Short-Term Rental Platforms such as Airbnb Constitute Unfair Competition for Hotels in Panama
Panamanian hotel sector reiterates call to regulate Airbnb
Yovanna Segarra, president of the Panamanian Hotel Association (Apatel), stated this Friday, August 1, that her association believes short-term rental platforms, such as Airbnb, constitute unfair competition for hotels in Panama. Segarra emphasized that Panamanian hotels do not have the highest rates on the market in Latin America. Segarra also complained that there is no oversight of short-term rental activity in the country. The lack of oversight is “one of the main reasons why the activity has grown so much,” she said.
Given this scenario, the Apatel leader highlighted that the number of available rental units in the country grew by 11% between 2023 and 2024, while the number grew by 13% between 2024 and 2025. However, hotel occupancy in the country, which consists of 20,000 rooms, has remained stable. She also emphasized that, although Panama City has the largest concentration of rooms, there are also options at various prices in the interior.
