Sunshine Coast local governments and accommodation providers grappled with multiple changes to short-term rental (STR) regulations in the past couple of years as well as economic pressures – but how is that shaping up on the ground?
Overnight stays in commercial accommodation on the lower Sunshine Coast were down in 2023 and are pacing down in 2024, executive director of Sunshine Coast Tourism (SCT) Annie Wise told Coast Reporter in a Jan. 12 email.
While 2023 hotel and motel room bookings were on par with the previous year, statistics gathered by SCT on local short-term rentals showed a year-over-year decline in the number of those bookings, Wise indicated.
Implementation of new STR (aka residential guest accommodation or RGA) regulations launched in Gibsons early last year and bookings in the town went down by as much as 40 percent in March and April. In Sechelt, where updated STR rules and enforcement happened later in 2023, booking declines were less pronounced, but in October a 20 per cent dip compared to the previous year was recorded.
Visitor stays at non-hotel or motel accommodations in 2023 showed slight growth in rural areas of the lower Coast. For STRs in those locales, which are in the Sunshine Coast Regional District's (SCRD) jurisdiction, the rules remained unchanged: a short-term rental operator must reside on the property where the rental is located during its operation.
Why did STR use drop?
In Wise’s view, Coast-specific issues that led to the recent cooling of room demands included the 2023 rollout of new local government STR rules. Updated regulations and fees resulted in some STR units being taken out of that market by their owners and saw other operators make adjustments to rental terms or rates. Ongoing complications with ferry service and concerns about drought/water restrictions also meant some off-Coasters shied away from holidaying in our area, she said.
Wise also pointed out that changes in vacation options available to Canadians likely had a local impact. There has been “a post-pandemic resurgence in travel to international destinations” she sald. Another factor she saw emerging in 2023 was more individuals foregoing leisure travel to deal with the impacts of inflation on their basic living costs.
STR rules changes pending in Sechelt
Sechelt is poised to halt business licensing of Type 3 or (unhosted) STR operations within its boundaries as of May. Wise sees that change further curtailing 2024 revenues for the local accommodation sector and putting more pressure on the market for rooms in the area.
The adjustments are being done to bring the municipality’s regulations in line with provincial rule changes introduced in provincial Bill 35. Last October, Premier Eby announced a ban on use of properties as STRs unless those sites also house a permanent residence would be introduced. That restriction was aimed at increasing the supply of housing units available to meet escalating demands for long-term rentals for B.C. residents.
A report on Sechelt's Nov. 8, 2023 committee meeting agenda indicated that there were 25 Type 3 STR operations licensed in the municipality. There were 80 licences for other STR classes. Sechelt's communications manager Lindsay Vickers confirmed that the local government wrote to the Type 3 operators on its records explaining why they would only have the opportunity to licence in 2024 from January to April. She also noted that in renewal of annual licensing for all types of STRs, permission to operate a business can be withheld if sites have unresolved bylaw infraction enforcement actions.
The province’s new rules don’t require changes to STR rules in local government areas with populations lower than 10,000 or in regional districts. Those jurisdictions have the option to implement changes should they opt to do so. On Bowen Island – population 4,200 – its local government is discussing whether incorporation of the new STR rules should happen there.
Gibsons, with a population of 4,800, also has a choice, but it has yet to substantively address it. “Since Gibsons has less than the 10,000-population threshold for the new provincial program, the current 'RGA' structure will remain in place until at least the end of 2024," the town’s communication manager Bronwyn Kent wrote in a Jan. 16 email to Coast Reporter. "Council will consider whether to implement the provincial changes as part of the review of the STR approach at a future date."
Kent outlined that in 2023, Gibsons had 84 licenced RGAs and that 13 of those were for entire homes that were classified as “non-principal residences."
Impacts for this summer’s visitors
According to Wise, “occupancy rates historically are well above 90 per cent in peak season” in lower Coast tourist accommodations. In her assessment, if Sechelt removes another couple of dozen units, many of which are multi-bedroom sites, the demand for rooms will intensify. Bookings for stays around statutory holidays and weekends coinciding with local festival dates are anticipated to be busier than ever.
One Sechelt-based operator (who requested her name not be used) facing the loss of her STR licence told Coast Reporter she had clients who had booked their July and August stays a full year in advance, and had done that for three years running. She recently called those and other customers to cancel post-May 2024 bookings. Most contacted were upset that their plans were disrupted, according to that STR owner.
“And all I could do was wish them lots of luck,” she said. In her opinion, those potential visitors will be fortunate to find room vacancies on the Coast during summer 2024 at this point in the year.
Wise encouraged those with cancelled STR room bookings in our area to reach out to SCT. “Sunshine Coast Tourism staff will do our best to re-accommodate anyone who finds themselves without a place to stay” she stated.
“The visitor economy touches almost every aspect of Sunshine Coast life ….it’s absolutely critical that the community finds new ways to support our visitor economy which in turn supports local businesses, jobs, and economic vibrancy across the region.”
– With files from Jordan Copp and Alex Kurial, Bowen Island Undercurrent
