Update on Airbnb Location in Burlington

There is finally some relief for residents.A notorious "party house" on Airbnb that brought residents to recent council and committee meetings to share their stories — and that led to a review of our short-term rental policies in the city — has been suspended by Airbnb for 90 days.Residents can report concerns about any Airbnb location in their neighbourhood using the Neighour Tool at www.airbnb.ca/neighbours.Recently, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb Brian Chesky announced Airbnb is banning "party houses" and would be "redoubling its efforts to combat unauthorized parties and remove abusive host and guests conducts."

Starting today, we are banning “party houses” and we are redoubling our efforts to combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct, including conduct that leads to the terrible events we saw in Orinda. Here is what we are doing:

— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) November 2, 2019

At the Oct. 28 Burlington City Council meeting, we approved a report from staff on short-term accommodations and a staff direction (brought forward by Ward 4 Councillor Shawna Stolte) to the Executive Director of Community Planning, Regulation and Mobility to report back in May 2020 with a short-term accommodation licensing bylaw.MY TAKE:This is good news for the local residents living near this location and provides some relief for a short time while the City works on a more permanent bylaw, scheduled to come back to committee in mid-2020. As I have stated before, I have no issues with Airbnbs that operate as they are intended — they are not intended to replace conference centres or event venues. The problem lies with Airbnbs that masquerade as an event venue or large party. The locations are not set up for that, or the resulting noise, fire and safety hazards. This ends up being an abuse of what Airbnbs are intended for.— Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed WardRELATED LINKS:

• Burlington City Council Passes Recommendations from Oct. 8 Planning and Development Committee Meeting
• Burlington City Council Passes Recommendations from Sept. 10 Planning and Development Committee Meeting

-- *Posted by John Bkila, Mayor's Media and Digital Communications Specialist