1731 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

Then they'll look at vacation rentals. And then who knows how much teeth regulation will have beyond charging a tax or fee with each booking (which AirBnB is setup to do).

 

There are also vacation rentals that will never be taxed at source.

 

https://victoria.cra...t.ca/search/vac

 

Here the party that offers for rent the place does not have to pay Air BnB a cut.  And now with Square and Interac, they can still take electronic payments.

 

Like Coleman says, they will ever be ahead of the internet.

[Bingo]

Like Coleman says, they will ever be ahead of the internet.

 

There that does it. I'm moving to the city and voting Coleman for Mayor.

[Bingo]

Everything from marijuana shops and Airbnbs to controlling Canada geese populations will be up for debate when politicians gather at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention in Victoria next month.

A number of resolutions call on the provincial government to regulate short-term rentals to “level the playing field” with conventional operators such as hotel operators.

People renting out rooms, apartments or entire homes through platforms like Airbnb avoid paying a variety of taxes — from higher commercial property tax rates to special tourism levies.

A resolution from Vancouver says that the explosive growth of online rental platforms such as Airbnb is forcing local governments to take action to protect affordable housing stock for long-term residents — making tax fairness paramount.

Coleman expects resolutions regarding the short-term rentals to garner significant interest.

- See more at: http://www.timescolo...h.EPGgrnsD.dpuf

 

 

[spanky123]

There are also vacation rentals that will never be taxed at source.

 

https://victoria.cra...t.ca/search/vac

 

Here the party that offers for rent the place does not have to pay Air BnB a cut.  And now with Square and Interac, they can still take electronic payments.

 

Like Coleman says, they will ever be ahead of the internet.

 

Craigslist will always be an option but it is about marketing and trust. When you travel, how many times do you check for a space on Craigslist before you go to Airbnb?  It is the consumer who winds up paying the tax and not the owner so it is just a pass through. Airbnb handles all of the paperwork and remits the funds so it is no big deal.

[Mike K.]

Is there a list handed out by the hospital? If there isn't, should there be? How do you/would you get on the list?

No, there is no such list, and there won't be unless operators are licensed and somehow vetted in order for an organization like Royal Jubilee to promote or sanction them.

[VicHockeyFan]

Craigslist will always be an option but it is about marketing and trust. When you travel, how many times do you check for a space on Craigslist before you go to Airbnb?  It is the consumer who winds up paying the tax and not the owner so it is just a pass through. Airbnb handles all of the paperwork and remits the funds so it is no big deal.

 

But Air BnB takes a cut.  A friend I know that rents her place out, she talks to the person via Air BnB, checks them out yada yada, and then if it's a longer rental (7 days and up) she usually completes the transaction outside or Air BnB, to save the fees.

[spanky123]

From what I know, the host gets the price they list at. Airbnb fees are charged as service charges to the guest along with any cleaning fees and taxes that are required.

Airbnb also provides both the tenant and the host insurance which you would not get through a private rental.

 

At the end of day I am sure that people use a variety of tactics to lower their costs. You can sell your own car or house if you want as well, or you can use a professional to do it for you and remove the hassle.

[lanforod]

The cleaning fee can be outrageous. I booked an Airbnb last night. Rules out a lot of them because of the fixed cleaning fee of over 100 bucks for a 2 or 3 night stay.

[VicHockeyFan]

The cleaning fee can be outrageous. I booked an Airbnb last night. Rules out a lot of them because of the fixed cleaning fee of over 100 bucks for a 2 or 3 night stay.

 

Ya, if you have to contract out your cleaning, it can be pricey.  Obviously hotels have a economy of scale that you can't beat with your single apartment that you need to hire a cleaner for.

[Rob Randall]

Reliable on-call cleaners are hard to find and can be expensive. Cleaning and restocking a whole house for an Airbnb takes a long time, at least a couple of hours, and a good cleaner makes at least $25 an hour. If you ask your guests to put a load of laundry in before they leave that knocks some time off, as doing all those towels and sheets are a huge time suck.

 

There are two types of clean: bachelor clean and actual clean. A house that is as clean and stocked and well managed like a nice hotel gets you those coveted good reviews. 

