Where did we stay before Airbnb's existed?

Your thoughts on short-term rentals

There’s been quite a bit of response to council telling the province it wants to opt-out of the new short-term rental rules. As I noted yesterday, the divide on this one between what is being said online and what council is apparently being told is one of the more stark ones I can remember — at Monday’s meeting they said while they are hearing from both sides, the majority of people they are hearing from are opposed to the new rules. In contrast, the response I’ve seen online — in comments and replies to my newsletter, in the Citizen comments and on Reddit — are almost (but not quite) universally upset with council’s position. All three of those places are, I’d admit, are fairly small sample sizes, though I think so too are people in direct conversation with councillors so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. The limited polling I’ve seen that goes beyond self-selected content bubbles amounts to this Angus Reid paper from the end of 2023 which found most people would still prefer housing decisions stay local, with the region most likely to say that the Interior (which, for the purposes of this poll, include the north).

There was also this on how people feel about the specific rule that short-term rentals be limited to within people’s homes/properties they live in, which found a majority thought it would be expected — but it’s not broken down by region.

So anyways, yeah, tough to say what overall public opinion is, but I can share some of your comments. Let’s start with Kat Louro who reminds us that as much as there is hand-wringing about short-term rentals being needed to get professionals into town — there was a time when Airbnb and VRBO didn’t exist, and we muddled through:

I would really love feedback from health practitioners traveling to the region and seeking short or medium term lodging, or even Northern Health. Ancedotaly, I know someone in a remote town who leases their home to Northern Health on year long rental terms for doctors' to stay in. So it seems NH already has an alternative housing policy in place? At least in that instance. (I'll note that the town does have a healthy stock of airbnbs as well, so it's not because that's NH's only option in the area).

Likewise, in all my time travelling for work, I'm always put in a hotel. I'm a bit confused that airbnb is suddenly purported to be the only option for work and travel when, once again ancedotaly, I have not found that to be the case in the last five years, and it certainly was never the case in the 1990s and 2000s when people were still travelling to Prince George for shopping, work, and services.

My dad was posted in PG for work several times at times ranging from a few days to 6+ months. There was never any handwringing about a lack of options then, and he even brought all four of his kids once and we found a rental suite fine! I do see Ron's point about families seeking medium term lodging when here for health services, which is serviced by airbnbs to a degree.

But also, this law will not remove basement suites from the airbnb stock in PG, giving a full kitchen/multi room option for families wanting to be nearby to support relatives in treatment. It's not a sustainable solution though.

I always thought Prince George should have a bigger Easter Seals/Ronald McDonald House system for families coming here for surgeries/the cancer clinic, especially as we are a growing hub for all sorts of health services.

As someone who had to use Easter Seals system to access BC Children's, it is an incredible service, and extremely affordable (where else can you stay in Van for 30 dollars a night and have a full kitchen?).

Now, I'm just a simple socialist, but I think our focus should be on non-profit organizations or government services that provide housing support for health related travel. Airbnb landlords act like they are providing a benevolent service, when in reality, they make a lot of passive income on the backs of families needing housing (for health reasons, and increasingly for wildfire evacuations). I think that's what's bugging me about this take so much.

On that note, I also thought this comment on the Citizen from Lyn Granma was interesting:

Perhaps some of those health care professions he speaks about that prefer to stay in AirBNB's over hotels would actually prefer to stay in their own homes in Prince George if they were available instead of supporting greedy real estate agents who own eight short term rentals without the costs hotels are required to pay.

Back in the comments here, CC writes:

I think it’s so disheartening to see the city fighting against the Airbnb legislation so hard. When people own homes specifically for short term rentals, those are usually what we would consider starter homes.

Those homes are:

1. Not contributing to the long term rental market

2. Not available to be purchased by first-time home owners (you know, the people that usually want to buy a starter home)

I went to UNBC and would love to buy a house and settle down here but it is extremely difficult. We are currently in a housing crisis while people are hoarding homes as investments. Even *if* there were professionals coming to town that relied on short term rentals, they’re not completely going away! Airbnbs can still exist in primary properties. We also have a plethora of hotels in Prince George. It is SO frustrating to see council put the hypothetical needs of temporary workers ahead of the people living in Prince George. Yet another reason why students do not stay in Prince George after graduating.

And on Reddit, doogie1993 writes:

“The province is stepping into our jurisdiction” is hilarious when you consider the implication of that statement ie. that they’re admitting the rising cost of housing is their fault

On the other end of local government, OrdinaryKick says:

Whats the point in electing a city council if we can just have David Eby's big government control every aspect of the province including making decisions for every municipality around the province on what's best for them?

The councillors might suck but they have the right to suck and just because they suck doesn't mean we need the provincial government to tell us what to do.

There is lots more discourse out there if you want to find it!

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Quick news:

• It’s Pink Shirt Day.

• A reader from Mackenzie recommends: Hudson’s Hope, Tumbler Ridge express concern over relocation of wildfire crews.

• School board hears woes from teachers in understaffed schools.

• PGDTA President highlights needs for classroom supports at SD57 board meeting.

• RCMP release footage of hit and run on the Hart Highway.

• City prioritizing Hart sidewalk construction.

• B.C. Court of Appeals rules in favour of Saik’uz, Stellat’en First Nations over Kenney Dam harms.

• Checking out ‘Elsewhere Canada: Musings of a Katimaviker’ with local author Devon Flynn.

• Ensuring pet safety: Crafting crucial evacuation plans in wildfire-prone areas.

• Refuge Canada opening at The Exploration Place.

• Five PG athletes competing in Canadian Special Olympics this week.

• Athletes from all across the world will be arriving in Prince George over the weekend and into next week as the 2024 Para Biathlon World Championships begin on Wednesday (March 6).

Today’s song:

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