As you are aware, the issue of Unlicensed Properties is still very much alive in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. In an effort to document unlicensed properties, we are providing owners a new service.
“The Record of Unlicensed Tourism Accommodations”
This service is easy for any owner, anywhere, allowing you to send basic information, should you wish to identify an unlicensed property and have the appropriate authorities advised.
Here is how it works:
Step 1. Download the PDF at the link below, print, complete and keep a copy of the Report.
Step 2. Click the "Make a Report" button below to go to the online form. Complete the form.
Step 3. The online form sends your “record” to the Innkeepers Guild.
Your name will not be revealed, however your report cannot proceed unless Innkeepers Guild can verify who has gathered the information. Once the information is validated by our monitor the record will be archived and sent to the applicable industry or government department.
A master list of unlicensed properties will be held by the Innkeepers Guild. This list will be considered “private”. It may possibly be made available to Innkeepers Guild members on request, and/or used to provide information to government or other associations as deemed appropriate.
It is and has been the position of the Innkeepers Guild that these unlicensed properties are a “public relations”, “quality control” and “economic” issue for the owners who suffer financially, and as well as every province and tourism organization.
Today, news travels fast. There are many websites and blogs where people can place comments about their trip, their destination and even rate a property. Travelers are more astute at using the Internet so they can very easily see these comments. From a public relations point of view, the one bad experience is now likely to be read by many more than ever and cause damage or at least a few lost reservations. From a quality control perspective, the unlicensed are a product on the market but are not subject to any quality standards.
Economically, every time an unlicensed property is rented, the revenue is lost to a licensed property, the staff suffer, and the sales tax and property taxes are lost to government. The property does benefit from all the government advertising in the same way we all do.