The 2026 Caribbean Airbnb Crackdown: What Landlords Need to Know About the New Rental Framework

The 2026 Caribbean Airbnb Crackdown: What Landlords Need to Know About the New Rental Framework

The latest Caribbean short-term rental framework, announced by the CHTA, will be a game-changer for the hospitality industry, especially for landlords.

Although updates can be hard to take and implement at first, they are here to solve issues that concern all players in the sector, from traditional providers to official tourism authorities.

Let's delve into the new scheme and figure out how it will change the big picture for Airbnb businesses and short-term rental providers.

What is the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association

CHTA stands for the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, an entity that supports and represents the region’s primary industry. For over 60 years, this association has provided a solid framework, useful resources, and consolidated a common voice for homeowners, agents, landlords, hotels, inns, and resorts across the islands.

This May, they addressed an issue that's been an increasing concern in recent decades: irregularities in the short-term rental sector, which result in unfair competition, unsafe practices, and miscalculations in government statistics.

The Problem

The rise of self-management tools and peer-to-peer platforms opened the possibility for every homeowner to rent out their place. This coincided with a change in tourist trends, as visitors are now tilting toward multi-room units to accommodate large families, kitchens to prepare their own food, and a more authentic experience overall.

When a market grows without proper oversight, a disbalance affects the whole field. Governments find themselves dealing with a tax gap; airlines can't accurately estimate the real occupancy rate, and traditional providers find it ever harder to compete with operators who don’t pay tax, don’t acquire licenses, or comply with safety standards.

The growth of short-term rentals has been remarkable: in key regional hubs like Aruba, visitor nights spent in STRs surged by 118% between 2019 and 2025. By the first quarter of 2026, short-term rentals accounted for 39% of all visitor accommodations in that market, driving the region toward smarter regulation and fairer tax oversight.

What started as a niche service has, in just a few decades, transformed the Caribbean market. In the Dominican Republic, STR listings reached approximately 100,000 units, outpacing the nation's 90,000 hotel rooms. In Puerto Rico, STRs outnumber hotel rooms almost two to one, with around 30,000 units compared to 16,000. However, because a significant portion of this fast-growing inventory still operates outside formal oversight, regional leaders are pushing for standardized registration, equal taxation, and consistent safety protocols.

We can also see how the problem affects other social and economic aspects, as the country’s residents find it harder to rent a place, let alone afford one, since prices have escalated to tourist levels.

The Solution

In April 2026, the CHTA introduced a recommended policy framework designed to help regional governments oversee the short-term rental sector and ensure compliance. Their guidelines build on successful models already implemented by several Caribbean nations.

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Draws Solutions from Other Successful Implementations

Mandatory Registration as Applied by Turks and Caicos

Countries like Turks and Caicos have shown us how rental platforms can cooperate directly with governments. Under the Tourism Regulation and Licensing Ordinance, the Turks and Caicos Islands mandated that all short-term rentals carry an official Accommodation License, with non-compliance carrying fines of up to $50,000 USD. The government actively tracks listings across rental platforms to catch unlicensed properties. Globally, governments are taking similar hard lines, such as in Spain, where courts backed a government order targeting nearly 66,000 Airbnb listings for removal due to missing or invalid permit numbers.

Two Approaches to Taxation Based on Bonaire’s and Curacao’s Model

In the Dominican Republic, the tax revenue gap created by unregulated short-term rentals reaches an estimated $170 million USD annually. Meanwhile, hotels, innkeepers, and resort operators face an unfair disadvantage, unable to compete on price against listings that bypass local taxes.

The new ordinance proposes either of two models. Ideally, platforms like Airbnb or Booking.com should withhold tax automatically; nevertheless, some jurisdictions are far from being able to implement this effectively.

To capture revenue from unregulated accommodations, regional discussions often point to entry-based taxation, a model Bonaire introduced in 2022 with its flat $75 visitor entry tax, and one Curaçao is preparing to adopt. The CHTA highlights such flat entry fees, along with mandatory host registration, as effective ways for governments to ensure every visitor contributes to destination infrastructure regardless of where they stay.

Either way, the tax fee should be organized in tiers, according to annual revenue, in order not to suffocate small operators.

St Lucia Sets the Path to Implementing Tiered Safety Standards

Safety is non-negotiable when it comes to accommodating people, yet without clear and enforceable rules, this matter is left to chance, endangering guests and risking the island’s reputation.

Measures like adequate marked emergency exits, fire extinguishers, availability of emergency contacts, carbon monoxide detectors, and basic insurance policies should be applied in tiers, like in Saint Lucia.

Single-room hosts rarely have the resources for major renovations, and their operational risk is naturally lower. Conversely, commercial operators managing multiple properties should be held to higher standards, complying with stricter benchmarks and comprehensive safety regulations.

Training Programs to Improve Service Delivery and Unify Quality Norms

The association understands that non-compliance is not necessarily a result of neglect. Over the past decades, many homeowners have started providing hospitality services without training or knowledge.

They propose an STR host training program that will include safety requirements, basic hospitality codes, and guides on how to stay compliant. The said initiative is to be adapted to specific regional characteristics and can be developed together with STR platforms like Airbnb, which have recently shown interest in raising the industry standards through proper training.

When Should Landlords Start Making Changes?

Since every nation has its own politics and ordinances, these provisions can't be applied in the same way or at the same time. The first advice for landlords is to find out how things are evolving in their islands.

The association outlines a phased approach, starting with legal reviews, interagency coordination, and public awareness campaigns, followed by a voluntary compliance period offering incentives for early adopters. The final stage involves full enforcement through fines, penalties, or license suspensions. Given the clear direction of regional policy, mandatory licensing and tax compliance for all STRs are inevitable, making early registration the smartest path forward. Take time now to review the licensing requirements that apply to your portfolio based on property count, scope, and revenue, and consult a local tax professional to build a strategy that maximizes every deduction available.