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Russell Wittke remembers the first time Airbnb affected his Humboldt hotel.

A curling competition was taking place in town, and a team had booked two or three double rooms at The Pioneer Hotel & Motel, a family-run business built by Wittke’s father in 1966 and passed down to him. The brick building has the stylings of a classic Saskatchewan hotel from decades past, but provides a nostalgic sense of comfort.

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The curling team cancelled the day before its members were supposed to check in. The reason, Wittke later found out, was that the team had opted for an Airbnb.

‘That can take a big bite out of what you typically depend on’

Hotel owners in Humboldt will tell you that it’s a community people visit typically only when they have a specific reason to be there.

It’s not like a bigger city, where road traffic off major highways provides a steady flow of customers. Sporting events are one of the few ways hotels are filled in the community located off Highway 5. A room cancelled at the last minute is lost revenue, unlikely to be recouped that weekend by someone who happens to be passing through town.