Words: Ashley Rigg
Published: 27th August 2009
Panama: Overseas property owners may be operating “illegal hotels”
Panama Investor Blog reports that the Hotel Association of Panama is blaming rental management companies and by implication the overseas property owners who employ them for a sharp drop in hotel occupancy rates in Panama City.
In Panama, it is illegal for management companies to rent apartments on a short term basis and Jorge Loiza President of the Hotel Association of Panama says that this illegal practice has led to a decline in hotel occupancy from 59.6% to 51.2%.
The number of hotel rooms in the city far outnumbers the volume of apartments so the claim is clearly an exaggeration. However the story raises serious issues about the climate for international property investment in the city. A change in the law is surely necessary to ensure the continued support of the international real estate community.
Full story on Panama Investor Blog
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