I was just about to enquire re accommodation in Singapore, and have been told it would be serious mistake,as AirBnb is illegal over there. Not wishing to incur a hefty fine ,or worse, I guess I will go back to a traditional hotel.
My question however, is why properties are listed if it is illegal?
Just who was who told you Air was illegal over there? The Singapore government? Their Embassy here in the US? Someone who actually lives there? Someone who traveled there and had a bad experience? Some blah-blah post on the 'Net? Worse yet – a Facebook post?
I don’t know about the legality of Airbnb in Singapore. I do know that Singapore is famous for social control via legislation (no gum chewing, etc.) and that there are what Americans consider to be harsh penalties for disobeying the laws.
I don’t think that there is any way for Airbnb to know the laws in every country, city, municipality, etc. so they leave it to hosts to not list if it would be illegal for them to list.
Two locals,including this;
I’m just a tourist looking for a few nights with my wife.
According to this article it’s illegal to host tourists, but it is legal to host citizens and people with certain visas.
I think there is a way - it’s called having a legal staff and Airbnb has a BIG one. But they do hide behind the idea that the onus of listing legality falls on the host and it is the hosts who have no idea.
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Hosting is Illegal in Singapore, from what I’ve read and been told by hosts in Singapore. However, people still do it. There was even a SH from Singapore that spoke last year at the Air BNB OPEN. No idea how she gets around the law.
It might be as simple as her registering as an accommodation provider. After all, hotels are allowed to host people.