Too many lives have been claimed in unsupervised “ghost hotels.” It’s time for Airbnb to do the right thing and de-list them, says coalition.

Toronto, February 1, 2020 –   Late last night, a shooting at a rented Airbnb claimed the lives of three people in a downtown Toronto condo.  This tragedy is the latest in a string of violent incidents in commercial short-term rentals, occurring just weeks after a fatal shooting at an Airbnb in Ottawa.

Toronto’s Airbnb market has become crowded with “ghost hotels,” homes that have been taken out of the long-term rental market by absentee hosts, to be used as full-time tourist rentals.  The highest density of “ghost hotels” in Toronto is found in Toronto’s waterfront community.

Since 2017, Toronto has had rules on the books that limit home-sharing to a host’s principal residence.  Yet Airbnb bankrolled an appeal to regulations designed to keep residents and visitors safe.  The Local Planning and Appeal Tribunal upheld Toronto’s rules in late October, but a group of Airbnb hosts has announced plans to launch a further appeal at Ontario’s Divisional Court.

“The wait for Airbnb regulations to be enforced puts families like ours at risk,” explained waterfront resident Rebecca Young. “We rent in the downtown core so we can walk to school and our jobs – it’s a great quality of life.  Unfortunately, we are surrounded by apartments full of short-term rentals, not neighbours.  This tragedy reminds us that we are choosing liveability over safety, which is an upsetting choice in a modern city.”

Following a fatal shooting at an Airbnb unit in October 2019, Airbnb pledged to take steps to shut down risky and disruptive “party houses.”

But instead of de-listing ghost hotels, the company attempted to identify potential party house listings by combing through the social media accounts of guests and hosts– a strategy appears not only to be intrusive, but also ineffective.

“There’s no more time for half-measures,” said Fairbnb spokesperson Thorben Wieditz.  “Airbnb can show it takes the lives of guests and neighbours seriously by following Toronto’s regulations, de-listing “ghost hotels,” and ending its support for hosts’ appeals.”