Waterfront condo Airbnbs spark concerns over “ghost hotels”
A new report highlights a growing number of Toronto waterfront condos are being turned into “ghost hotels” thanks to Airbnb.
Toronto is maturing into a global city, attracting tourists and visitors from all over the world. Airbnb has become a popular way for travellers to live like locals while visiting new places and it gives homeowners a way to generate income from their property, but a problem arises when residential property goes vacant due to owners using them as hotels instead of their intended purpose.
In Toronto where home prices are higher than they’ve ever been, more people need affordable housing than before and it doesn’t sit well with people that some of the city’s prime real estate is taken off the market with no one living there.
Metro News reports that as much as 16% of Airbnb’s Toronto listings are for waterfront condos and area advocates aren’t happy with it. While Airbnb claims that most people using the service are “regular people sharing their primary residence a few nights each month in order to make ends meet,” residents are painting a different picture of condos turning into “ghost hotels”.
Some are concerned about resident safety as they have strange guests revolving in and out through their building instead of a community of neighbours.
The market in Toronto has left many frustrated with the low supply of affordable homes. Lack of regulation for short-term home rental/home-sharing may be contributing to the issue as there currently isn’t very much stopping people from renting out places on Airbnb even if it goes against building rules. While residential vacancy isn’t a problem in the city overall, the city may want to put a stop to anything that takes supply away from residents as more available listings lead to a less competitive, cooler market.