Unregulated hotels frustrate bed and breakfast operators
Business owners question fairness of letting unlicensed vacation rentals via Airbnb exist unchecked
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A licensed Yellowknife bed and breakfast owner is frustrated by the proliferation of online vacation rental options.
Faith Embleton, owner and operator of Embleton House Bed and Breakfast, wonders why she is paying to have a registered business when anyone in the city can rent a room in their home to tourists using websites like Airbnb. - John McFadden/NNSL photo |
The most popular being Airbnb, these sites allow users to either rent their entire home or a room in their home or put their space up for rent. They are unlicensed and unregistered accommodations, most often run out of people's homes.
Faith Embleton, who has run the Embleton House bed and breakfast on 52 Street for 17 years said it does not seem fair to her that she pays for a business licence, while those who rent their homes using Airbnb do not.
"My business licence is due on Sept 1 ... I'm wondering if there is any point to renewing my licence if no one else has to," Embleton said. "You also have to pay to register your business name and you have to have a GST number so that taxpayers know you are paying tax. Otherwise it could be going into your pocket. Who's going to know?"
Embleton said she also pays for a tourism licence and a fee to belong to the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce. While she does not have to pay those fees, she said she does because she wants to make sure people know she is running a safe, legitimate place for people to stay. Embleton added her insurance premiums are also much higher than those paid by homeowners because of liability issues associated with providing registered rooms to guests.
Embleton said she provides a safe environment for visitors and feels that without proper background checks on Airbnb operators, tourists could be vulnerable.
"We have many young people coming here. I don't want them going into a home where there is no criminal record check, no safety check, no fire checks. It's not right," Embleton said. "I have to be zoned by the city. I have to provide parking."
She said there are about 12 legitimate, registered bed-and-breakfast operators in the city. She did not know how many unregistered ones there are.
"I think it is good for the community to have a lot of rooms but I think they should be licensed," Embleton said. "If you are going to rent a room in your house, and you want to be called a bed and breakfast, then you better meet the city's criteria. The city is not asking for those things for Airbnbs. People are coming from half way around the world - they see it on (the Internet) and assume it is a registered place to stay."
Executive director of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce Deneen Everett said the chamber's board discussed this issue of Airbnbs earlier this summer.
"Our board of directors does not support the regulation of Airbnbs at this time. However, we're making a commitment to monitor the presence of Airbnbs in Yellowknife," Everett said. "We're also monitoring how other jurisdictions are regulating Airbnb in their community. But at this time we will not be taking any action."
Everett said Airbnb accommodations are not regulated in any other cities but some are trying. However, like the Internet taxi service Uber, municipalities are running into difficulties in court in trying to regulate them.
As of Monday, there were 57 different postings in Yellowknife on the Airbnb website. They were offering accommodations for anywhere from one to eight visitors.
Embleton said her concern is not about losing business to Airbnbs although she feels she may have. She said it's about paying fees, and taxes and higher insurance premiums than those who are offering a similar service but not paying the costs that she does.
Catharine Allooloo of Northern and Remote Wilderness Adventures, or NARWAL Bed and Breakfast, in Old Town fully supports Embleton and takes the same position.
"The registered bed and breakfasts go through the process largely to protect our customers. If there is a fire people have proper escapes and our fire extinguishers are charged, for instance," Allooloo said. "Shame on the city for not taking this on. It sounds to me like they are scared. If they are going to police the legitimate businesses and make sure we have licences and then let these guys off - shame on them."
In an e-mail, the city's director of corporate services Jeff Dalley said Airbnb housing is not currently regulated by the city but added the administrators are currently in the process of reviewing the business bylaw.
