Airbnb - Montreal

[MassageDrew]

A friend and I are visiting Montreal in August. Any suggestions as far as Airbnb spaces to book?

[SirBillybob]

There is somewhat of a war going on, hosts (most of whom cannot or refuse to apply for a provincial tourist home license that also requires a city attestation that they are situated within particular allowable zones) pitted against authorities and against building tenants associations outlawing these rentals through their bylaws.

 

The provincial legislation has been ineffective in that no fines or closures have occurred despite a vast number of unlicensed properties. The city may be trying to impose a registration number system that will be required on platform listings.

 

Your host may be a multimillion dollar outfit.

 

You should be OK. However, do not expect a clear answer from your host. They are likely unlicensed and will not say so in writing to you. You may get grilled by other occupants, particularly if the building can impose a stiff penalty on the host. Some hosts are clueless about whether their building syndicate has outlawed tourist rentals, because they do not attend the annual meeting where bylaws are revised, or do not read the meeting minutes.

 

The city now has the authority to snip off lock boxes in public areas, for example on metal fences, bike stands, parking meters, where some hosts put your keys for self-check-in. Hosts may do this so that other unit owners do not detect the exchange between a suspected host and unfamiliar people with luggage coming in. It is quite obvious who is a tourist visitor.

 

If the host is not meeting you personally, perhaps make sure that the host has checked that the lockbox is intact upon your arrival.

 

You may also be required to sign in by the security concierge if he/she does not recognize you. Your host may ask you to help them play cat-and-mouse, for example, to say that you are friends as guests in the unit.

[MassageDrew]

Thanks for the advice. Kinda scary situation.

[SirBillybob]

Did not mean to spook you. You can likely read a lot of reviews that show problem-free stays. I do not like hotels and I would likely book an Airbnb myself in Montreal if I no longer lived here.

[MassageDrew]

I booked mine with a space around the village. Will keep you posted how it goes. I actually prefer hotels but I'm meeting up with a buddy over there so it would be nice to get a 2 bedroom.

[SirBillybob]

R U east of Amherst? Probably so. I learned that the city (actually we are boroughs and the downtown borough is called Ville-Marie) is focusing on restrictions east of Guy (west boundary) and west of Amherst (east boundary).

 

Amherst runs north/south about halfway between Metro Berri--UQAM and Metro Beaudry. Bar Campus on Ste-Catherine is 2 buildings east of Amherst.

 

Not surprisingly, the city is not imposing draconian measures on The Village because I believe there is no big-box hotel in the area east of Amherst. Hotel Gouverneurs is a few blocks west of Amherst. The Village also draws a lot of tourism.

 

The province of Quebec still requires licensing but they are pretty useless at assessing and enforcing. Airbnb in Montreal is adding the required sales tax on your fee, so hotels have less to protest and the province's desire to obtain tax revenues is met.

[MassageDrew]

Hopefully I will have the room I booked when we get there. It would suck if we have to book a different once when we get there.

[fedssocr1]

I think that these issues are coming up all over the world with respect to Airbnb.

 

The last couple of times I visited Montreal I stayed at a little place called Studio Living. It's a duplex house that was converted into 4 apartments and run as a BnB of sorts. But you have your own self-contained apartment with kitchen and so forth. It's a relatively short walk to Ste Catherine. Run/owned by a nice gay guy. http://studioliving.ca/en/

[+ newatthis]

I have been using airbnb in Montreal for 2 years now with no problems. Ditto for friends of mine. Within the restricted zone referenced above. This is not meant to contradict any of the information from @SirBIllybob above; just another data point for your consideration. My experiences have been uniformly excellent -- I've lucked into very good hosts.