In just over two months, thousands of race fans will descend on Montreal for the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend and finding a place to sleep post-race events will not be easy. The City of Montreal’s current municipal bylaw only allows short-term rentals in residential neighbourhoods from June 10 to Sept. 10, which takes more than 26,000 places off the map for the May 22-24 weekend, according to a Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton analysis commissioned by Airbnb. Airbnb says that will mean hotel rates surging over 160 per cent and the city losing out on $19 million in tourist dollars. “This report shows us a little bit of what we already knew that Montreal has a very vibrant year-round tourism sector that is very reliant on events,” said Airbnb Canada policy lead Alex Howell. “People are going to struggle to find accommodation during those those major tourism events. That’s a really big problem for Montreal. It is a very vibrant city. It has a huge international reputation, and it hosts large events like this all the time, when you start to not be able to accommodate the number of people that are coming into the city, that really threatens the reputation of the city on a global scale.” Last March, the administration of former mayor Valerie Plante passed a bylaw limiting the time-frame for short-term rentals to fight what the city called the “scourge” of illegal listings on Airbnb. Pressure to change laws mounted after the devastating March 2023 fire in Old Montreal, where seven people died, six of whom were staying in Airbnb rentals. The F1 race is not the only event that will be outside of the permitted short-term rental times. The UCI World Cycling Championships will be held in Montreal from Sept. 20 to 27. Montreal’s new mayor, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, was met by citizens on Monday at a city council meeting, asking her to reconsider the rule. “In the midst of a housing crisis, we need a responsible approach that safeguards our housing supply whilst giving citizens some flexibility,” said the mayor’s press attaché, Joanna Kanga. “We have made promises to Montrealers, and we intend to keep them.” The RCGT report found that Montreal’s new regulations did not improve vacancy rates or long-term rental prices. “Without targeted, evidence‑based updates, Montreal risks keeping a system that limits accommodation supply precisely when the city stands to benefit most,” a news release on the report reads. Airbnb says that the bylaw is short-sighted. “It’s not just about events like these two,” said Howell. “It’s about the events that may decide to host there in the future, and if what they’re seeing is that people are really struggling to find somewhere to stay, those people may decide to host somewhere else, and that’s really bad for the city.” Howell said that Quebec Airbnb hosts have a high compliance rate with the Quebec government and that the company is seeking a loosening of restrictions on principal residences only. “What’s important is to remove this seasonal ban, which right now is preventing primary residence hosts in Montreal, these are people who live in this residence full-time, from sharing out their accommodation whenever they choose,” she said. “It reflects both what Montrealers need in terms of helping them make ends meet, as well as what the tourism industry needs so that there is enough accommodation throughout the year and the right kind of accommodation in the right place.” In addition, Airbnb suggests moving to a simpler, fully online permit system, rather than the mandatory in-person process. She added that Airbnb listings in cities spread across the territory and are not concentrated in one tourist-heavy spot, thus broadening the impact. “So if you’ve got somebody coming into a town for a business meeting, or just wanting to see a different part of the neighbourhood, or maybe they’ve got family in that area that they want to be able to visit with, they’re actually able to stay in non-downtown neighbourhoods,” said Howell. “That means they’re shopping in those neighbourhoods. They’re going out to restaurants in those neighbourhoods. It’s sharing the income from tourism much more equitably across the city.”
