Susanne Young manages a short-term rental unit that overlooks the waterfront in downtown Kelowna.
“This industry has been a crucial part of building tourism in Kelowna and attracting people that want something a little bit different than hotels,” Young told Global News.
She said the two-bedroom apartment has played host to guests from all over the world.
“Belgium, Germany, Ireland, England, New Zealand, Australia, United Arab Emirates,” she said.
Young said she’s in disbelief the province would eliminate accommodation options like this, especially in cities that rely on tourism.
“I think it will be devastating,” Young said. “When people who enjoy staying at vacation rentals search for a property and don’t find anything, they’ll think everything is booked up and they’ll move on to another destination.”
However, the Tourism Industry Association of B.C. (TIABC) doesn’t agree.
“I think you’ll still see much demand for our destination and people finding places to stay and travelling to British Columbia and travelling to the Okanagan,” said Judas, TIABC’s CEO.
TIABC supports the new legislation, saying it will help create more long-term housing for hospitality workers and eliminate so-called ghost hotels — second homes that are almost exclusively used as short-term rental accommodation.
“Kelowna is one of those examples where there are many apartment buildings or condos where a significant number of the units have been rented by commercial operators,” said Judas, “and therefore taken out of the long-term rental market.”
Judas said even with those units being eliminated from the vacation rental pool, there are still plenty of places for people to stay.
“Whether it’s in a short-term rental in a campground, in a motel, in a hotel, ” he said.
“One hundred per cent of hotels and motels are not booked 100 per cent of the time, so there is still accommodation available. People also have a choice to stay with friends and relatives, or perhaps in a neighbouring community.”
But Young said being in the short-term rental market business, she has access to hotel data that shows otherwise.
“I have access to analytics that show that hotels can be fully booked and vacation rentals can be fully booked, so where will these tourists even be able to go?” she said.
Global News contacted the Kelowna Hotel Motel Association to find out whether local hotels have the capacity to accommodate all tourists, now that so many vacation properties will be eliminated.
No one returned Global News’ calls.
When contacted, the B.C. Hotel Association also said no one was available to speak.
Tourism Kelowna is also holding off on commenting, saying it is still reviewing the proposed changes and wasn’t ready to speak on the topic.
“The brakes have to be put on and there has to be more public consultation about the ramifications of this particular legislation,” Young said.
“Our town is a tourism-based economy and we’re in high jeopardy of losing that.”