[Mike K.]

I've been to several AirBnB's where the owners request that you do just as Rob said. Put linens and towels into the wash, empty out the garbage, remove all empties, and turn this down, turn that up, close this, leave that out. Stuff like that.

 

90% of the time I'll do a pretty thorough job of cleaning up the home myself before I leave. That way I also make sure I'm not forgetting anything that I might have stashed away inadvertently

[VicHockeyFan]

90% of the time I'll do a pretty thorough job of cleaning up the home myself before I leave. That way I also make sure I'm not forgetting anything that I might have stashed away inadvertently

 

And of course on Air BnB it also can give YOU a better rating.

[Mike K.]

For sure. And that's what gets you the coveted places during busy periods, or allows you to bring larger groups into a home.

[Rob Randall]

For sure. And that's what gets you the coveted places during busy periods, or allows you to bring larger groups into a home.

 

That's true. The place I know about hosted a group of young people out here to see Rock The Shores. Normally that would raise more red flags than a May Day parade but they had good reviews and were great guests.

 

Once, another group of guests were told to help themselves to the items in the refrigerator, milk, pop etc. They later wrote a review saying thanks for the delicious steaks. I guess there was a language miscommunication and they ate all the striploin steaks in the freezer. Oh well. 

Edited by Rob Randall, 30 August 2016 - 09:31 AM.

[LeoVictoria]

Just to add to the above, this region grows at approximately 1% per annum. That means every single year, on average, we grow by 3,500 individuals. Since 2010 that has meant an increase of 21,000 men, women and children.

 

How many rental apartments have we built since 2010? Approximately 1,000 at most. Another 1,200 are currently underway and some 2,500 are planned.

 

By the time we build them all this region will have grown by over 40,000 individuals.

 

I hope this clarifies why there is a housing crisis.

 

You can't compare purpose built rentals to all additional people.   In the last 6 years there have been 9981 new units completed in greater victoria.   So 21000/9981 = 2.1 people per new unit constructed since 2010.   

 

The average household size is 2.5 in BC.  

[Mike K.]

10 years ago the provincial average was 2.5, today it's likel 2.3. But that being said Victoria's average is likely closer to 1.8, if not less.

I guess the point is if we're building housing capacity to satisfy homes for 2.1 people per unit, but the provincial average is 2.5 people per unit, but we know Victoria is overwhelmingly skewed to below 2.0 per unit, lots of people have to find solutions to a lack of capacity. And it's not just over the last five years that we need to be concerned about. Since 2000 we've had children born in this region who are now approaching adulthood and who will be looking for apartments. Kids born in 1995 are doing that right now, but between 2008 and 2011, as just one example, we built very, very little housing in this region.

It's a cascading effect that's only now come to bite us. We've been caught with our pants down and this is the result. Decades of strong opposition to development and a restriction of supply mean that we're going to face further housing value increases, further rental rate increases and if we slow the current pace of construction anytime within the next decade we'll be in serious trouble.

[spanky123]

For decades we built inventory directed at snowbirds and second home seekers. Even today few builders downtown are building anything with more than 1 bedroom.

[VicHockeyFan]

 Even today few builders downtown are building anything with more than 1 bedroom.

 

 

I wonder what the make-up is.  I think there are lots of 1+dens, and 2s.  But more than half?  Not sure.

 

Mike can probably tell us.

[LeoVictoria]

> we know Victoria is overwhelmingly skewed to below 2.0 per unit,

Stat can says 2.2 for Victoria. So building at 2.1 still seems fine to me.

And if true that it is actually 1.8 it seems we've discovered the solution to the housing crisis. Make better use of the housing and the problem is solved

Edited by LeoVictoria, 02 September 2016 - 06:34 AM.

[VicHockeyFan]

> we know Victoria is overwhelmingly skewed to below 2.0 per unit,

Stat can says 2.2 for Victoria. So building at 2.1 still seems fine to me.

And if true that it is actually 1.8 it seems we've discovered the solution to the housing crisis. Make better use of the housing and the problem is solved

 

 

I think the census shows us that.

 

http://vicmap.victoria.ca/SinglesMap/