Shanghai's minsu management is 'lacking'

Measures to promote healthy development of minsu (Chinese B&Bs) and regulate the market were suggested by 27 political advisers in a joint proposal. The measures would include intelligent access control systems, fire safety standards and a blacklist.

China's minsu industry is developing rapidly with scale of the industry hitting 100 billion yuan (US$14.5 billion) in 2018, and it’s also on a fast track in Shanghai, the proposal says.

About 80 percent of minsu in Shanghai are urban minsu, and the majority of customers are tourists, followed by people needing short stays for training, business trips or other reasons, according to the proposal.

Average minsu consumption in Shanghai is 950 yuan with a high of 1,500 yuan and a low of 400 yuan, which is higher than other cities such as Beijing and Hangzhou, the proposal says.

There are about 50,000 minsu rooms in Shanghai's urban areas, mainly in Huangpu, Jing'an and Xuhui districts and the Pudong New Area, and over 70 percent are former apartments, followed by lofts and a small proportion of garden villas, according to the proposal.

About 80 percent of minsu landlords are part-time.

In contrast to its rapid development, management in Shanghai is lacking, triggering a number of public safety hazards, the proposal says.

Unified standards and regulations in the area are absent, and complaints to the Shanghai government service hotline 12345 in 2018 were three times those in 2017, with public security management hazards drawing the ire, the proposal says.

Unlike hotels, most of authentication data and information on tenants and landlords is not connected to public security authority platforms, giving rise to the risk of crimes, it adds.

In addition, many complaints were about patients with infectious diseases living at minsu near hospitals, leading to health risks, the proposal said.

Some minsu operators changed the structure of housing, and used electronic devices and decoration materials with potential hazards, advisers said.

Some minsu housing does not have good sound insulation, leading to disputes because of excess noise, the proposal says.

There is no regulation on minsu property and the duty of B&B platforms, and the standard of administrative penalties vary due to lack of a single regulation, hindering the industry's development, the proposal says.

The proposal calls for specific regulations on the feasibility and applicable conditions of residences into minsu and the duties of different parts for the legal development of minsu.

A "negative list" should be released, together with official intelligent access control system standards and fire safety standards to eliminate public safety hazards, the proposal says.

A minsu supervision and management system based on data sharing should be established, requiring B&B platforms to report registration information and real-time guests' information.

Real-name registration, payment, safety and health and dispute handling service standards should also be released, it asks.

A credibility and blacklist system of the industry should be established, the proposal says.