A longtime hot topic in The Blue Mountains – short-term accommodations – has cooled over the years with the implementation of a licensing regime, bylaw controls, and hard work on the part of the industry to collaborate with the Collingwood-area town and the local community.
Town officials acknowledge that there has been a great deal of change in how the short-term accommodation (STA) industry is viewed locally and that has helped lower the temperature around conversations on the topic.
“I think they have come a long, long way. They realized they could be part of the solution,” said The Blue Mountains Deputy Mayor Peter Bordignon.
STA industry professionals agree.
“We’ve worked really hard to become compatible with the full-time residents and the tourism visitors,” said Denis Martinek, director for Tyrolean Village Resorts.
The agreement between the town's deputy mayor and an STA industry executive is significant. It wasn’t always like this.
In the past, STA issues and the industry were often surrounded by conflict and disagreement and it was difficult for any of the parties involved (operators, local residents and the town) to get on the same page.
STAs have existed in the Town of The Blue Mountains for decades. Neither new, nor unique, STAs are prevalent in the resort and tourist town.
For many years, STAs operated outside of any legislative framework beyond existing town bylaws that regulated noise, parking and garbage.
However, as years went by, the significant growth in the tourism economy and the increase in the number of STAs operating locally in largely residential neighbourhoods led to clashes between full-time residents, visitors and the STA operators. Some in the industry did not help the situation as they were often seen as absentee landlords, happy to rent out their properties for quick cash, but not interested in implementing measures to mitigate the impacts their operations had on neighbours.
Often the local municipal government was left on the sideline as no local legislation existed to manage the problems and regulate the business as an industry.
However, the sheer volume of tourist activity in the region made it obvious that STAs had a role to play in accommodating tourists. The simple truth was: more and more visitors were coming and they needed to stay somewhere after arriving.
These factors collided to make legislative oversight and licensing of the industry inevitable.
But it wasn’t easy, the implementation of the town’s STA bylaw was not a simple, straightforward or overnight process. There was significant push back from some in the industry and this led to Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearings on the matter and political campaigns in opposition to the concept.
Eventually, in 2008, the town successfully implemented an interim control bylaw that froze STA activity while a permanent bylaw was developed. Ultimately, the OMB ruled in favour of the town and STA licensing became a permanent reality in the community.
Now, more than a decade later, STA licensing and regulation is well established. Legitimate operators welcome the rules and regulations, while the town has a robust enforcement effort in place to catch those operating illegally. Visitors staying in licensed STA rentals know the units have been inspected by the fire department, conform with town safety requirements and have security measures in place.
Martinek points to the statistics as strong evidence that the combined efforts of the town and the industry are working.
“Last year there were 121 charges related to STAs and 113 were for illegal STAs. Only eight were related to licensed operations,” said Martinek. “They were minuscule compared to the thousands of people staying with us every week. I think we’re doing a good job managing it.”
Over time, it became obvious that it was of mutual benefit to the industry and the town to replace the adversarial relationship of the past with something more cooperative.
It was in the best interest of both parties to put aside their differences in order to focus on cracking down on the bad apples: the illegal operators.
And those efforts were just in time. The town now attracts approximately 2.5 million visitors every year and it is estimated that 150,000 of them stay in licensed short-term accommodation units every year.
The STA industry itself has become one of the key partners in managing the sheer volume of visitors to the region each year.
Bordignon, who has become council’s expert on the STA bylaw, says cooperation has benefited everybody.
“It was always an us vs. them situation with STAs and the neighbours. The most important step was getting everybody at the table. It’s not the Hatfields and McCoys anymore,” he said. “People know STAs are a business in town. STAs know they are a business and have acted like a business. Renters know it’s a business in town.”
Bordignon says licensing control measures have led to a better experience for everybody.
“It all comes back to the visitor experience and the resident experience. They can live harmoniously if we can all get on the same page. STAs are here, we get 2.5 million visitors a year. They have to stay somewhere,” he said.
Members of the STA industry who spoke with CollingwoodToday say they’re proud of the efforts they have made to make the bylaw and the licensing rules successful.
“We completely support the bylaw. We had some angst in the beginning. We now endorse the bylaw fully,” said Stu Firth, business development manager for STA rental and management company Vacasa. “We have worked with (the town), that’s the main reason we’ve had good outcomes.”
In addition to working with the town on the bylaw environment, STA operators have also made efforts, on their own initiative, to emphasize the importance of the industry itself being a good actor on this stage.
In 2015, the Blue Mountains Short-Term Accommodation Owners Association formed. It is a not-for-profit organization and its mission was to have members of the local STA industry come together and set a high standard for operations in the town and make it better for guests, residents and the municipality.
“We’ve gone to great lengths to continue to expand that membership. It’s better for the stakeholders, residents and the municipality. We’re very proud of what we achieved,” said Firth.
An increase in security around STAs has also paid dividends.
“A real game changer was full-time security, 365 days a year, seven days a week checking the properties every day. These guys are driving around and checking every day,” said Martinek.
The industry has also embraced the “responsible person” component of the town’s bylaw, which requires that all licensed STAs have a “responsible person” who can be immediately contacted by bylaw enforcement in the event of a problem.
“It really is an essential part of the bylaw. We were the catalyst for that position. Ninety-nine per cent of problems can be solved by the responsible person,” said Firth.
Many STA operators also make it a point to educate their guests at the time of check-in about the rules and expectations.
“It’s absolutely an educational piece. We don’t want to be in the surprise business. It works very well. (The town) has enacted legislation and we’re working within it and the business is thriving. We’re all in on trying to do this right,” said Firth.
Operators are also embracing technology and have been using the NoiseAware technology as another method of monitoring activity at STA rentals.
The changes have not gone unnoticed. Other area municipalities like Collingwood, Owen Sound and Meaford are examining options for STA regulations and the rules in The Blue Mountains are often used as the standard playbook or template.
“I get calls all the time from towns. I’ve had some great discussions. I’ve talked to Meaford quite a bit. I think you will see more and more having to regulate,” said Bordignon.
