Social media backlash over short-term rentals nets $13K for Charlottetown food bank

It all started when Robin Graham saw a newspaper story about the Charlottetown Short-term Rental Association donating to the Upper Room Food Bank.

That didn't sit right with Graham. So, she tweeted, asking for those opposed to short-term rentals to donate to the food bank. 

"I thought maybe we could make it to the same amount the association donated," she said. 

About 20 members from the association donated $2,275 last week, said Donald MacLean, co-president of the association, the group that represents short-term rental operators in the city. 

We want regulation and we want it now— Robin Graham

After Graham sent out that tweet, she thought she would get a handful of donations, but didn't expect what would happen next. 

"They just literally wouldn't stop rolling in. I didn't go to bed until like 4 a.m., just like calculating them," she said. 

A day, and about 300 donations later, over $13,000 had been raised for the food bank via the donation protest. 

That money came from people who don't agree with short-term rentals in Charlottetown. 

"A lot of people feel our pain, like as people going through a housing crisis, struggling to find a place to live that's affordable. I feel like people all over can relate to that," she said. 

"We want regulation and we want it now. And we're not going to stop talking about it." 

Regulation scenarios

In March, Charlottetown staff presented a report of how short-term rentals were affecting the city's housing market, and how regulations could change that. 

The report found in 2019, without dedicated short-term rentals, the vacancy rate in Charlottetown would have been 2.9 per cent. At that time, the vacancy rate sat around 1.2 per cent. It also estimated short-term rentals contributed to a 37.7 per cent increase in rental costs since 2017.

The report laid out five scenarios for regulation. Those recommendations were to be presented to the planning board on March 13, and then a public meeting was to be held at the end of that month.  

Those meetings have not happened. 

'A lot of money going to the Charlottetown food bank'

Members of the Charlottetown Short-term Rental Association didn't expect to get the kind of response they did when they made their donation. 

While MacLean knows about the criticism online, he says the association really sees it as a win-win. 

"I understand there's an affordability crisis in Charlottetown right now. And I think if you look at any city in Canada or North America, we're having something similar happening all over the place with affordability … So that's why we decided we wanted to get together and get some money," he said. 

"At the end of the day, there's a lot of money going to the Charlottetown food bank, regardless of the motivation behind any of it. I think that's a massive amount of money. And I think that it's going to help people here." 

Combine the two donations and over $15,000 is going to the Upper Room. 

For the food bank, that money is going to be a big help as it enters its busy months. Most of the money will go toward food purchases. 

"It's a very significant donation and I can't thank the young people of P.E.I. enough for this. And, you know, it just shows that every donation adds up and goes a long way," said Mike MacDonald, executive director of the Upper Room. 

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