In an interview with FMT, MyBHA President PK Leong said the existing by-laws were so rigid that many operators found them hard to comply with.
According to him, many don’t own the hotels they operate from and were renting the premises from commercial property owners in prime areas or heritage zones.
“For them to comply with fire safety requirements may be difficult and definitely expensive,” he said. “Many of them feel it may not be worth making the investments needed for compliance since they don’t have a licence.
“But if you give them a licence, they will have to comply with the requirements. It’s a chicken and egg situation.”
Citing one of the difficulties faced by operators, he said budget hotels with wooden floors or walls wouldn’t be able to comply with the fire safety requirements.
“But in heritage areas, these floorings and walls are part of the building’s heritage, charm and atmosphere. Many people go to areas like Penang and Malacca for the atmosphere.”
Leong said operators would gladly make adjustments to improve fire safety even if they couldn’t change the walls or floorings, for example.
“If we can’t change the walls or floorings, then make it compulsory for every room to have smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and safety stickers to guide guests to safety. People will comply because they want to be licensed.
“Another difficult thing to comply with is the requirement for emergency staircases at the back of a budget hotel. Some operators can’t install them because they don’t own the whole building.”
He urged the authorities to instead consider allowing the use of retractable vertical ladders as emergency fire exits.
“If you’re too rigid and people can’t comply, you will continue to have unlicensed hotels because there is a demand for them,” he said.
“At least if we are flexible with the requirements and put in place alternative measures, the authorities can better ensure the safety of all guests and compliance to a certain standard.”
MyBHA has about 2,000 members, including unlicensed hotels that are trying to obtain licences. The association estimates that outside its circle, there are 4,000 licensed and unlicensed budget hotels.