In 2017 the city fined Onni when it was discovered suites were still being rented as hotel rooms

The change is part of the city's new focus to ensure there are enough hotel spaces downtown

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A Vancouver developer fined $24,000 for breaking the city’s rental rules now has license to do exactly what it was fined for.

Onni Group’s building, The Level at 1022 Seymour, now has the city’s blessing to operate as a hotel units that were supposed to be long-term rental apartments for Vancouverites.

In 2017, the city fined Onni when it was discovered suites were being rented as hotel rooms more than a year after the city had told the company to stop.

Vancouver’s director of licensing, Kathryn Holm, says the change is part of the city’s work to ensure there are enough hotel spaces downtown as they crack down on short-term rentals like Airbnb.

“This included a hotel conversion policy in the downtown and this building falls within the area that was identified.”

She says the city gave Onni a licence for 20 of The Level’s 188 suites to be used as hotel rooms. The licence was approved on January 21, 2019, with a decision that did not have to go before council but came directly from licensing. The final decision was made by the Director of Planning.

“We’re trying to balance these two objectives – one is to create this new hotel capacity that we know we need in the downtown core, and also balance that with providing homes for people that want to live and work in Vancouver,” Holm says.