitor industry.

The Legislative Committee on Tourism Chairwoman introduced three bills that will further define and strengthen Guam’s growing bed and breakfast industry, provide a clear framework for short-term vacation rental business operations, and protect the island’s tourism industry by establishing civil penalties while authorizing tax collection agreements with short-term vacation rental websites such as Airbnb and Homestay.

“The PATA Annual Summit is being held right here on our island. The visitor industry leaders, stakeholders, and government officials that are here shared research that shows many travelers are growing more interested in alternative accommodations like B&Bs,” Muña Barnes said. “The bills I introduced are the direct result of a great collaboration between the public and private sectors. We made it a point to have the input of our tourism industry officials and our B&B owners. Tourism is diversifying and these measures will allow us to prepare our community and the visitor industry to take advantage of new opportunities while meeting new demands. We want to make sure the industry is given the opportunity to thrive by establishing guidelines to ensure its success.”

Muña Barnes’ recently introduced bills were drafted based on community input taken from three roundtable discussions held earlier this year. The community and industry stakeholders came together to discuss the merit of the bed and breakfast industry after public concerns over bed and breakfasts that were operating outside of the original intent of the bed and breakfast industry.

“The ultimate goal of these bills is to diversify our tourism industry while doing our utmost to protect the health, safety, and well-being of our visitors and our community. We have to make sure that the required Hotel Occupancy Tax is being collected from transient visitors and owner-proprietors are not putting visitors, their neighbors, and themselves at risk,” said Muna Barnes.

The bills were introduced as Bill No. 323-33 (COR), Bill No. 324-33 (COR), and Bill No. 325-33(COR) and are available online at www.guamlegislature.com.

For more information, please contact 472-3455/6.