Destination St. John’s welcomes new regulations requiring all short-term accommodations to be registered with the province.

Government announced yesterday that they would be bringing in a new Tourist Accommodations Act due to an increase in unlicensed accommodations, such as those on Airbnb.

Heather McKinnon, Chair of Destination St. John’s, says they are not against unlicensed rentals, but licensed operators were not pleased to be losing business to properties that were not regulated.

She says they’re glad to see a fair playing field for all operators and looks forward to having a variety accommodations available in St. John’s and throughout the province.

“Anything that brings more people to the province, whether they stay in short term or traditional accommodations, it doesn’t matter to us,” says McKinnon. “It’s about bringing people to our destination.”