Number of Illegal Daily Rentals Up 解封後國旅需求暢旺 違法日租套房趁勢起

The number of illegal cheap daily rentals continues to go up, taking guests away from licensed hotels and guesthouses. The Tourism Bureau says over the official count exceeded 700 last year and it hopes travelers can choose to stay at legal hotels.

Daily rentals have been operating illegally through the past two years despite operators being fined. Daily rentals are cheaper than hotels and therefore popular with budget travelers. Legal hotel operators are feeling the crunch.

Tseng Mei-juan, Chair, New Taipei Hotel Association: “We took a look and found that the entire building was filled with daily rentals that were even renting rooms to people in quarantine. It had a huge impact. Greater Taipei doesn't get as many domestic travelers as Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, and the number of daily rentals keeps going up.”

According to the official count, Taipei has the highest number of illegal daily rentals with 190, followed by Taichung with 172, Tainan with 99, Kaohsiung with 83, Chiayi with 25, Hualien with 12, and New Taipei with 10. The Tourism Bureau says illegal hotels and guesthouses are also a problem. Illegal operators can face fines of up to NT$500,000 and closure orders.

Huang Yi-cheng, Chief, Hotel and Lodging Division, Tourism Bureau: “We issued 768 fines last year worth over NT$88 million. The Tourism Bureau reminds everyone to only stay at legal hotels when traveling.”

The bureau says a list of legal hotels and guesthouses can be found on its website. In order to get their license, hotels, and guesthouses have to pass public and fire safety and health inspections and have accident insurance.

員警會同稽查人員，來到被檢舉的日租套房來查緝。過去兩年，防疫期間有日租套房非法收留居檢者，遭地方政府開罰，而在解封後，日租套房也因為價格相對便宜，吸引部分旅客低價搶市，讓合法登記的旅宿業者，非常無奈。

新北市旅館公會理事長曾美絹指出：「我們自己曾經親自去測試過，竟然大樓裡面都日租套房，都還可以去接一些防疫的人，影響很大。因為雙北本來這段時間，在國旅上面就沒有宜花東那麼好，然後又加上日租套房增加的間數那麼多。」

根據各地方政府回報，目前非法日租套房，在台北市最多，有190家，台中市有172家，台南市99家，高雄市 83家，嘉義市25家，花蓮縣 12家，新北市則有10家。觀光局表示，其實不只日租套房，未登記合法的旅館和民宿，也都在查緝範圍內，發展觀光條例對於非法旅宿業者最高可處50萬元罰鍰，並勒令歇業。

觀光局旅宿組組長黃易成表示：「去年一整年罰鍰的次數有768次，罰鍰金額有超過8800萬元，觀光局也呼籲提醒民眾，在出差旅遊一定要選擇合法的旅宿。」

觀光局提醒民眾，可上觀光局成立的「台灣旅宿網」查詢旅宿是否為合法登記，因合法旅宿必須符合法令規範，包括公共安全與衛生、消防等審核檢驗，還要投保公共意外責任保險，對旅客相對有保障。