Airbnb rentals during pandemic a worry
Trent Lakes mayor concerned over number of people flocking to area
While seasonal cottage owners are no longer a concern for the Municipality of Trent Lakes, those renting Airbnb cottages are.
The Ontario government announced Thursday that shortterm rentals including lodges, cabins, cottages, homes and condominiums will be allowed to resume operations starting Friday at 12:01 a.m. after being outlawed for the province’s COVID-19 state of emergency.
But some have already been flocking to the Kawarthas to rent Airbnbs during the pandemic.
Trent Lakes Mayor Janet Clarkson said she was recently contacted by a woman who cleans about six Airbnb cottages.
“She said they would come and there would be maybe four or five cars at a cottage. She said she told them that they’re not supposed to be doing this, and they said they’d do what they like,” Clarkson said.
Airbnb renters pay anywhere up to $1,000 a night and bring lots of people, Clarkson said.
“I think any of the cottage population that’s going to come, they probably have a pretty good handle on what’s required of them. But these people at the Airbnbs, they couldn’t care less,” she said.
“If you’re paying $900 or $1,000 a night and you’re coming in with five or six or, in some cases, 15 people, you have no responsibility or conscience toward the area.”
County Warden J. Murray Jones said social distancing is crucial.
“If people can’t understand these basic rules, we’re all hitting our head against the wall for nothing,” he said.
Diane Kember who lives next to an Airbnb cottage on Mississauga
Lake, said when the rental first opened for the 2020 season, she counted 15 people there in about five days.
“We saw that after one group left, the next came within two hours,” Kember said. “My husband and I take the rules regarding this pandemic very seriously. I am an ICU RN and lived through the SARS pandemic.”
Kember said she emailed Premier Doug Ford who referred her back to local police. She has also tried to contact Airbnb, but hasn’t received a response, she said.
According to Clarkson, unlike Kember, many local residents are afraid of the potential repercussions if they complain about these particular cottagers.
After being contacted by a local resident residing near an Airbnb who told Clarkson about some ongoing issues, she told them she would call the police to inform them.
“He said, ‘I’m afraid. I complained last year and the vandalism on my place was terrible,’ ” she said. “Another fella told me these renters have started to throw all their garbage into his yard when they leave. So it’s pretty nasty.”
One woman even sold her cottage due to harassment from those renting the Airbnb next door to her, Clarkson said.
“And it had been in the family for a couple of generations,” she said. Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith said while Airbnbs can give individuals a place to stay during the pandemic if need be, people shouldn’t be going to these rentals for a weekend getaway.
“No that’s not supposed to be happening, and if that’s the case, then they can reach out to Public Health and Public Health could investigate it,” he said.
According to an Airbnb spokesperson the company has reached out to Clarkson’s office directly.
“We have encouraged our host and guest community to follow all restrictions in regard to leisure travel,” they told The Examiner on Tuesday.
When Airbnb cottages initially opened in the municipality, Clarkson said they were generally rented for two to three weeks in the summer to help owners pay their property taxes.
“I have no problems with that.
But it became very profitable. So what people started doing was buying places specifically to rent out. So the people who own the cottages, don’t even live in the area,” she said.
These Airbnb renters are also in direct competition with local cottage resorts, Clarkson said.
“They pay no taxes, they have no health inspections, no business license, but they’re operating very, very expensive properties. And people buy one, and then they buy another one, and some people own three or four of them,” she said.
Before cottage resorts can open, they’ve had to submit a detailed outline as to how they’re going to open and their regimes for cleaning, Clarkson said.
“And all of these things have to be accepted before they can open,” she said.
Prince Edward County and Muskoka are dealing with the same situation with Airbnb cottages and have spent a lot of money trying to get a handle on it, Clarkson said.
“So for somebody like us with our resources, we don’t have a hope in hades,” she said. “So until the government steps in and actually gives us some teeth into this, we’re going to have to live with the repercussions.” Peterborough County OPP has created a hotline for residents to call if there are any concerns with Airbnb cottage renters in the region, Clarkson said.
“At least when people call us, we can say call the OPP. What they will do is they will respond because of having more than five people,” she said.
Because of the virus, Clarkson said the current danger is the lack of responsibility from these Airbnb renters.
“I’m not as concerned about cottage owners because if they come, and they will, for the most part, they’ll maintain a degree of distancing,” she said.