Kenting guesthouse to be fined for exceeding price rise limit

Taipei, March 30 (CNA) A guesthouse in southern Taiwan's Kenting National Park will be fined for violating price control rules after an investigation by local authorities found it increased its room rate by almost 900 percent for dates in early April, when two major festivals are held.

During a joint inspection on Saturday by the Pingtung County Bureau of Transportation and Tourism Development and the Hengchun Police Bureau, the guesthouse was found not only to be engaging in price gouging but also operating more rooms than permitted, with 15 rooms in use instead of the nine registered.

The bureau told CNA on Sunday that the guesthouse faces fines of NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 for price gouging and NT$40,000 for exceeding the allowed room count, citing regulations stipulated in the Act for the Development of Tourism.

The joint inspection was launched following the local government's discovery last Thursday of an illegal guesthouse in the tourist-attracting Kenting area that raised its room price from NT$895 (US$26.94) to a whopping NT$7,980 per night, higher than the approved range for a price hike.

The guesthouse was ordered to stop operations and fined based on the Act, according to the Pingtung County government.

The bureau said it will continue conducting inspections aimed at ensuring compliance with price controls and called on all guesthouse operators to maintain fair pricing and high quality for consumers.

The Taiwan Music Festival, formerly known as the Spring Scream, is being held in Kenting from April 3-5 and overlaps with the national four-day holiday April 3-6 for the Tomb-Sweeping Festival.