The Resort Village of Candle Lake is discussing what to do with Airbnb's. (www.airbnb.ca)

By Nigel Maxwell

Housing issues

Airbnb properties a growing problem for Candle Lake, says report

May 13, 2020 | 8:00 AM

Citing numerous concerns related to Airbnb properties operating in the community and surrounding area, the Resort Village of Candle Lake council is re-visiting discussions around what regulations, if any, should be imposed on the operators.

A detailed 30-page report was given to council at last Friday’s meeting discussing the issue, and included information regarding what other Canadian municipalities are doing to address concerns related to taxation, zoning and regulation. According to Chief Administrative Officer Heather Scott, who authored the report, Airbnb locations are a growing problem for Candle Lake.

“Local businesses have experienced loss of revenue due to people cancelling reservations in lieu of obtaining an Airbnb rental,” she wrote.

Scott explained the resort village has also had to address bylaw enforcement complaints, due to large groups of people renting Airbnb’s with dozens of occupants “who party all weekend.”

A quick online search for an available Airbnb for a single adult over the May long weekend, comes up with a number of hits. (airbnb.ca)

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At this stage the information in the report has simply been given to council for consideration, and no formal bylaw or regulations have been discussed.

Mayor Borden Wasyluk told paNOW he believes there is a need for a better management system, to ensure there is a level playing field for the operators of the Airbnb’s and the locally owned rental cabins and hotels who face higher expenses.

“One pays commercial taxes and the other one doesn’t. One is subject to health regulations and the other one isn’t,” he said.

Wasyluk said another issue is that a proper bed and breakfast has a specified number of parking stalls based on the number of bedrooms, whereas that’s not the case with the Airbnb’s which are free to run over capacity.

Wasyluk could not offer any timeline for council’s discussion on the matter, noting the current COVID-19 protocols have made it difficult for council members to get together, and the internet speed in the community is too spotty for Zoom meetings.

Rick Rumberger is the general manager of the Candle Lake Golf Resort, and has raised the issue in the past to council. Rumberger explained he has both a commercial and personal interest.

“As a residential property owner, the last thing I want is a business next door to me. I didn’t put the money into my house here to have a business operating next door,” he said.

From a commercial point of view, Rumberger explained he has lost business from the Airbnb. He said operators are not registered for tax purposes, and don’t have to adhere to public health standards.

“The other thing is the first people that community groups come to for donations is our place. They don’t go to the Airbnb people for community projects,” he said.

According to council’s report, there are 47 listings for Airbnb’s in the Candle Lake area. When paNOW did its own search of availability on the property rental website for the upcoming long weekend, there were 20 listings ranging in price from $171 per night to $408.

When paNOW attempted to reach out to the operators for comment, the messages were not answered.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell