Province says hosts still have time to comply, but Airbnb says system failures are the real issue
Thousands of Airbnb vacation bookings across British Columbia may be cancelled as the province’s new short-term rental rules take effect, regulations the province says other platforms have successfully navigated.
The new BC rules require short-term rental hosts to register with the provincial government and confirm their eligibility before listing properties on platforms like Airbnb. The province’s objective is to free up more long-term housing by limiting short-term rentals to a host’s principal residence or an attached unit, like a basement suite or laneway house.
But Airbnb says the process is plagued by registration issues, putting the travel plans of thousands, particularly domestic tourists, in jeopardy.
“Thousands of reservations across the province are now at risk,” Alex Howell, Airbnb’s Canadian policy lead, said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “These are registered, compliant hosts that are failing validation protocols through no fault of their own.
“And this impacts… thousands of reservations across the province, at least 50% of which are domestic travellers who are following their own government’s advice to support local and travel within Canada this year.”
Howell said technical glitches and formatting issues in the government’s short-term rental registration system are blocking hosts from complying, even when they meet all legal criteria.
“Typically, we would have worked with a government for six months to do live testing, to make sure that things are working the way they should,” she said.
“And unfortunately in this situation, BC really just rushed into launching the system that hadn’t been fully tested, and that’s what’s brought us to this situation.”
Instead of waiting for the June 23 enforcement deadline, when unregistered properties must be delisted, Airbnb is proactively contacting impacted hosts and guests to offer penalty-free cancellations.
“We think it’s irresponsible to wait until the 23rd to alert travellers that there might be an issue,” Howell said. “We’re trying to get them that information ahead of time so that they can make some informed decisions.”
Read next: Has BC's short-term rental crackdown made housing more affordable?
BC housing minister Ravi Kahlon acknowledged the challenges but said the province expects Airbnb to do its part.
“We hope that Airbnb will choose to support their hosts in verifying their listings, instead of cancelling their bookings,” Kahlon said in a statement. "This is new ground for BC, and we are working through ServiceBC, our short-term rental branch, and the platforms themselves to help hosts comply with the requirements."
Kahlon added that 65 other short-term rental platforms are operating in the province, many of which have already supported their hosts in registering without issue.
The opposition BC Conservatives have criticized the NDP government’s handling of the short-term rental file. Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird said the rules contradict the province’s push for domestic tourism.
“How do you promote staycations while sabotaging the short-term rental market that makes them possible in small towns?” Bird said in a statement.
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