A little PR campaign. I wonder if the tax man will be interested?

Advertisement for Airbnb, Broadway City Hall  SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, BC

Advertisement for Airbnb, Broadway City Hall  SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, BC

Vancouver is in the midst of a bit of housing problem. The prices have been going crazy, especially for single family homes. (Have a spare $2,000,000 for a fixer upper?)

And now Airbnb rentals are taking a chunk of the already limited accommodation out of the long-term rental market. (Short term rentals are generally more lucrative for landlords.)

This poster campaign seems to be an effort to influence public opinion that Airbnb is helping people stay in their homes and continue to live in the city. Of course the other side of the argument, the resulting decline in the size of the city's long-term rental pool, is not mentioned. (And the fact that the only place I've seen the campaign is at the City Hall SkyTrain station can't be a coincidence. Have to influence those politicians and bureaucrats some how.)

Will this campaign have the desired effect? Who knows, but in one of the world's least affordable cities, many residents are looking to the revenue from an Airbnb rental to help pay the bills. Of course the tax man may well be interested. If you are getting $100 a night and renting out the room 100 nights a year, are your declaring that $10,000 in annual income? No? Well perhaps you might  expect an audit.