Airbnb在墨西哥尝试新策略：满足监管者一切要求

本文编译自Skift：当Elvira Fernandez决定把她在墨西哥城的公寓通过Airbnb临时出租的时候，她从来没有想到会比长期出租多赚50%以上。

Airbnb得到Fernandez青睐的原因可不少：她不用和律师、担保人、未付的租金和差劲的房客打交道。她能直接从Airbnb准时拿到租金，如果游客行为不端，她可以立即取消预约。不得不说，她的经历至今都几近完美。

“我的第一单租客是一对夫妇，呆了一个半月，我真的挺幸运的。”这位39岁的历史学家在墨西哥城通过电话告诉我们。起初，她认为出租自己的房子非常困难，因为她的公寓是在郊区，而不是在旅游胜地。但事实上这都不是问题。“我的公寓已经被订到明年5月了。不可思议！这是有保证的收入。”

Airbnb已经注意到了像Fernandez这类业主的成功。这个房屋共享平台已经把目光瞄准了墨西哥首都，这里将成为下一个大市场：2016年，Airbnb在墨西哥城的业务几乎增长了三倍，是发展最快的城市之一。

在今年的早些时候，Airbnb在墨西哥城开设了第一家办事处，这一举动出乎了很多人的意料。公司与地方政府达成了协议，由政府代收代缴3%的占用税，以免再次出现在其他城市经历的批评浪潮。于上个月宣布的3%新税率与当地酒店支付的税率持平。这更像是一次尝试，通过更多地满足当地政府部门和酒店协会的要求，Airbnb希望能避开曾在纽约和巴塞罗那等城市所面临的多重法律问题。

“我们在墨西哥城的业务数据非常庞大。”Airbnb的联合创始人兼首席战略官Nathan Blecharczyk在旧金山接受采访时表示。“房屋共享在这里非常流行，当地政府也为我们能够带去的好处感到非常高兴。”

Airbnb数据显示，从2016年6月到2017年5月，访问墨西哥的游客数量超过150万人次。在今年的前几个月，墨西哥的国内游旅客数量持续上升，墨西哥比索的贬值吸引了更多的国外游客前往著名的海滩度假，也让不少当地人打消了出国旅行的念头。

Airbnb的估值约为310亿美元，超过希尔顿全球控股有限公司和法国雅高酒店集团。租房订单交易成功后，Airbnb将抽取6%至12%的房费作为服务费，同时也会向房主收取少量佣金，不包含任何维护和清洁费用。

这也是Airbnb首次在拉美地区尝试3%的占用税税率，公司正在研究此举能否在其他城市实现。“我们要维持政府和用户之间的利益平衡。如果存在分歧，我们可以一起协调。”Blecharczyk表示。

这笔额外收入对墨西哥而言是有利的。最新数据显示，2015年墨西哥的GDP税收占比在经济合作与发展组织（OECD）的所有国家中排名垫底，17.4%的税收比重仅为OECD平均水平的一半。不过，仅凭一个协议，还不足以缓和墨西哥酒店业对Airbnb的忧虑。

墨西哥城酒店协会主席阿尔伯特·阿尔巴朗承认，该协议是“积极的”，但他仍旧觉得远远不够，“酒店仍需支付营业执照和许可证的费用，缴纳社会保障和收入所得税，配备火警和地震警报设施，给员工发放工资，这只是几个例子。我们仍面临着许多挑战。”

Blecharczyk的回应是？“总会出现一个强有力的游说团体要求得到更多权益。”

现在，Airbnb已经成为墨西哥的新型家庭手工业，同时带来了更多创业者。如今，Fernandez正为Airbnb准房主提供建议并建立档案，每次服务收费2000比索（约770元人民币）。

Agustin Samano是一名34岁的工程师，也曾在Airbnb上为游客提供住处。后来他创建了AlohaBNB，一个为房主提供租房准备服务的平台。

“更换床单，欢迎客人，打扫房间，都要花上不少时间。”Samano在AlohaBNB总部所在地墨西哥哈利斯科州萨波潘接受了电话采访。根据服务档次的不同，AlohaBNB将收取10%或15%的租金作为服务费。

目前，Airbnb在墨西哥拥有73000间待租单元。其中金塔纳罗奥的房子最受欢迎，那里有坎昆、卡门海滩和图卢姆等著名景点。其次是墨西哥城、哈利斯科州，以及洛斯卡沃斯（Los Cabos）的所在地，南下加利福尼亚州。

