Legal Measures for Regulations and Promotions of Short-Term Home Sharing Business: A Comparative Study of Legal Measures in Thailand Japan and San Francisco USA

Abstract

Home-Sharing Businesses refer to the provision of residential rooms for short-term rental, similar to the hotel business. Booking platforms act as an intermediary between the landlord and the tenant. In Thailand, there has been a continuous rise in the operation of such businesses. Therefore, this article aims to study the legal measures in place for the regulation and promotion of home-sharing businesses or short-term accommodation sharing businesses in Thailand. The two main factors studied comprise (1) the characteristics of home-sharing businesses in Thailand and legal restrictions or impacts on the hotel industry, and (2) comparison of Thai and foreign legal measures for regulating home-sharing businesses, which will be further analyzed to propose legal measures that are appropriate for implementation in Thailand.

            Study results showed that home-sharing businesses in Thailand operating via booking platforms offer various types of residential accommodations, including rooms in private houses, rooms in condominiums, houses in housing estates, and rooms in dormitories. Rooms in private houses are exempted from the Hotel business Act BE 2547 (2004) due to being deemed non-hotel accommodation if offering not more than 4 rental rooms and if having not more than 20 guests. However, rooms in condominiums, housing estates, and dormitories are not exempted from this Act. In the United States (specifically San Francisco, California) and Japan, such businesses have been in continuous operation and are governed by specific laws separate from the hotel business. There are appropriate rules and conditions for business operations, with clear systems and regulation mechanisms. Therefore, suitable legal measures and promotion of such businesses should also be implemented in Thailand, starting with the enactment of specific regulatory laws that are separate from those governing the hotel businesses. Local administrative organizations should be assigned to oversee local businesses, and should set clear rules and conditions for business operations based on accommodation business standards, fair competition, consumer protection, protection of nearby residents, and monitoring of booking platforms.