What does the loan moratorium which expires in September 2020 and currently being debated if it should be extended has to do with Airbnb?

For those unfamiliar with the loan moratorium announced by the government, it is basically an aid package to assist Malaysian during these unprecedented times. The moratorium allows a 6 month hiatus on car and housing loans, which they can chose either opt in or out. With the period coming to an end, there has been calls for the banks to extend the aid for another 6 months, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul has left the matter to the banks to decide. While we do agree on an extension will do more good than harm, Airbnb on the other hand thinks for the economy to recover this must be one of the priorities among other support for the tourism industry.

In fact the online accommodation rental platform recommends several policy for the government to consider in order to aid those who had been financially impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Airbnb’s Southeast Asia Head of Public Policy, Mich Goh has proposed for Putrajaya to extend several key incentives dedicated for the tourism sector under the economic stimulus packages.

“We encourage the government to consider extending the moratorium on loan repayments at least until Dec 2020 and to also consider extending the one-off cash assistance being provided to e-hailing drivers to Airbnb hosts,” said Goh.

Goh pointed out that the extension of the moratorium will provide the necessary relief to the hosts from their financial obligations, especially for those whose income depends largely on the proceeds from the hosting activities on the Airbnb platform.

So the extension does bode well for its commercial purposes and at the same time help those hosting on the platform. Although the reasoning given sides more on how Airbnb can benefit but the fact does stand that the moratorium extension plays out many different ways in benefiting the people and the support industry.