Do you know how many permits and licences are needed to operate a hotel or villa in Bali? Probably not, but it’s a lot, perhaps more than 50. Now you may feel justified in saying that this is bureaucracy gone mad, but when the permits cover safety, security, environmental damage, correct zoning, fair employment and tax, you may change your mind. None of us want to stay somewhere that is unsafe or in contraction to local laws or indeed doesn’t pay their taxes to fund the local infrastructure and government services.
But that’s what we have been doing. Estimates vary widely but figures of over 30,000 unlicenced properties, maybe more, operating outside of the legal structure have been quoted. Villas built in the wrong place to unacceptable standards then glibly put on Airbnb and other platforms by owners who are not interested in the future of the island – or the safety of their guests – just their income.
I have been watching these opportunistic entrepreneurs for years, sitting in coffee shops talking about their villa developments, and how good they are for Bali. But sadly, that was never true and has now resulted in a whole raft of very negative factors for which these ‘developers’ bear no responsibility: over-development, over-tourism, traffic congestion and the dilution of local values. Not to mention the undermining of the licenced hotel and villa industry who do pay their dues and obey the laws.
I’m sure they are now protesting, saying: “Hey I brought investment to the island, provided jobs and brought in visitors”. But that’s not the point. Development has to be zoned, controlled and licenced. I will bet none of our property heroes would dare to do such things in their own countries. But here skirting the law and avoiding taxes is considered “good business.”
I started categorising foreign business people in Bali into two distinct groups thirty yeas ago: those who come to Bali to bring their skills, their efforts, their money and their experience to help Bali and those who come to help themselves. If you step back just a little you can see the difference very quickly. I am fortunate to have made friends with serious and committed foreigners who have made Bali their home and have greatly contributed to the island’s life, value and economy, and they bear no resemblance to the buccaneers of the illegal villa trade.
While from a visitor perspective closing down cheap online villa rentals seems a harsh and arbitrary thing to do, it really is part of the answer to creating a sustainable, viable and both environmentally and culturally sensitive future.
Bali should have never become a high-volume, low-cost destination and if this is one step to regaining its correct values, I am delighted.