在谋杀率居高不下的墨西哥，目前Airbnb还未面临高暴力水平所带来的额外挑战。Airbnb以全球各地的安全数据作为参考，提醒旅客哪些小区存在安全问题。“这在墨西哥为我们带来了很大帮助，”Blecharczyk说。

Airbnb在过去数年一直面临着来自各地政府的压力，后者指出，其旗下的房屋共享平台为房主提供盈利机会，使很多房屋都变成了非法旅店，在一定程度上减少了地产行业的房源供应，而目前很多热门城市的房屋供应已经非常紧张。直到最近，这家创业公司还对部分城市的监管部门采取了强硬态度，不认同监管部门提出的房主应向政府注册登记的做法。

5月，Airbnb与纽约和旧金山政府就长期争执不休的分歧达成和解，这两个地方也是Airbnb收入最高的市场之一。在旧金山，Airbnb同意房主需向政府登记房源的要求。在纽约，公司也认同了对房主的限制，房主一次只能出租一个房屋单元。

这就是3%的墨西哥城税率得以实现的原因，Airbnb也因此顺利避免与政府再度产生分歧。

“至少彼此都意识到，Airbnb房主与酒店一样，需缴纳相同比例的税款，”专门从事税务和法律服务的德勤墨西哥合伙人Alberto Miranda表示。他说，政府现在正在开拓这一新的税收来源，这是一个双赢的局面。

当然，Airbnb的运行方式仍然存在一些税务问题，Gonzalez Calvillo律师事务所的律师Bernardo Reyes-Retana说。例如，实际上政府无法确定房主各自的租房收入。

这个问题不是Airbnb的责任，房主的额外收入所得税与Airbnb无关。公司的免责声明中也有提到，房主需对任何应缴税款负责，并建议房主对当地的规章制度多加关注。

Reyes-Retana表示，“它为人们的生活提供了便利，也迎来了急速增长，墨西哥现有的法律法规仍有待完善。”

Fernandez已经咨询了相关的税务专家，了解作为一名房主应承担并履行哪些纳税义务。

“我喜欢睡得踏实，”Fernandez，“这就是我交税的原因。”

This article was compiled from Skift: when Elvira Fernandez decided to temporarily rent her apartment in Mexico City through Airbnb, she never expected to earn more than 50% more than long-term rentals.

Airbnb has many reasons for Fernandez's favor: she doesn't have to deal with lawyers, guarantors, unpaid rents, and poor tenants. She can get the rent directly from Airbnb on time, and she can cancel the reservation immediately if the visitor is misbehaving. I have to say her experience has been almost perfect so far.

&ldquo: my first tenant was a couple who stayed for a month and a half. I was really lucky. &rdquo, the 39 year old historian in Mexico City, told us by telephone. At first she thought it was very difficult to rent her own house because her apartment was in the suburbs rather than in a tourist attraction. But in fact, this is not a problem. &ldquo: my apartment has been booked for next May. It is beyond logic and above reason！ This is a guaranteed income. ”

Airbnb has noticed the success of homeowners like Fernandez. The platform has been aimed at the capital of Mexico, where it will become the next big market: in 2016, Airbnb's business in Mexico City grew almost three times, one of the fastest growing cities.

Earlier this year, Airbnb opened its first office in Mexico City, a move that surprised many people. The company has reached an agreement with the local government to collect 3% of the occupancy tax from the government so as to avoid another wave of criticism experienced in other cities. The new 3% tax rate announced last month is flat with the tax rates paid by local hotels. It is more like an attempt to meet the needs of local government departments and hotel associations, and Airbnb hopes to avoid the multiple legal problems faced by cities such as New York and Barcelona.

“ our business data in Mexico City is very large. &rdquo, Airbnb's co-founder and chief strategy officer, Nathan Blecharczyk, said in an interview in San Francisco. “ housing sharing is very popular here, and the local government is very pleased with the benefits we can take. ”

Airbnb data show that from June 2016 to May 2017, the number of visitors to Mexico more than 1 million 500 thousand passengers. In the first few months of this year, the number of domestic travelers in Mexico continued to rise, the Mexico Peso devaluation to attract more foreign tourists to visit the famous beach resort, also let many local people to dispel the idea of travelling abroad.

