Okanagan Air BNB

[Vacancyrate]

Some people in this thread are lamenting how they should be able to do whatever they want with their property and in today's headlines we see the end result of that sentiment.

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#244128

Just kick 'em out and raise the rent!

...but they're seniors so they get some sympathy and escape the insults due their renter status.

[WalterWhite]

Some people in this thread are lamenting how they should be able to do whatever they want with their property and in today's headlines we see the end result of that sentiment.

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#244128

Just kick 'em out and raise the rent!

...but they're seniors so they get some sympathy and escape the insults due their renter status.

Read the story and you’ll realize it was because of the management company’s mis-management - no ones getting kicked out.

[Vacancyrate]

Okay, agree, we could afford a hotel room.... however, are we exactly the demographic that would be attractive to a tourist town. We are willing and able to pay more in order to get what we want. We volunteer in the communities we stay. If you have (for example) a Brit couple staying for a month, in order to ski, bike, or whatever... They would never do this from a hotel room. Why would we forbid this? The landowner wants it , the renter wants it, they would not come here if they had to endure a conventional hotel experience.
We live in a popular summer rental area (ok Centre). The worst experience I ever had? Someone horked on the lawn while playing bocce as I was passing. I said “that’s gross”, they said, *so sorry ma’am “

People who live in a neighborhood make up the fabric of the community. People who live in neighborhoods contribute to the community. Communities have needs and services and long term goals. Urban planning. Strategy.

...and then there's you.

You don't live there, you don't work there and you don't vote there and you have no long term contribution to the community other than taking up parking space and using the services, which reflect the needs of a TOURIST and not the needs of a RESIDENT. Suddenly my residential neighborhoods needs are competing with the needs of a tourist area.

AirBnB is also not kicking in to the taxbase as much as a hotel does - so it's a drain to the system at your advantage. You get cheaper rates thou!

You also take up what would normally be a fulltime home for someone. You stay the weekend and the end result is women and children like this (http://www.castanet.net/news//news/Kelo ... or-shelter) live in a campsite all summer because there is nowhere to rent thanks to AirBnB.

[Vacancyrate]

Read the story and you’ll realize it was because of the management company’s mis-management - no ones getting kicked out.

I read the story. The company is trying to pull a fast one and evict against regulations.

Many people whine on here about regulations.

If certain people had their druthers those seniors would be out in the street.

[Vacancyrate]

AirBnB is basically upper middle class property owners stealing jobs and rentals away from lower class hotel workers that mostly rent.

A 75 room hotel employs at least 4 full time and 2 part time covering GM and front desk. 1 fulltime office/payroll. Housekeeping needs 10 people 5 fulltime 5 part time. 2 fulltime laundry people, 3 (2 full 1 part) janitors, 2 (1 full 1 part) repair techs, 2 IT people (1 full 1 part) and 2 or 3 more fulltimers if you have a pool/sauna.

That's 18 fulltime jobs and 8 part time jobs not including a restaurant.

AirBnB - zero jobs. It's extra income for the employed-somewhere-else property owner that is additionally not supplying housing options for the out-of-work hotel workers

I can sympathize with the "poor upper middle class property owner" that has had to endure 30+ years of static wage growth and then send Mom off to work fulltime in order to scrape by. Now even that's not enough and these middle class professionals have to pretend to run hotels on the weekends just to feel like those 4 years of University and years of 50 hour weeks at the office is actually worth something. If it wasn't for AirBnB these people would have nothing but debt and zero free time and nothing to show for it except bags under their eyes. The sad part is they have to step on the lower classes just to elevate themselves above the mess.

We all lose.

[vegas1500]

AirBnB is basically upper middle class property owners stealing jobs and rentals away from lower class hotel workers that mostly rent.

AirBnB is also someone that has made an investment and is looking to get ahead financially by running a small business. Whether you agree or like the end results it can be a great investment strategy and much better than long term rentals. Not everything is about stealing jobs but it seems like its more about envy of other people getting ahead.

[lsj777]

The city is proposing a 4.5 tax increase and If you added another 6 % increase for power, water , gas and maintenance costs to a long term rental unit , it does not make economic sense when you can only increase rents by 2.5 % and you can not blame people who run abnb operations to look at their best options for the investment they made in the community. These operations add to the local economy because they are spending the money they make by supporting other local businesses in the city . If the city wants to increase the costs for abnb operations they might see these types of operations shutting down the same way landlords are getting out of long term rentals and it makes me wonder where those tourism dollars will go when people can not afford to pay 200.00 a night for a room in this city . This city should just bite the bullet and tell the tax payers that they have to add another 4.5 % tax increase to the one they are proposing in order to build affordable housing in this city because they have already priced landlords out of producing long term rental units in this city and now they have decided on increasing costs for abnb operations which will effect tourism dollars that come in to this city as well as the tourism operations that a lot of people are employed in . There is no way you will see abnb operations change and become long term rental units because of the horror stories you have seen in the local media and what landlords have to deal with when it comes to dealing with problem tenants . The city should let these abnb operations stay in business and put a stop to these increases because these increases will just be added on to the end user and when it becomes unaffordable to stay at a abnb , all you will do is drive tourism dollars out of this city in to another city and if you can keep things affordable for the consumer it will only create more repeat business that will come back to your community to spend money on tourism related businesses and into the local economy.

[Anonymous123]

AirBnB is basically upper middle class property owners stealing jobs and rentals away from lower class hotel workers that mostly rent.

A 75 room hotel employs at least 4 full time and 2 part time covering GM and front desk. 1 fulltime office/payroll. Housekeeping needs 10 people 5 fulltime 5 part time. 2 fulltime laundry people, 3 (2 full 1 part) janitors, 2 (1 full 1 part) repair techs, 2 IT people (1 full 1 part) and 2 or 3 more fulltimers if you have a pool/sauna.

