Magog mayor vows to crack down on illegal Airbnb rentals
The mayor of Magog is promising to come up with a solution for illegal rentals after the local bed and breakfast association accused her of avoiding the issue.
Mayor Vicki-May Hamm says she is working on a plan to be unveiled later this fall.
The Magog-Orford bed-and-breakfast association, which has 23 members, is threatening to file a lawsuit should Hamm not get in touch with the association to come up with a plan.
The move comes as Quebec wrestles with how to deal with the proliferation of Airbnb hosts in the province, despite a law aimed at regulating such home-sharing services.
The mayor of Magog said she was blindsided when she got the notice on Monday.
"I had already answered them last week when they came to city hall at our public meeting," Hamm said.
"I told them that we were working on an action plan."
The mayor says there is no easy way to get rid of illegal rooms for rent given how widespread the problem is.
"The thing is, there's not only or two or three people that are operating illegally, there's more than hundreds of people operating illegally in Magog," she said.
Bed and breakfast owners fed up
Richard Grenier and Louise Vallée have been operating the bed-and-breakfast, Au Coq du Bonheur, for two years.
Grenier is the president of the Magog-Orford bed-and-breakfast association.
The couple says the increase in illegal rooms for rent in Magog has been a challenge, estimating that it costs them about $7,000 a year in revenue.
"Sometimes, we're empty, and the illegal ones are full," Grenier said.
"We see the cars [with out-of-province and American licence plates]. We see the customers with luggage go in and out."
The couple says illegal listings often cost more and provide inferior service compared to legal bed-and-breakfasts.
Frustrations within the association grew during a meeting in April between with several local mayors and representatives of Quebec's tourism industry corporation, the CITQ, which is mandated by the government to issue certificates to all tourist accommodation operators.
Hamm was not present at the meeting, although she did send a representative to the meeting.
"We had a city councillor there, she brought back the information," Hamm said. "I can't be everywhere but that doesn't mean I'm not interested."