Airbnb is valued at approximately $31 billion, exceeding the Hilton Global Holdings Limited and the Accor Hotels Group in france. After successful rental orders, Airbnb will take between 6% and 12% of the room rate as a service charge, as well as a small commission to the owner, excluding any maintenance and cleaning costs.

It is also the first time Airbnb has tried a 3% occupancy tax rate in Latin America, and the company is studying whether it can be achieved in other cities. “ we need to maintain the balance of interests between the government and the user. If there are differences, we can coordinate together. ” Blecharczyk representation.

The extra income is good for Mexico. The latest data show that in 2015, Mexico's GDP tax accounted for in the economic cooperation and Development Organization (OECD) in all countries ranked bottom, 17.4% of the tax revenue is only half of the average OECD. However, an agreement alone is not enough to ease the worries of the Mexico Hotel industry about Airbnb.

Mexico City Hotel Association chairman Albert · Albarran admitted that the agreement is “ active ”, but he still felt not enough, “ the hotel still need to pay business license and permit fees, payment of social security and income tax, equipped with fire and earthquake warning facilities, the payment of wages to employees, it is only a few examples. We still face many challenges. ”

What's Blecharczyk's response? &ldquo, there is always a strong lobby demanding more rights. ”

Now, Airbnb has become a new cottage industry in Mexico, bringing more entrepreneurs at the same time. Today, Fernandez is offering advice and filing to Airbnb prospective homeowners, with a fee of 2000 pesos (about 770 yuan) per service.

Agustin Samano, a 34 year old engineer, has also provided accommodation for visitors on Airbnb. Later he created AlohaBNB, a platform to provide rental services for homeowners.

&ldquo it takes a lot of time to change the bed linen, welcome the guests and clean the room. ” Samano accepted a telephone interview at the AlohaBNB headquarters in Mexico Thabo pan jalisco. Depending on the level of service, AlohaBNB will charge 10% or 15% of the rent as service charge.

At present, Airbnb has 73000 rooms for rent units in Mexico. The Quintana Lo O house is the most popular, there are Cancun, Playa Del Carmen and Tulum and other famous scenic spots. Followed by Mexico City, Jalisco, and Los Cusworth (Los Cabos) is located, Baja California.

In Mexico, where the murder rate remains high, Airbnb has yet to face the additional challenges posed by high levels of violence. Airbnb security data around the world as a reference to remind travelers which residential security problems. &ldquo: it's been a great help for us in Mexico, &rdquo, "Blecharczyk said.

Airbnb has been facing pressure from local governments, who pointed out that in the past few years, its housing sharing platform provides profitable opportunities for homeowners, so many houses have become illegal in the hotel, to some extent reduce the real estate industry supply and the current popular city housing supply has been very tense. Until recently, the start-up had taken a tough line with regulators in some cities and disagreed with the practice of regulators registering homeowners for registration with the government.

In May, Airbnb reached a settlement with the governments of New York and San Francisco over long-standing disagreements, one of the two most profitable markets in the Airbnb. In San Francisco, Airbnb agreed that homeowners would need to register with the government. In New York, the company also agrees with homeowners that homeowners can rent only one unit at a time.

That's why 3% of Mexico City's tax rate can be realized, and Airbnb has thus managed to avoid any differences with the government.

&ldquo: at least one of them is aware that Airbnb owners, like hotels, have to pay the same amount of taxes, "says Alberto Miranda, a DDT Mexico partner who specializes in tax and legal services," &rdquo said. He said that the government is now opening up this new source of Taxation, which is a win-win situation.

"Of course, there are still some tax issues in the way Airbnb runs," says Bernardo Reyes-Retana, a lawyer at Gonzalez Calvillo llp. In practice, for example, the government is unable to determine the owner's rental income.

The issue is not Airbnb's responsibility; the homeowner's extra income tax has nothing to do with Airbnb. The company's disclaimer also states that homeowners need to be responsible for any tax payable and suggest homeowners pay more attention to local regulations.

Reyes-Retana expresses, "&ldquo"; it is convenient for the life of people, also greeted rapid growth, the existing laws and regulations of Mexico still need to be perfected. ”

Fernandez has consulted relevant tax experts to understand what tax obligations should be undertaken and fulfilled as a homeowner.

“ I like to sleep well, ” Fernandez, “ that's why I pay my taxes. ”