Kelowna tourism operators celebrate relaxed short-term rental restrictions - BERITAJA

Kelowna, B.C.’s waterfront is still quiet, but it won’t beryllium agelong earlier visitors return.

This year, tourism operators are hoping the province’s move to loosen short-term rental restrictions will construe into a stronger season, aft what galore picture arsenic 2 level summers.

“I deliberation will beryllium conscionable a really bully alleviation for a batch of businesses and a batch of people,” said restaurateur Casey Greabeiel.

Greabeiel said the restrictions played a domiciled successful past year’s closure of Salt and Brick, 1 of his 3 restaurants.

He’s hoping the summation of much short-term rental units will mean a much-needed boost astatine his 2 different locations, Diner Deluxe and Pretty Not Bad.

But he said he’s not expecting a large effect this summer, pinch the June 1 exemption coming arsenic galore summertime plans are already booked.

“I deliberation everybody has to beryllium cautiously optimistic,” Greabeiel said. “Announcing this, you know, a small spot precocious successful the game…but I do deliberation it’s positive.”

But arsenic short-term rental hosts hole to invited tourists, for some, the process has been frustrating and costly.

“I was successful excess of 15 (thousand) to $18,000 that was conscionable gone successful an instant,” said Taylor Cameron, a short-term rental host.

Cameron has legally operated a short-term rental astatine her rule residence for 4 years. However, erstwhile she went to renew connected the provincial registry a time earlier the April 10th deadline, she says the strategy recognized it arsenic a caller exertion and not a renewal.

That delayed the process and caused her registration to expire, which past trigged Airbnb to automatically cancel bookings.

“That’s a strategy nonaccomplishment and location was very small acknowledgement aliases empathy to the chaos that they created and caused, shutting down businesses instantly,” Cameron said. “I cognize of astatine least, about apt 50 to 60 that had this hap to them.”

Cameron said what added to the vexation is it took days to link pinch a authorities typical to hole the problem.

While reservations are getting rebooked slowly, Cameron said the ordeal has been highly stressful.

“I person not recouped April and May,” she said.  “I’m a azygous homeowner. This is my status plan. This is my affordable lodging plan.”

The curate responsible said she’s alert immoderate hosts person had challenges, but added that thousands person been capable to renew without immoderate issues.

“There’s a 40-day model for renewal and we promote folks to get started connected that early, truthful that if location is simply a method situation aliases different challenge, there’s a bully magnitude of clip unit are disposable to supply support and resoluteness immoderate issues,” said Christine Boyle, B.C.’s curate of Housing and Municipal Affairs.

The provincial registry was launched successful the outpouring of 2025, pinch 1 of the goals aimed astatine preventing forbidden operators.

But Cameron said it feels the strategy is alternatively hurting hosts for illustration her, who are doing everything by the book.

“I’m having a difficult clip constantly, really putting together the existent effect of each this,” she said.

The exemption to the short-term rental restrictions successful Kelowna takes impact June 1st.

So far, about 20 building stratas person applied to run arsenic short-term rentals.

As of precocious past week, the metropolis said it had received much than 300 business licence applications from individual owners of the units successful those buildings.