WITH an increase in the number of “strangers” being seen in College Green, Hope Pastures, St Andrew, which has been attributed to the presence of a short-term rental property on Scotland Drive, some residents are concerned about their safety.

One resident, who did not want to be named, told the Jamaica Observer that the owner of a townhouse has been offering the short-term rental service for a couple years, but that there has been a constant flow of different guests recently.

“Like every three days, strangers are coming in. It is a residential area and if you are going to have an Airbnb, our safety is going to be compromised. There is just this constant fear because you do not know who is over there. I am scared to even walk on the road,” the resident argued, noting that the other residents are afraid to speak up.

A visit to the booking site for the short-term rental property Airbnb revealed that the property on Scotland Drive was almost fully booked for August.

The resident said, too, that there are other issues as well.

“There is even the ganja smoking coming from some of the occupants…the unkempt garbage…” the resident lamented.

At an annual general meeting last year, members of the College Green Citizens’ Association (CGCA) passed a resolution against properties in the community being operated as an Airbnb.

“The members of CGCA are strongly resisting any attempt to commercialise the community by converting the use of townhouses into Airbnb rather than residences,” the resolution reads. “Be it resolved that no Airbnb be allowed in the community for the reasons: [depreciation of townhouse and jeopardising of peace and security], and that the lease of any townhouse should be no less than six months.”

The resident who spoke to the Observer also claimed that calls in relation to the use of property were made to the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), which stated that, if a commercial business is being operated in a residential area, it can issue a cease-and-desist order.

The Observer contacted the operator of the property at the centre of the residents’ grouse, but she declined to comment on the matter.

According to Jamaica Home Sharing Association (JHSA) President Sherie-Ann Anderson, unless the rules upon purchasing the property indicated otherwise, homeowners can offer short-term rental services.

She noted that once residents have concerns, there is an Airbnb neighbourhood hotline they can contact to report issues. JHSA was launched by Airbnb in April 2018 to enable more Jamaicans to become involved in the growing industry.

“With the Airbnb neighbourhood hotline, it’s so easy to reach out to the Airbnb customer care who would try to figure out the matter at the property. It all depends on the reason for them to have an issue,” she said.

“To just complain doesn’t make sense, but if the person bought the property for investment purposes then that is what they choose to do, but if it is that the guests are causing a disturbance, then the recourse is simple,” she added.

Pointing to the guests who use Airbnb services, Anderson said they are not strangers as their personal information has already been vetted on the Airbnb platform.

“People who book a property go through a rigorous process. In fact, the majority of short-term guests are excellent and this is told by the reviews on the platform. Not only does the guest review the platform, but the host reviews the guests. It’s just a lack of knowledge of how things work and people are fearful,” she told the Observer.

Airbnb is an online marketplace and home-stay network which allows homeowners to list or rent short-term stays in residential properties, with rates set by the property owner. Airbnb collects a percentage of the earnings as service fees from hosts and guests.