Vancouver Airbnb host’s legal, paid registration number fraudulently used in multiple listings

A longtime Airbnb host was punished after their valid licence weas used by fraudsters.

For the past 11 years, Helen Hutton has been an Airbnb superhost, supplementing her pension income by renting out an extra bedroom in her Vancouver home to solo travellers from around the world.

“I’ve hosted about 570 guests,” said Hutton. “And I’ve always followed the regulations to a T.”

That includes paying for municipal and provincial licences; and those numbers must be included in the listing. So the 77-year-old was shocked when she received an email from the province’s short-term rental registrar on Wednesday saying her licence was being used across multiple listings and addresses in Vancouver.

“And as a result, they were shutting down all those listings, including mine,” Hutton said.

She reached out to Airbnb, and the platform assured her that there are protections in place that prevent a licence from being used in multiple listings.

“They said not to worry, they were making a note of all the details and my listing would be safe,” said Hutton. “And precisely two hours later, my listing was deactivated by Airbnb and 15 cancellations occurred, one after the other. All my future guests.”

The senior was distraught.

“It just felt so unfair that someone like myself should be penalized for something that’s fraud. That is what it is. And so I was really very upset,” she said.

She left several emails and messages with the province. On Thursday, the short-term rental registrar got back to her and apologized.

“He did not wish to discuss the details, he simply called it an administrative error. So I asked him to please contact Airbnb and put things right for me, and he said he would try to do that, and that was the end of the conversation,” said Hutton.

Her listing was re-activated later that day, but all her future bookings were still gone.

Hutton wants to know how her valid, paid-for provincial short-term licence could be fraudulently used in other listings.

“Here I am, an innocent person who has done nothing to open myself up for fraud. And yet it happened to me,” she said.

Airbnb blames the province for Hutton’s listing being suspended, telling CTV News it automatically checks against the provincial registration system every 24 hours, and if that system contains an error, it has no choice but to remove a listing.

The company said in an emailed statement: “We cautioned that the province’s short-term rental system was being rushed when it launched in May. The government moved forward anyway, and unfortunately legitimate hosts and British Columbians are paying the price.”

In a statement, the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs said: “The Short-Term Rental Compliance and Enforcement Unit (CEU) is actively reviewing listings throughout B.C. to ensure compliance with both provincial and municipal short-term rental rules.”

It says it can take action when it notices irregularities with a provincial regulation number, or if a provincial registration number is being used illegally by someone else.

“In this case, the host’s registration has been re-activated after all complete documentation, including a local business licence, was provided to the registry team,” the statement said.

The province does acknowledge scammers are taking advantage of the new registration system.

“Our CEU team will be working to bring down illegal hosts trying to game the system, and it’s disheartening to learn legitimate hosts are being impacted by this activity,” the statement said. “We will continue to refine and strengthen our ability to catch this type of activity and deter future fraud, while protecting hosts following the rules.”

Hutton believes the province is spending too much time going after legitimate hosts like her, while scammers continue to operate.

“I do understand the huge challenges that the province faces enforcing their regulations. I understand, but I also think that a lot of mistakes are being made,” she said.

Hutton was left to contact everyone who had Airbnb stays in her home cancelled. She asked them to book again and most agreed, but some were leery.

“A couple just felt that they didn’t understand it. It made them uncomfortable, and so they rebooked with another host,” she said.

And that’s money out of the pensioner’s pocket.