BREAKING Canada will cut its permanent immigration levels by at least 20 per cent
Canada will lower the number of permanent immigrants it allows into the country by at least 20 per cent from its previous target of 500,000, 愛污传媒 confirmed Wednesday.
Airbnb is making a renewed push into renting single rooms in a nod to its beginnings and a realization that renting an entire house is too expensive for many travellers, especially younger ones.
The short-term rental company rolled out a new offering Wednesday that it calls Airbnb Rooms. Guests can rent a room in the same house or apartment as their host at prices that Airbnb says will average US$67 a night.
"It is an admission that travellers care more about affordability than they did a year ago," said CEO Brian Chesky.
Airbnb has always listed single rooms in houses and apartments. The company said the new offering will give more biographical information about hosts, and consumers can sort listings to learn details including whether their bedroom door locks and the bathroom is private or shared.
It's a throwback to the original concept that Chesky and Joe Gebbia -- now chairman of Airbnb -- had in 2007, when they took guests in their San Francisco apartment to help pay the rent. Since then, Airbnb listings have shifted toward whole houses, and prices have soared, to an average daily rate of US$153 late last year.
"This is going to be especially popular for the next generation of travellers," Chesky said of the new offering. "The average Gen Z traveller wants to pay less than US$100 a night." (Generation Z is usually defined as people born between roughly the mid-1990s and 2010.)
It's an interesting gambit. During the pandemic, Airbnb took business from hotels because travellers wanted rentals where they could avoid contact with strangers. Rival Vrbo, owned by Expedia, is still running advertisements bragging that it only rents whole houses.
Separately on Wednesday, Uber also announced a move to cater to cost-conscious consumers. The ride-hailing company said it is expanding discounts for sharing a ride to make its service more affordable and reduce the number of cars on the road. The discounts are available in a dozen cities, and Uber said it will add five more in the U.S., including Washington and Miami.
Uber's move comes two weeks after rival Lyft informed employees that it will lay off about a quarter of its work force to cut costs and reduce fares.
Airbnb made US$1.9 billion last year -- the first full-year profit in its history -- on higher bookings and revenue. Analysts expect the San Francisco company to be even more profitable this year.
Airbnb has had its stumbles too. Resistance to high cleaning fees led the company to change the way prices are displayed in November, which it says will rein in runaway fees. Airbnb declined to provide figures when asked if fees have dropped.
And social media posts about long checkout instructions went viral. Some hosts asked guests to perform tasks such as taking out the trash and laundering the sheets -- even though the guests were paying a hefty cleaning fee.
Airbnb said it will let consumers see checkout lists before they book. It is also tweaking the hosting side of the application to nudge owners against adding chores that could lead to poor reviews and get them booted off the platform.
"In six months to a year, there should be a material reduction in onerous checkout tasks," Chesky said. "This should hopefully not be a meme anymore."
Canada will lower the number of permanent immigrants it allows into the country by at least 20 per cent from its previous target of 500,000, 愛污传媒 confirmed Wednesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Liberal party is 'strong and united,' despite efforts from within his caucus to oust him as leader.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
The president and CEO of New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips is taking an 'extended leave of absence' after being charged with domestic violence this past weekend.
A memorial is growing outside a Walmart in Halifax after a 19-year-old employee was found dead inside an oven in the store Saturday night.
A search has started at Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
Turkiye鈥檚 air force struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in apparent retaliation for an attack at a key state-run defence company that killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others.
Canada's discount airline is suspending operations to and from Saskatoon.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.
The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that 鈥 and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.