AirBnB Resource

If you’re interested in renting your home or a room* through the marketing platform known as Airbnb, thereby known as a Host, you:

Must:

Register your accommodation with the BTB before creating your listing on Airbnb.com. According to law, you shall not advertise your premises, inclusive of rooms, dwellings and others without first being registered as this constitutes an offence. See Section 5(1) of the Hotels and Tourist Accommodation Act, Chapter 285 of the Laws of Belize which reads

Section 5 (1): “No person shall,

(a) advertise in any form any premises;

(b) use any premises;

(c) hold out any premises, for the purposes of the business of a hotel or tourist accommodation unless such premises and the proprietor of such business are registered annually under this Act and a license is obtained by the proprietor from the Registrar in that behalf.”

AND

Section 27(1) (a) of the said Act which states that “any person who without lawful excuse uses or advertises any premises as a hotel or tourist accommodation when such premises are not registered or when there is not in force a license granted to him by the Registrar authorizing him to use such premises for the business of a hotel or tourist accommodation commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to both such fine and term of imprisonment.”

*ALL Category/Type of Accommodations including but not limited to, rooms, houses, vacation rental, apartments, villas, hotels, guest house, lodges, bed and breakfast, condominiums, cabin, cabanas must register with the Belize Tourism Board before advertising with any marketing and/or booking agents such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Hotels.com, Homeaway, Trip Advisor etc.

Use these resources to become a licensed proprietor of an AirBnB property:

Accommodations Licensing ProcessAt a glance look of the Application Process for Hotel License

Get the facts about licensing with us…

The Licensing of accommodations insures that the said property has been certified to operate under the Laws of Belize.

All accommodations in Belize must meet tourism industry quality standards and meet the requirements set forth in the Hotels And Tourist Accommodation Act, Chapter 285 of the Laws of Belize Revised Edition 2011 and the Hotels And Tourist Accommodation Act, Chapter 285S Of The Laws Of Belize Revised Edition 2003.

Licensing commences, following the completion of the registration process.

Submission of Application

Application for a Hotel Registration and Accommodation license is to be submitted online via [email protected]
Please submit all the following documents in the Application checklist below together with the online application form (signed). As of 1st November 2022, the Belize Tourism Board no longer accepts incomplete application submissions.

Application Checklist

Completed Application Form
Ownership Land Title, Conveyance or Other
Business Name Certificate of Registration
Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum of Association and Article of Shares
Certified copy of Certificate of Good Standing from Companies Registry
Central Building Authority – Occupancy Certification (every 4 years)
Department of Environment – Environmental Clearance
Fire Department No Objection Report
Public Health Standards Inspection
Food Establishment Certification (if the property has a restaurant)
Trade License Certificate from Town Board (if located in town/city)
Letter of Support from Village Council (if located in village)
Liquor License (if the property sells alcohol)
Emergency Preparedness Plan
Social Security Board Registration Record
Owners Passport Particulars
Letter of Appointment & Authorization for the Manager
Residency of Work Permit for Foreigner (Managers only)
The Management Entity’s Rental Agreement
Declaration of Service Charge Scheme
Pictures of the Overall Facilities (1 front, 1 back, 1 office, 1 room)
Ministry of Trade and Investment – Gaming License.
Rental Space Inventory Form
Quality Assurance Inspection
Application Fee

Approval Process

Vetting & Processing of Completed Application Documents – 2 to 3 weeks
Thereafter minimum of 4 weeks from the pre-opening inspection date

1. A pre-opening inspection will be carried out to ascertain the hotel/ property is ready for operations. Checks will include, but are not limited to:

Furniture and fittings in most rooms
Clearly visible hotel frontage & signage
Reception counter or area for receiving guests

2. Processing of the application will take a minimum of four weeks from the pre-opening inspection date.
3. You will be informed via e-mail if your application has been approved.
4. After the application has been approved, you will receive an email to that the License will be ready after 5 business days.
5. The Hotel Registration and Accommodation License should be displayed in a conspicuous place, preferably at the Reception Counter of the hotel.

Annual License Fees*

(i) Hotel – $25.00 plus $5.00 for each room
Note: Since the license is valid for 2 years the charge per room becomes $10.00

Hotel & Tourist Accommodation Taxes

As tourism stakeholders, your partnership is important to the continued growth of our Belize tourism industry.

The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) is legislated by the Laws of Belize to collect and manage tourist accommodation tax. This 9% tourist accommodation tax is used to effectively and efficiently fulfill the BTB’s mandated operations for sustaining, marketing and developing Belize’s tourism industry.

Hotels and Tourist Accommodations are required to collect this 9% tax from each guest, on behalf of the Government of Belize. This tax is then paid to the BTB.

For any additional queries about this process, please contact our licensing team at [email protected] or by telephone: 227-2420.

NOTE: Please email completed Accommodation application form to [email protected]