When all is said and done, the number of short-term rentals in Kelowna — the likes of which can be listed on Airbnb and Vrbo — has plunged from 2,400 to 388.

That's a dramatic 84% freefall.

And the disappearing short-term rentals didn't necessarily get turned into long-term rentals as the provincial government had hoped to help ease the housing crisis.

"In fact, in Kelowna, it's all the new purpose-built rental apartment buildings that have helped increase our long-term rental housing stock," explained City of Kelowna chief planner Nola Kilmartin.

"The expected conversion of STRs (short-term rentals) to long-term rentals didn't really happen."

NowMedia file photoNola Kilmartin is the City of Kelowna's chief planner.

So what did happen to them?

Condominium investors who bought units specifically to Airbnb have likely either sold their units or are living in them themselves.

Before Kelowna's and BC's May 1, 2024 crackdown, there were 1,200 licensed short-term rentals in Kelowna and an estimated 1,200 unlicensed short-term rentals for a total of 2,400.

Considering that Kelowna has about 3,800 hotel rooms, the 2,400 short-term rentals represented a big-time alternative.

A short-term rental might be cheaper than a hotel, have a full kitchen, have multiple bedrooms for family and friend groups, offer more privacy and a different vibe.

A quick look online reveals that for the upcoming long weekend there are 62 short-term rentals available on Airbnb and 149 on Vrbo.

"The perspective (after the short-term rental crackdown) was that Kelowna was closed for business," said Kilmartin.

"It was bad for tourism and bad for business."

And, in fact, summer 2024 was a soft one for tourism, in part because of the change in short-term rental rules, as well as vacationers taking none, fewer or shorter holidays because of money worries in a tough economy.

"The reality is Kelowna is open for business," said Kilmartin.

"We have short-term rentals and we have hotels and Kelowna is a tourist destination."

A big part of the short-term rental crackdown was making sure qualifying rentals were licensed and enforcement.

That's when Kelowna's 1,200 licensed short-term shrank to 388.

A new City of Kelowna online application system for short-term rentals is now up and running and 171 are pending.

So, the city's short-term rental count could surge to 559.

That's still a long way from the licensed and unlicensed peak of 2,400, but it is an increase in inventory.

Rules have also been tweaked so that if a homeowner has a secondary suite in their home and a carriage house they can use both as short-term rentals.

Now that so many long-term rentals have come on stream with Kelowna's apartment building boom, Kelowna may be looking to remove the principal-residence stipulation for short-term rentals.

But that would probably only apply to units in resort areas that might include downtown and-or close to the lake.  

This saga all started last year when the provincial government, effective May 1, came down hard on short-term rentals.

Any investors, entrepreneurs and business people with homes they specifically bought to Airbnb as a money-making venture were shut down.

New regulations in Kelowna only allowed the short-term rental of a secondary suite or carriage house on the property of a homeowner's primary residence.

The new rules also allow a homeowner to rent out their principal home like an Airbnb when they are away.

Principal residency is defined as spending at least 240 days a year in your home.

The belief was, by effectively making many short-term rentals illegal, the units would be turned into long-term rentals making it easier for people to find more permanent and stable housing during a housing crunch.

But, as mentioned before, that didn't particularly materialize. 

Another piece of the short-term rental puzzle was the so-called Airbnb nuisance factor.

"Everyone seems to have a horror story about a short-term rental," said Kilmartin.

"Noise in the middle of the night or big, unruly bachelor or bachelorette parties. But that tended to be just a few bad actors."

Either way, if it was an investor-owned Airbnb they wouldn't be on site to deal with any problems and neighbours would be left complaining to the renting group directly or calling the police.

Long-term rentals can also have problems.

There can be noisy parties and if the tenant stops paying, there can be a long eviction process.

That may be why a lot of Airbnb investors unloaded their units amid the crackdown.

They liked the short-term turnover and moneymaking and aren't interested in potentially making less with a long-term rental and-or having a problematic tenant that takes forever to get rid of.

"There is certainly a role for short-term rentals in Kelowna," summed up Kilmartin.

"It's about hitting that sweet spot. And Kelowna is working toward hitting that sweet spot."