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The City of Kenora is deciding whether it needs to regulate the short term rental market.
That includes things like Airbnb or VRBO.
Kevan Sumner is the city’s planner and says they’ve seen an increase in the short term rental market in recent years.
“84 that have been identified as operating through Airbnb and VRBO,” Sumner told council recently.
“So if somebody is just advertising through word-of-mouth or Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji, something like that, it wouldn’t have captured that.”
Sumner adds that if they do want to regulate it, there might be a cost to the city.
“There is no doubt that we would have to accommodate for the staffing resources. Now, there would be some offset from revenue if we went with a licencing or permitting system. That’s a big if. That’s one of the decisions we would ultimately have to make.”
The report issued by the planning department shows the average occupancy rate was 71 percent with an average monthly revenue of almost $2,400 per month.
Those numbers go up during the summer with an occupancy rate of 90 percent and rent just to $4,000 in July.
The city’s Planning Department has been directed to do public consultations to gain input from stakeholders looking at options for short term rentals.