Marco Gobbatto | Contributor
Featured image: It is yet uncertain whether Airbnb has profited from its business in Toronto, which is one of its biggest-growing markets. | Amir Yazdanparast
Although it seems Airbnb has been around for some time, students and academics are still trying to figure out its impact.
York played host to a conference about Airbnb, which is poised to become an enabler of the sharing economy.
In an unprecedented conference at York Lanes, a panel of four experts discussed otherwise-unknown information about Airbnb. The company is proposed to be an enabler of a sharing economy, which impacts other industries.
The panelists, including Tom Slee, Vicki Trottier, Steven Tufts and Kristyn Wong-Tam, foreshadowed the transition of Toronto’s economy for the worst. Toronto Ward 27 Councillor Wong-Tam said Airbnb is affecting hotel revenues, which will hurt convention centre revenues if hotels close down. This will translate into lower tourism in Toronto and restaurants will suffer as well.
Yet, the public’s focus has been only on the affordability of housing that Airbnb has brought to an expensive housing market.
Slee, author of What’s Yours is Mine: Against the Sharing Economy, opened the panel by explaining Airbnb’s steady growth, which is doubling in listings each year in Toronto.
Airbnb’s growing popularity is linked to consumer choice similar to Uber’s offering savings. Wong-Tam explained that people look at the gains, but don’t recognize the bigger consequences of having cheaper choices.
The savings from consumer choice is creating a ripple effect in the city, which the panel believes is still early enough to mitigate. Fort York Residents Association President Trottier explained there are condo buyers who lease out to sub-tenants on a short-term basis.
Subletting voids the landlord’s insurance for any damages and can allow unfamiliar people coming in and out of the building. Wong-Tam said she has seen condo buildings vandalized, which condo reserves can’t afford to cover.
Aside from economic aftereffects, Wong-Tam clarified that police are now dealing with human trafficking and drugs in these short-term leased units.
According to a City of Toronto report, Toronto has received over 45 short-term rental complaints since 2014 and there are 25 active investigations.
In September, Toronto police seized handguns and cocaine, and arrested six people at a house party in Upper Beaches. A couple had listed out the house on Airbnb.
As for those who have homes, they can choose to earn supplementary income through Airbnb. Yet geography professor Tufts argued that a considerable amount of capital is required for home owners to afford lending a home to a short-term tenant.
Airbnb isn’t bound by laws typically seen in a hospitality business as they are categorized as a peer-to-peer online marketplace company. Quality assurance can’t be guaranteed as Airbnb has no say over the hosts’ home due to the Communication Decency Act.
The company claims to only be a platform that provides a marketplace for transactions, omitting its characteristics that are similar to a hotel business. It is uncertain whether Airbnb has profited from its business in Toronto, which is one of its biggest-growing areas.
Umm, are you really just giving this info out for notginh?