Airbnb is sounding the alarm as we continue the countdown towards the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver next year.
We’ve published stories in the past about what accommodations could look like when the world arrives in Vancouver next year, taking into account the B.C. government’s ongoing short-term rental regulations.
This summer, we spoke to the BC Ministry of Housing, which suggested that Airbnb was trying to “manufacture a crisis” around those regulations.
In June, Airbnb said regulations “reduce tourism spending in areas with limited hotel capacity, and hinder the Province’s ability to host major events like the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.”
In its latest news release about the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver, based on a Deloitte Finance report, Airbnb states that hotel prices will spike by over 200 per cent, “echoing the spike seen during Taylor Swift’s 2024 Vancouver concerts.”
Airbnb is recommending that the Province introduce special event hosting rules during the FIFA event. More details are revealed in the report, which was conducted “at the request of Airbnb.”
“We project a shortfall of 70,000 nights over the most critical nine-day period of the tournament,” the report suggests.
“This translates to an average daily shortfall of 7,700 unaccommodated fans during this period, with the number peaking at 14,700 on a single peak-demand day, a figure that accounts for 25 per cent of total projected demand for that day.”
Deloitte states that the predicted 200 per cent spike in Vancouver hotel prices “represents amongst the highest rate increases observed for such events.”
While Deloitte’s report doesn’t mention this, Airbnb warns that these realities could have other impacts, including a “significant reputational risk for Vancouver and B.C. as global host destinations.”
Airbnb’s proposed solution to Vancouver’s FIFA problem
Vancouver’s official 2026 FIFA World Cup countdown clock installed outside BC Place Stadium at Terry Fox Plaza. (Kenneth Chan)
Airbnb says what it’s calling a “tourism crisis” is preventable.
“Years of underinvestment in hotels have left Vancouver’s lodging market stretched thin, needing 10,000 rooms by 2050 to meet demand. With B.C.’s new short-term rental law—among the strictest in Canada—thousands of would-be hosts are barred from offering entire homes, with the law limiting listings to a principal residence in most cities, including Vancouver,” Airbnb says.
“Fully in force since May, the law has squeezed accommodation options, particularly during peak travel and major events, and at a time when more Canadians are travelling domestically.”
Airbnb says that as a result, thousands could be priced out or forced to stay outside of the region, “taking their tourism dollars with them.”
According to the accommodation provider, a potential solution is a temporary event exemption.
“For Vancouver to meet the tourism demands for the FIFA World Cup 2026, special event hosting rules, also known as event exemptions, are needed. Other countries, including the UK and Japan, have successfully deployed temporary event exemptions allowing residents to host visitors during global events.”
Alex Howell, policy lead with Airbnb Canada, says that the Province can’t afford to turn people away.
“Temporarily reducing fees and making it easier for people to host visitors during major events is a proven, practical strategy to make sure Vancouver and other B.C. communities are ready to welcome the world.”
Airbnb’s news release also quotes Laura Jones, president and CEO of the Business Council of British Columbia, who suggests that temporarily easing restrictions is a “practical way to expand accommodation capacity.”
Response from BC Ministry of Housing
St. Regis Hotel
Christine Boyle, minister of housing and municipal affairs, has responded to some of the concerns presented by Airbnb.
“We’re keen to work with organizers, the city and others to make sure we’re able to accommodate special events. Our short-term rental regulations allow people who don’t need to be in town for big events to rent out their homes with sites like Airbnb. This has not changed. We will not displace people who work and deliver services to support those activities. That housing is needed,” Boyle said.
She pointed to the fact that the short-term rental registry is fully in place and that there are over 23,000 active listings registered, which are supplementing hotel space.
“We believe we’ve struck a balance between the needs of people who live and work in B.C. — the people who enable major events and tourism — and people who are visiting our province,” she added.
The Province expects support from BC Ferries and Hullo to add extra sailings to accommodate marquee events, “like they did for Taylor Swift.”
“The 350,000 soccer fans are expected to generate over 555,000 hotel night stays over the World Cup period – even at one room per visitor that’s an average of around 16,000 hotel stays per night, well within our capacity,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also said that Vancouver already had the primary-residence requirement in place when Vancouver was selected as a FIFA host city, and that folks can still rent out their homes on services like Airbnb and VRBO during the event, as long as they comply with the rules.
“Hotels outside of downtown Vancouver and the City of Vancouver are important to the tourism sector, and good transit makes it possible for visitors to stay in other parts of the Lower Mainland, and even Vancouver Island, with efficient access to the whole region,” the ministry added.
The ministry also told Daily Hive Urbanized that 4,200 hotel rooms are in the development pipeline for Vancouver, adding that there will be approximately 30,000 hotel rooms in Vancouver and the surrounding area by 2026, which doesn’t include other places like Squamish, Whistler, Victoria, Nanaimo, and the Fraser Valley.