The short version
- Required: yes, for any accommodation offered to visitors as a business, including Airbnb.
- Issued by: the Hotels Licensing Board, through the Department of Tourism (DoT).
- Before you list: you may not operate or advertise until the licence is issued.
- Cost: CI$25 per bedroom, with a CI$250 minimum.
- Inspections: DoT, Environmental Health and Fire Service, repeated each year.
- Expires: 31 August every year (hotels: 31 October).
- Then every month: the 13% Tourist Accommodation Tax return.
Who needs a Tourism Accommodation Licence
The Tourism Law makes it an offence to operate tourist accommodation without a licence. "Tourist accommodation" means overnight or day-to-day accommodation for visitors provided as a business - hotels, guesthouses, apartments, condos, villas and cottages. DoT has applied it to short-term rentals with no carve-out for home-sharing, so an Airbnb listing needs a licence whether it is a whole house or a single room.
Renting to a long-term tenant who lives there is ordinary residential letting, not tourist accommodation.
How to apply
Start with DoT's current application and supporting checklists, not an old copy saved from a previous year. The official sequence is application and fee, three agency inspections, then Hotels Licensing Board review and issuance.
- Download DoT's current new-application form, check it against the Licensing and Inspection page, and read the official accommodation licence information sheet. Complete and sign the form, then save it as a PDF for an email submission.
- Check your other permissions first: strata by-laws for a condo, and planning approval for the use, if relevant.
- Submit the application and fee. DoT accepts signed applications by email or in person; follow the current delivery and payment instructions on its page.
- Book and pass all three inspections yourself (below).
- Wait for the licence. After all three reports pass, they go to the Hotels Licensing Board. DoT says the licence should arrive within four weeks; contact DoT if it does not.
Initial application and annual inspections
A first-time application does not become a licence when you submit the form or pay the fee. You must book and pass inspections by the Department of Tourism, the Department of Environmental Health and the Cayman Islands Fire Service, after which the Hotels Licensing Board reviews the reports and issues the licence. For each annual renewal, submit the renewal application and fee and pass all three inspections again. The owner or property manager must attend, and the unit cannot be occupied by guests during an inspection.
Prepare from the agencies' current checklists: the Fire Service checklist, Environmental Health checklist and DoT condo and guest-house checklist. Check smoke alarms, extinguishers, exits, electrical panels, sanitation, water, pest control, pools, equipment and the condition of the property before the visits.
If an inspector finds a problem, fix it and contact that agency to arrange a re-inspection. Passing an inspection does not let you advertise or host guests; wait until the Hotels Licensing Board has issued the licence.
Fees
DoT's current information sheet states a fee of CI$25 per bedroom, with a minimum of CI$250. In practice, a property with 1–10 bedrooms pays the CI$250 minimum; a larger property pays CI$25 for every bedroom. Check the current official information sheet before applying, rather than relying on an older saved fee schedule.
Expiry and renewal
Licences for apartments, condos, villas and guesthouses expire on 31 August each year; hotel licences expire on 31 October. The Tourism Law sets 1 August as the day to apply for renewal (1 October for hotels), and you must hold a valid licence on 1 September to keep operating. All three inspections are repeated every year, and DoT asks hosts to book them by 1 May so the renewal is done in time - a lapsed licence means you are operating unlicensed.
Use DoT's current renewal-application form rather than reusing the new-application form or last year's saved copy.
A licence does not transfer with the property. A new owner needs to deal with DoT before continuing to take guests.
A change of operator also needs a new application and CI$250 fee. A change of property manager has no fee, but DoT says an updated application must be submitted immediately.
Operating without a licence
The Tourism Law sets a penalty of $100 a day for every tourist accommodated - or offered accommodation - without a licence. Failing to make a required return or refusing an inspection can bring a $1,000 fine and up to six months in prison. In 2026 roughly 1,270 properties were licensed against more than 1,500 active listings, and housing policy under discussion includes tighter controls on short-term rentals, so expect enforcement to grow.
Other things to check
- Trade and Business Licence: the Tourism Law says licensed tourist accommodation does not also need one. Ask DoT if you run several properties through a company.
- Insurance: make sure the policy covers paying guests.
- Tax: once licensed, a Tourist Accommodation Tax return is due every month by the 28th - see the deadlines calendar.
Hosts.ky reminds you before your licence expires each year, alongside your monthly tax deadlines.