Whistler – It’s municipal election season, but residents in Whistler can expect knocks on their doors from more than the candidates in coming weeks. In addition to walking around the Village with “Room Wanted” signs around their necks, some people desperate to find housing for the season are going door-to-door to inquire about rooms for rent.
Sam Linsell, who recently arrived in Whistler from England, went around the Alpine Meadows neighbourhood a few weeks ago with flyers announcing “Professional Couple Seeking Accommodation,” the reasons he and his girlfriend would make good tenants, and their contact information. Linsell also knocked on some doors and talked to people in the neighbourhood, he said.
Though the couple ultimately found a room through a friend, Linsell said he got about 10 leads on rooms or studio units from knocking on doors and posting flyers in Alpine. People were kind and helpful, he said.
“We just put a bit of legwork in and it worked out for us,” he said. “I think you have to be a bit proactive looking for them (rooms).”
Linsell also placed seeking accommodations ads in both local papers and received responses from both, he said. He’s heard of others finding places to live by placing ads.
Though he said perhaps he’s not the best person to judge whether this season is worse for seasonal housing availability than others, this is Linsell’s third winter in Whistler and he’s never had trouble finding a place before. Rental rates have also gone up since he was last here in 2005, he said.
“I’ve never had the experience of having to struggle to find a place,” he said.
Linsell encouraged others who are searching to be creative, use word-of-mouth and stay positive. He also acknowledged that as the season gets underway, even prospective tenants who are creative with their search might not be able to find anything.
As of this week, the Whistler Housing Authority’s (WHA) Accommodation Seeker page had almost 200 listings for people searching for a place to live. In one publication, ads from those seeking accommodation outnumber the long-term rentals listed for the Whistler area.
Councillor Gordon McKeever, chair of the WHA, said everyone is aware of how challenging it is to find accommodations.
“The whole thing’s not a happy story right now,” he said.
While municipal officials and others have expected this winter and next to be difficult for seasonal housing, the possible solutions haven’t materialized so far, McKeever said. One-thousand new employee restricted beds were originally expected to be delivered at the new Rainbow neighbourhood before the Olympics, but that number has been reduced to several hundred before the Games, he said. The failure of the Phoenix temporary staff housing project in September was also a “big disappointment,” he said.
The tight rental market could lead to workforce challenges this winter, McKeever said.
“Whether this is going to impact decisions to come here for the winter remains to be seen,” he said.
McKeever is urging to property owners to keep the big picture in mind instead of focusing on the unlikely possibility of cashing in from renting their homes during the 2010 Games. The biggest windfall property owners can hope for is the benefit to property values from Whistler hosting a successful Olympics and Paralympics — and that means having enough staff to run the busy resort during that time, he said.
Meanwhile, the members of the Phoenix Housing Corporation board are still meeting regularly and talking about possible solutions to the housing crunch, said Brian Good, Phoenix director and manager of employee experience at Whistler Blackcomb (WB).
No decisions have been made, but Good said it’s likely the Phoenix corporation will be dissolved and a new group started to continue the charge. The Chamber of Commerce is no longer taking a lead on the project, he said.
“There are people still interested in moving forward and there are some that are a bit more reserved,” he said. “I personally still see the need for a solution.”
The next steps are to gauge the need for beds from Whistler’s business community and to find some funding to allow the project manager to continue and to pay for legal fees and other expenses, Good said.
Some members of the group are still talking about the possibility of creating housing sometime this winter, though Good said he’s “very reserved” in his expectations. There are still discussions taking place between housing suppliers and Phoenix’s project manager, he said.
