Thanks to the rise in visitations, housing has become a major business in this part of British Columbia. Short term rentals like Airbnb have been on the rise. That’s why the government created some short term rental rules in Whistler to regulate the industry. These rules are designed to protect everyone involved in the business.
Whistler seems to have become a frequent tourist destination. Thanks to the beautiful sceneries and mountain ranges, it embodies and provides all the beauty that Canada has to offer.
It used to be that hotels and motels were normally the obvious choices for tourists. But this option is not sufficient for some guests. Some people just don’t want to stay in a hotel as they don’t feel they would experience the real whistler.
Rather they prefer to rent rooms from residents of the city. Because of this, renting out rooms or even the entire house to guests has become a common practice. People with vacation homes rent them out to guests, giving them the chance to experience whistler as residents rather than guests. All while providing extra income to the homeowner.
Since the practice has become rather frequent, there may be problems that arise. The short term rental rules were designed to help overcome these problems. Some of these rules may seem rather unnecessary, but they serve a very important function in protecting all the parties involved.
Here are some of the things you need to keep in mind.
Short Term Rental Business License
If you want to stay in short term rental practice, the government requires all individuals that want to offer up their homes for rent to obtain a license. This helps reduce cases of fraud. All the homes available for rent are recognized by the authorities and individuals with fraudulent intentions can be spotted easily.
This will improve the reputation and trust level of homeowners involved in the short term rental business. In turn, it improves the business for all those involved.
This policy has been implemented in some other cities and the success ratings are very high, as it has improved the quality of the business of renting out homes to tourists.
Price Limits
While it is your home and you have a right to charge how much you deem necessary, there are price limits that you cannot exceed. Otherwise, you risk getting fines and other forms of punishment.
The price limits help ensure that all charges are reasonable to guests, which helps increase human traffic in the city. This helps attract more tourists to the city, boosting revenue from tourism as well as promotes the culture in Whistler.
Timeframe
There are also limits to the time a guest can stay in a certain home. This may seem unfair at first, but it actually is a very necessary rule.
This helps ensure that problems don’t arise between the homeowner and the guest, a situation which is inevitable when the relationship lasts long-term. It also helps ensure that tourism continues to move as guests leave so new tourists can visit.
The rules are set to protect all parties involved and as long as everyone does their part, the business of renting out homes will continue to move smoothly.
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