LCQ11: Measures to combat operation of hotels and guesthouses without a licence
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Question:
Under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (Cap. 349), any person who on any occasion operates, keeps, manages or otherwise has control of a hotel or a guesthouse (except for accommodation provided on the basis of a minimum period of 28 continuous days for each letting) without a licence or a certificate of exemption (operation of unlicensed hotels and guesthouses) is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $200,000 and to imprisonment for two years and to a fine of $20,000 for each day during which the offence continues. Quite a number of unlicensed hotels and guesthouses have solicited business via online platforms in recent years. There are comments that the profits of operation of unlicensed hotels and guesthouses are substantial but the punishments imposed on the convicted persons lack deterrent effect, resulting in the continuation of such crimes despite repeated prohibition efforts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following details of (a) all the law enforcement actions taken and (b) those law enforcement actions taken on the basis of information gathered from online platforms, by the authorities in the past three years against operation of unlicensed hotels and guesthouses (set out in the table below): (i) number of inspections, (ii) number of prosecutions, (iii) number of convictions together with a breakdown of the number by the punishments imposed on the convicted persons: (iv) a fine below $10,000, (v) a fine of $10,000 or above, (vi) imprisonment for less than three months, and (vii) imprisonment for three months or more;
| Year | (i) | (ii) | (iii) | (iv) | (v) | (vi) | (vii) | |
| 2014 | (a) | |||||||
| (b) | ||||||||
| 2015 | (a) | |||||||
| (b) | ||||||||
| 2016 | (a) | |||||||
| (b) | ||||||||
(2) of the amount of public money and manpower deployed by the authorities in the past three years for combating operation of unlicensed hotels and guesthouses;
(3) whether the authorities will further step up law enforcement efforts to combat operation of unlicensed hotels and guesthouses in the coming year; if so, of the details, including the amount of relevant estimated expenditures to be increased; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether the authorities will adopt new measures (e.g. taking legal actions) to combat unlicensed hotels and guesthouses that solicit business via online platforms, so as to prevent the problem from worsening; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Operation of hotels and guesthouses in Hong Kong is regulated by the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (Cap. 349) (the Ordinance). The purpose is to ensure that premises intended to be used as hotels/guesthouses comply with the statutory standards in respect of building structure and fire safety in order to safeguard lodgers and members of the public. The Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) under the Home Affairs Department (HAD) is responsible for administering the Ordinance, including issuing licences and performing enforcement duties.
OLA has been committed to combating and raiding unlicensed hotels/guesthouses through a multi-pronged approach by such means as strengthening law enforcement, widening the intelligence network and enhancing deterrent effect. It also encourages and facilitates visitors to choose licensed accommodation by stepping up publicity and providing information of licensed hotels/guesthouses.
My reply to the Hon Yiu's question is as follows:
(1) In the past three years, the number of inspections carried out on the basis of information gathered from online platforms increased significantly by four folds from 188 in 2014 to 765 in 2016. In respect of the operation of unlicensed guesthouses, details of (a) all enforcement actions taken by OLA and (b) enforcement actions taken by OLA on the basis of information gathered from online platforms are tabulated below:
| Year |
(i) No. of inspection |
(ii) No. of prosecution |
(iii) No. of conviction |
(iv) Fine below $10,000 |
(v) Fine of $10,000 or above |
(vi) Imprisonment for less than 3 months |
(vii) Imprisonment for 3 months or more |
|
| 2014 | (a) | 13 153 | 147 | 148 | 119 | 25 | 6 | 0 |
| (b) | 188 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | (a) | 13 188 | 149 | 132 | 82 | 43 | 15 | 1 |
| (b) | 521 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | (a) | 13 574 | 158 | 166 | 103 | 49 | 18 | 1 |
| (b) | 765 | 15 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
Note: Figures of "No. of prosecution" and "No. of conviction" for the same year are slightly different because trials of some prosecution cases were/will be conducted in the subsequent year. Also, some convicted cases involved both fine and imprisonment.
(2) and (3) Apart from administering the Ordinance and handling licence issuance and enforcement duties, OLA is responsible for issuing 11 other types of licences and performing related enforcement duties pursuant to six other ordinances. As OLA carries out the above functions as a team, we do not have a breakdown of provision allocated and manpower deployed solely for combating and raiding unlicensed hotels/guesthouses. From 2015-16 to 2017-18, OLA's establishment increased from 122 to 132, covering among others, strengthening work on combating and raiding unlicensed hotels/guesthouses. The relevant information is set out below:
| 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 (estimate) |
|
| Establishment | 122 | 132 | 132 |
| Staff cost ($ million) (both civil servants and non-civil service contract staff) |
59.6 | 63.6 | 66.3 |
Apart from the above establishment, OLA also employs staff on part-time basis for related operations. Relevant information of the past three years is set out below:
| 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 (estimate) |
|
| Part-time staff | 39 | 40 | 48 |
| Staff cost ($ million) | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
OLA will review its requirement of manpower resources from time to time and deploy staff flexibly and effectively to ensure the proper administration of the Ordinance, including issuing licences and performing relevant regulation and enforcement duties.
(4) In order to enhance its efforts in combating and raiding unlicensed hotels/guesthouses soliciting lodgers via online platforms, OLA has strengthened intelligence collection by forming a dedicated team to search information and intelligence on suspected unlicensed hotels/guesthouses through browsing webpages, mobile applications, social media, discussion fora, blogs, etc. Law enforcement officers of OLA will initiate follow-up investigation when information on unlicensed hotels/guesthouses is found. Prosecution will be instituted immediately if there is sufficient evidence that the premises concerned are involved in operation of unlicensed hotels/guesthouses.
OLA will continue its work in carrying out proactive inspections, web browsing and instituting prosecutions, including conducting inspections and surprise checks during and outside office hours (e.g. at nights, during and before holidays) and collecting evidence by posing as clients (commonly known as "snaking") when necessary. It will also mount inter-departmental joint operations with other relevant departments to combat unlicensed hotels/guesthouses effectively.
OLA will also write to the websites concerned from time to time to state clearly that a licence is required for operating hotels/guesthouses in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong, and urge responsible persons of such websites not to post information of unlicensed hotels/guesthouses.
In addition, OLA will step up publicity, including posting messages on platforms such as the Internet, to urge visitors to patronise licensed hotels/guesthouses to safeguard personal safety. Visitors are also reminded that travel insurance may not cover incidents relating to accommodation at unlicensed hotels/guesthouses. To encourage their patronage of licensed hotels/guesthouses, OLA has uploaded the full list of licensed hotels/guesthouses onto its website (www.hadla.gov.hk) and the mobile application named "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses" to facilitate visitors and members of the public to search for the latest details and locations of licensed hotels/guesthouses and report suspected unlicensed hotels/guesthouses to OLA.
Ends/Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:05
Issued at HKT 16:05
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