That's 18 fulltime jobs and 8 part time jobs not including a restaurant.

AirBnB - zero jobs. It's extra income for the employed-somewhere-else property owner that is additionally not supplying housing options for the out-of-work hotel workers

I can sympathize with the "poor upper middle class property owner" that has had to endure 30+ years of static wage growth and then send Mom off to work fulltime in order to scrape by. Now even that's not enough and these middle class professionals have to pretend to run hotels on the weekends just to feel like those 4 years of University and years of 50 hour weeks at the office is actually worth something. If it wasn't for AirBnB these people would have nothing but debt and zero free time and nothing to show for it except bags under their eyes. The sad part is they have to step on the lower classes just to elevate themselves above the mess.

We all lose.

Since most BnBs are only one room, there is no need for 18 full time and 8 part time employees. One employee is enough. If you do the math, 75 BnBs actually employ 75 people.

[Vacancyrate]

removed.

[Vacancyrate]

These operations add to the local economy because they are spending the money they make by supporting other local businesses in the city .

I'd like to see some proof that operators are actually spending money in Kelowna, especially considering the amount of out-of-town landlords in Kelowna. I'd also like to see a study showing how a few dinners out downtown and the economic stumius associated with that offsets a 0% vacancy rate and the amount of money local businesses spend on trying to attract employees to come work in a place where there is nowhere to live.

If the city wants to increase the costs for abnb operations they might see these types of operations shutting down the same way landlords are getting out of long term rentals and it makes me wonder where those tourism dollars will go when people can not afford to pay 200.00 a night for a room in this city .

all you will do is drive tourism dollars out of this city in to another city

Always with the threats.

With one breath they say "It will always be expensive here because it's Kelowna if you don't like it leave" and with the next breath they say "People won't come here if you dont give me a tax break!"

The private sector is not the only solution to creating housing.

[Anonymous123]

*removed*

[soupy]

The city is proposing a 4.5 tax increase ($88 a year for average household)and If you added another 6 % increase for power, water , gas and maintenance costs to a long term rental unit , (But long term tenants are the ones usually paying for utilities...)it does not make economic sense when you can only increase rents by 2.5 % (economic sense? Was the original contract not covering the mortgage payments? Or just want to boost profit more?)and you can not blame people who run abnb operations to look at their best options for the investment they made in the community. These operations add to the local economy because they are spending the money they make by supporting other local businesses in the city . If the city wants to increase the costs for abnb operations they might see these types of operations shutting down the same way landlords are getting out of long term rentals and it makes me wonder where those tourism dollars will go when people can not afford to pay 200.00 a night for a room in this city . This city should just bite the bullet and tell the tax payers that they have to add another 4.5 % tax increase to the one they are proposing in order to build affordable housing in this city because they have already priced landlords out of producing long term rental units in this city and now they have decided on increasing costs for abnb operations which will effect tourism dollars that come in to this city as well as the tourism operations that a lot of people are employed in . There is no way you will see abnb operations change and become long term rental units because of the horror stories you have seen in the local media and what landlords have to deal with when it comes to dealing with problem tenants . The city should let these abnb operations stay in business and put a stop to these increases because these increases will just be added on to the end user and when it becomes unaffordable to stay at a abnb ,(Why does the City care what the end user pays for the airbnb rental? Not their business) all you will do is drive tourism dollars out of this city in to another city and if you can keep things affordable for the consumer it will only create more repeat business that will come back to your community to spend money on tourism related businesses and into the local economy.

[cv23]

There are established zoning requirements/procedures, licensing fees, health and safety standards, tax laws, etc currently in place for hotels so if Air BnB are in exactly the same business as hotels and in direct competition with hotels why not just apply all the same rules to Air BnB's as apply to hotels?
Conversely if Air BnB's have few/little or no rules why should hotels have such tough expensive and stringent rules when a business which is providing the same service and their direct competition does not?
Shouldn't all business owners doing the same business, providing short term accommodations, have to abide by the same rules , fees, etc? Only makes sense to have a level playing field for all businesses providing the same service within the same municipality, province, country.

[JLives]

People who live in a neighborhood make up the fabric of the community. People who live in neighborhoods contribute to the community. Communities have needs and services and long term goals. Urban planning. Strategy.

...and then there's you.

You don't live there, you don't work there and you don't vote there and you have no long term contribution to the community other than taking up parking space and using the services, which reflect the needs of a TOURIST and not the needs of a RESIDENT. Suddenly my residential neighborhoods needs are competing with the needs of a tourist area.

AirBnB is also not kicking in to the taxbase as much as a hotel does - so it's a drain to the system at your advantage. You get cheaper rates thou!

You also take up what would normally be a fulltime home for someone. You stay the weekend and the end result is women and children like this (http://www.castanet.net/news//news/Kelo ... or-shelter) live in a campsite all summer because there is nowhere to rent thanks to AirBnB.

Agreed. It's not healthy to live in a community where the residents are on the streets and your neighbours are various tourists with no vested interest. What is so wrong with putting people ahead of profit? These are not investments, these are people's HOMES. This attitude of every man for himself really sucks and is dangerous.

[Treblehook]

The AirBNB phenomenon is a symptom of societal values going downhill. What kind of person is willing to do something that has the potential to degrade the quality of life of their neighbors? I guess the answer is individuals caught up in the "me, me, me" syndrome. We need local governments who understand and protect the quality of life in our residential neighborhoods and laws that preclude the existence of AirBnBs in our residential areas. The penalties for violations need to be set at a level where the consequence offenses are not simply a cost of doing business. The whole concept of these operations in residential areas is annoying to say the least.