Kompas reports that small hotels in Bali are losing market share to private and small, unlicensed accommodation operators offered by digital platforms such as Airbnb. Competition from illegal accommodation providers is blamed for the current exodus of hotel operators selling their entire hotel businesses through online listings and other avenues.
To halt this business exodus, the Bali Provincial Administration is seeking ways to regulate accommodation offered online through digital platforms. Hariyadi BS Sukamdani, Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), said the government now requires properties listed on these applications to be officially registered accommodation businesses.
Hariyadi said these properties must possess a Business Identification Number (NIB) and other appropriate operating permits.
”The Ministry of Tourism has mandated that all application platforms register their properties—officially registering them so they have an NIB and the necessary permits,” Hariyadi said on Tuesday, 22 September 2026. He added that the government is now also monitoring properties offered through online applications such as Airbnb.
”The government isn’t banning Airbnb, but they must comply with regulations. If it fails to follow the rules, the site could potentially be blocked, making it inaccessible from Indonesia,” Hariyadi said.
Rising Tourism Trends:
Furthermore, according to Hariyadi, Bali hotels being sold online does not necessarily indicate a decline in Bali’s tourism industry. He noted that tourist visits to Bali are still trending upward, with figures reportedly surpassing pre-COVID-19 levels. “If we talk about Bali, it is likely still growing. By mid-last year, numbers had already exceeded the COVID-19 era—reaching 6 million. And this year, they will certainly rise further,” Hariyadi said. Bali’s tourism sector could still grow 5–10 percent, provided there are no extraordinary circumstances.
“The prevalence of Airbnb has indeed eroded the situation; individual owners are listing their properties on the platform,” said Hariyadi. According to Hariyadi, small hotel owners’ decision to sell their properties also hinges on their individual business calculations. “Regarding the sale of those relatively small hotels, the owners are likely crunching the numbers—if there is a profit to be made, they simply seek that profit,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Bali Provincial Government says it will investigate reports that several hotels in Bali are being listed for sale on various online marketplaces and trading portals.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster has instructed the Bali Tourism Office to coordinate with the Badung Tourism Office and the Provincial Licensing Agency to verify licensing and registration information. “I have tasked the Head of the Bali Tourism Office with coordinating with the Badung Tourism Office and the Licensing Agency to gather data regarding reports of hotels being put up for sale,” Koster said when quoted by the State News Agency ANTARA.
Koster, saying it is largely “business as usual,” estimates that the sale of many hotels is linked to companies’ internal business dynamics rather than market sluggishness in Bali’s tourism sector. According to the Governor, several companies operate diversified business networks across regions outside Bali. Thus, if businesses in other regions face financial strain, profits from successful operations in Bali may be diverted to offset losses elsewhere.
”Tourism is actually on the rise; this is certainly related to their business affairs. There have been past instances where businesses operated not only in Bali—doing well locally but struggling elsewhere—resulting in profits generated here being siphoned off to cover losses elsewhere. In such circumstances. Businesses that are unable to sustain such pressure sometimes close their Bali operations and sell their properties,” Koster explained.
The Bali Provincial Government is also dismissing notions that hotels are being sold because of an oversupply of rooms caused by excessive hotel construction. Koster stated that overall hotel occupancy rates remain healthy, provided business operations are managed correctly and professionally. In fact, occupancy rates for star-rated hotels in Bali, Koster claims, average 80–90 percent.
Meanwhile, Kompas’s review of the official Rumah123 website found at least 20 hotels and villas currently listed for sale on the first page alone. The hotels listed on the front page of Rumah123 range in price from Rp 19 billion to Rp 600 billion and are located in various areas, including Kuta, Seminyak, Jimbaran, Ubud, and Amed. A similar situation exists on the online marketplace OLX, where various types of resorts at attractive price points—spread across different regions of the “Island of the Gods”—are offered to prospective investors.
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