Medina awaiting input from Canal Corp. for house boats as overnight rentals in Canal Basin

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Medina Canal Basin is shown last summer with a houseboat, the Erie Floatel LLC, at left. Another boat owner wants to rent out a yacht as a short-term rental this canal season.

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board has two requests from boat owners to lease space in the Canal Basin this upcoming canal season.

But village officials first want input from the State Canal Corp., where there has been a big increase in using houseboats for short-term rentals on the Erie Canal, said Jeff Wagner, the Medina village trustee.

He has been speaking the Canal Corp. officials about how to best handle the requests. The new canal season starts on May 15 and goes until Oct. 14.

Medina approved a lease in its basin last summer for the Erie Floatel, LLC. That boat was operated by Andrew Meier and Svein Lilleby and it stayed on the south side of the canal, using one of the village’s floating docks.

Medina charged a lease fee of $220, plus another $100 for electric and water consumption for the season.

Rollin Hellner owns a 34-foot-long yacht that he would like to rent out through Airbnb. His father Brian Hellner ran a tour boat business from the Canal Basin but won’t be doing that this year. Rollin would like to keep his boat in the same slip where his father docked the North Star. This is the same boat that Rollin would like to rent out for overnight stays.

“We intend to operate under the same rules, requirements, and fee structure that have already been established and approved for vessel-based Airbnb operations within the Village,” Hellner said in a letter to the Village Board on April 13. “This will be a continuation of an established and successful lodging option that supports tourism and brings additional visitors to Medina’s waterfront and local businesses.”

The Erie Floatel, LLC made its debut in Medina last summer. It is available as a short-term rental directly on the Erie Canal.

Andrew Meier, in an April 13 letter to the board, said Erie Floatel had a great first year last summer with universally positive feedback, earning a rare “5.0 Guest Favorite” status on Airbnb. The houseboat will be exclusively listed on Airbnb and VRBO this year, without direct bookings, Meier said in a letter to the board.

The Erie Floatel is moored and not drivable by guests. There is a two-person maximum occupancy.

Meier offered to pay $500 towards utilities for the boat, up from the $100 in the initial lease.

“The houseboat resulted in many unique visitors to Medina through the course of the summer, who patronized local retail shops and eateries,” Meier write. “It further generated direct revenue to the Village in the form of nightly occupancy taxes. From all accounts, the enterprise was a ‘win-win.’”