New law proposes limits to MGTO’s hotel inspection

Lawmaker Chan Chak Mo, Chairman of the Second Standing Committee of the AL (right)

Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) inspectors may face greater restrictions in accessing some hotel facilities under a new law being discussed at the Legislative Assembly (AL).
The change was revealed by lawmaker Chan Chak Mo, Chairman of the Second Standing Committee of the AL, after a meeting of the committee yesterday to discuss the “Legal regime of hotel industry and similar industry.”
According to Chan, at yesterday’s meeting the committee debated a new version of the law’s text submitted last week by the government. In the new version there are several significant changes which include restricting MGTO inspectors’ access to the hotel rooms.
“Article 87 has an important change. Before, MGTO [inspectors] could have access to all places in hotels, including the rooms,” Chan said, noting that the committee decided to revoke this right for all groups, excepting police authorities if they believe a crime is taking place in a hotel room.
“We need to respect the privacy of the people [hotel guests]. In cases of a crime, police can always enter [the rooms] but now [in the new version of the law text] the government has changed the article, stating that MGTO inspectors can enter all public facilities and services areas, but not the rooms,” he explained.
This is one of the several changes in the text that, according to Chan, has been made by the government in response to opinions expressed by the committee. The committee “will contribute to perfecting this new law,” the chairman added.
Another of the announced changes has to do with the first article of the law, which now “broadens the scope of application,” including not just the hotel itself but also restaurants and similar establishments within the hotel premises.
The chairman of the committee explained that this is to account for older hotel units which have been operating for several years under different regulations. In some cases, these older hotels have been operating in buildings and on land plots that were assigned different purposes from the hospitality industry, so there was a need to include them under the same legislation.
As Chan also noted, one of the novelties of this law is that it establishes after its enforcement that all new hotel units to be built “must be installed in urban buildings designated to be used for the hotel industry.”
“[In the future] if the land plot is not meant to be used for a hotel, then we cannot build a hotel. Of course, in the cases that hotels already exist and have been operating for many years they can continue to do so,” Chan explained in reply to media questions.
Chan also explained that the land purpose definition would be done according to the Land, Public Works, and Transport Bureau, adding, “it is also possible to change the land purpose but that is not new. […] If you change the land purpose then you need to pay the land premium difference and, as we know, to do so, you need the agreement of 100% of the tenants and building owners.”
‘One-stop’
licensing service
The chairman of the Second Standing Committee of the AL also revealed that another of the novelties of the new hotel business law is the inclusion of a “one-stop” service for licensing. This solution has already been in force for food and beverage establishments under licensing from the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM).
According to Chan Chak Mo, this idea seeks to align the hotel industry with other industries’ laws currently in force which, according to both committee members and the government, have been successfully applied.
With the implementation of the “one-stop” system also comes the issuing of temporary operation licenses. According to Chan, “while waiting for other inspections like fire [inspections] for instance, the facilities will be able to temporarily operate for a period of six months so they can start their business.” He added that such a license could be renewed for another period of six months.
“We are still discussing the possibility of the issuing of two temporary authorizations in different moments,” Chan said, explaining that one of the times would be “before the inspection” from the authorities and the other would be after the inspection and before the final license is issued.
Since yesterday’s meeting did not count the presence of government officials, the committee has another meeting today to continue to discuss such details.
Chan also clarified that the issuing of temporary licenses applies to restaurants, bars, and dance rooms located in the hotel premises but not to the hotel unit in general.

Until the next
legislative session
During yesterday’s meeting, the chairman also noted that it is almost certain that the committee will not be able to issue a final opinion on the Hotel Business Law and send the bill for final approval in plenary session before September 15, when this legislative session comes to a closure.
“It seems difficult to have a final opinion during this legislative session. We have about one month now [until the end of the extension period approved by the AL] but I find it difficult to see it happening,” Chan said, noting that there are still several details that need to be debated before an agreement is reached between the committee and the government.
“I think it can be this year but I doubt that the bill can be delivered to the AL for final approval in plenary during this session,” Chan concluded.