Lubna Alli

Reading: 

Squeezed Out: Airbnb’s Commercialization of Home-Sharing in Toronto.

Policy report prepared for FAIRBNB. CA Coalition.

Wieditz, T. (2017). 

Thorben Weiditz’s policy report on the fair rules for short term rentals in the Toronto market, prepared for Fairbnb.ca Coalition, is one that provides extensive information on a fairly new case study for not just Toronto but at a global cities scale too. As a result of this, there is limited information on the effects of platform economy intervention on local ecosystems. The document provides an in-depth investigation of Toronto’s short term rental market, and sheds light into the various issues associated with the proliferation of Airbnb and other short-term companies. Cited areas of concern include consumer protection, health and safety, housing availability and affordability, and the negative impacts of commercial ghost hotels. The document continues to argue that the sharing economy has “little to do with so-called sharing,” as the majority of Airbnb Toronto’s revenue (63%) is generated by renting entire homes/ apartments, rather than sharing a spare room. This inequality dynamic is further demonstrated by multi-listing hosts who own two or more listings, as they make up 16% of Airbnb’s hosts, but who control a disproportionately large share of Airbnb’s listings (38%). To further drive home this issue of inequality, the policy loopholes and lack of auditor regulation become points of contention for those renting out condos that do not permit transient rentals shorter than thirty consecutive calendar days. The implication for this, among those listed above, is the loss of precious housing stock in the current housing crisis where Torontonians are looking for a place to live. The document concludes with model legislation recommendations from around the world that supports real home-sharing and that hones in on the trend of turning residential homes into hotels. As such, given the extensive work that Fairbnb has done, what are the prospects that these policy recommendations are enacted, and better yet, how receptive will policymakers and platform sharing actors be to these changes?