By ThinkPol Staff

A Vancouver vigilante who sends private messages to illegal Airbnb operators in the city asking them to stop being “social parasites” has convinced at least one such host to put a unit back on the long term rental market.

“Airbnb is illegal in Vancouver,” the user, who goes by the name Corrupt Wilkinson^[1]https://twitter.com/CorruptGregor on twitter, tells Airbnb hosts. “Anyone who runs an illegal Airbnb hotel is a social parasite contributing to the housing crisis. Please take your unit off Airbnb and offer it as a long term rental to a local family. Thank you.”

An Airbnb host by the name of Becca has heeded Corrupt Wilkinson’s call, and has told the vigilante that she has agreed to offer her unit, listed on Airbnb for $108 per night, as a long term rental to a family for $1,800 per month^[2]https://www.airbnb.ca/users/show/52442275.

However the responses from other Airbnb hosts has been less than friendly, according to Corrupt Wilkinson.

“Mind your own business,” a host who goes by the name Erin has told Corrupt Wilkinson. “My home never was, nor will it ever be available as a long term rental house. My steam room, my guest room and my laundry are all in the house and I use them many times a week as do my relatives who come to stay.”

“Kindly jam it up your ass and mind your own business,” Erin added^[3]https://www.airbnb.ca/users/show/12590876. “China and our mayor sucking the dicks of big developers are to blame for the housing crisis in Vancouver, not honest people like me who are just trying to make ends meet. Wake up!”

“Did you try to understand the situation before calling someone a social parasite?” Airbnb host Ava^[4]https://www.airbnb.ca/users/show/22510009 asks Corrupt Wilkinson. “Are you yourself such a saint that you are doing all social goods and giving back to the community? Did you every year honestly file your tax to CRA and swear to god you never try to find loopholes to try and pay less tax? If you publish you[sic] tax record for public scrutiny and I don’t find anything fishy then you have the right to call someone a social parasite.”

What is motivating Corrupt Wilkinson to spend his spare time reminding Airbnb hosts of the social contract?

“It’s pretty obvious that if the City of Vancouver wanted to, they would’ve shut down illegal Airbnb operations in the city a long time ago,” Corrupt Wilkinson told ThinkPol. “The elected officials and top management are a smug bunch who don’t care one bit about the daily struggles of working Vancouverites.”

“The officials in charge happy to pocket their $250K salaries even as the citizens who pay their taxes are forced to live in vans or exchange sexual favours to put a roof over their heads,” Corrupt Wilkinson added. “It’s up to us, ordinary everyday Vancouverites, to rescue our beautiful city from greed, corruption and incompetence.”