This is a submission to showcase what the Township of Georgian Bay has done to keep the tourism economy thriving in Muskoka with Short Term Rental (STR) hosts in the community while satisfying the concerns of residents whose priority is to protect the environment even if it meant shutting down this industry.
How did we do it?
By creatively encouraging operators to be environmentally accountable to the communities within which they host. Staff created a unique sustainable approach to the STR market. By registering their properties and financially being incentivized to achieve the objective to protect what is important to the community we have found sustainable balance in the community between the economy and the environment.
Sustainable Hosting has encouraged operators to rethink their business model and consider the community, the people, the culture, the environment, their neighbourhoods and the economy all at the same time. This is an out of the box perspective of finding a solution that works for everyone.
With the environment as a #1 priority for the Township of Georgian Bay Strategic Plan, we created a registration process that matched this priority. We found a solution to maintain harmony between STR hosts and neighborhoods. As a result, staff have been able to identify those hosts who were overloading their septic systems, and we found those who were not following basic rules.
Registering operators and encouraging them to be sustainable and submit a plan in their application has significantly improved Pride of Ownership and eliminated those hosts who were simply hosting without regard for their property, the rules and the municipal By-laws. Each host who signs onto a Sustainable Hosting program, is further incentive with a $100 rebate on their fees.
As well, the user-friendly approach to achieving the goals of the community to protect the environment and also the goals of hosts to make money have been bridged.
This Sustainability Plan was the answer. We identified over 70 actionable items where hosts could select 10 that they would be able to easily accomplish in the calendar year to be more sustainable and still be able to host. Many options are having little financial impact for the host, and others are larger scale items. Hosts could choose what worked best for them.
Working outside of the box, the Township heard the concerns of residents in Georgian Bay and implemented a plan where hosts were incentivized to care more about their rental. The audit eliminates greenwashing to ensure hosts meant what they said. We have been able to extract the information needed from the community for the community with the best interests of all in one process.
Council is delighted. Residents are happy. Hosts who are pleased to be able to continue to operate and this project was extremely effective in achieving the objectives. We know this because the complaints have significantly declined, those hosts who were impacting the environment have either stepped off the hosting platform or have applied these efforts into achieving the goal.