Future of HI Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel to be determined | Daily Hive

HI Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel. (HI)

The future of HI Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel is uncertain, but on Monday evening, Vancouver Park Board commissioners directed their staff to discuss a lease renewal with the Canadian Hostelling Association, more commonly known as HI Canada.

Independent commissioner Scott Jensen’s approved member motion specifically asks Park Board staff to discuss the terms of the operating agreement and any necessary agreements related to proposed building upgrades by HI Canada.

As well, Park Board staff will report back to the commissioners by April 2025 on the progress of the lease renewal and upgrades.

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HI Canada has leased the property at 1515 Discovery St. — located within Jericho Beach Park — as a highly affordable overnight visitor accommodations property since 1971.

The aging three-storey hostel building features 285 beds in 14 dormitories and 10 family/private rooms.

HI Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel at 1515 Discovery St., Vancouver. (Google Maps)

HI Canada is a not-for-profit entity affiliated with Hostelling International (HI), a U.K.-based not-for-profit organization.

“HI Vancouver Jericho Beach has been a key part of our hostel network since 1971, and we hope to continue welcoming travellers to this beautiful part of the country for many more years to come,” Shelbey Sy, a spokesperson for HI Canada, told Daily Hive Urbanized in an email.

According to Jensen, HI Canada’s lease for the property is now in its final year. They are looking to conduct up to $500,000 in upgrades to the hostel’s kitchen and dining area, but they would like to see some guarantees about their continued presence before making the capital investment.

Up until late 2024, the hostel was also home to DICED Discovery Cafe, which was unable to renew its space lease with HI Canada. For 15 years, the cafe also doubled as a catering and teaching facility.

Jensen says HI Canada has been trying to negotiate with Park Board staff on renewing its building lease since September 2024. The original intention was to perform the facility upgrades in time for the May long weekend, when the 2025 peak season begins.

“Every day that it’s not being renewed is a day being lost,” said Jensen. “And so we do want to make sure that we activate these spaces as soon as possible, not only for the benefit of this Park Board financially, but for the benefit of the community in and around there that would like to have more opportunities to enjoy that space.”

Sy told Daily Hive Urbanized that the non-profit organization has continually invested in the property over the decades, including installing a new roof, windows, and heating system, and making extensive bathroom upgrades. If the lease extension is secured, she says, they plan to make further improvements.

Some commissioners suggested the Park Board should instead launch an open bidding process for a potential new tenant, but Jensen stressed the need for the Park Board to demonstrate that HI Canada is a valued long-term partner, given its more than 50 years at the location and contribution to local tourism.

HI Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel. (HI)

HI Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel typically operates only during the peak season from May to October of each year. However, in recent years, following the pandemic-time closure, it has operated year-round. The hostel is currently operating in a reduced capacity mode during the low season from Oct. 19, 2024, to May 1, 2025.

Throughout its history, the hostel has been a popular location for students and other young travellers on a tight budget.

When the hostel first opened in 1971, the nightly room rates for its beds began at $1.50 ($11.86 in 2025 dollars, adjusted for inflation).

As of the week of March 10, during the low season, overnight rates range between $38.95 for a traditional hostel bed to up to $93.10 for a private room. During the first week of July 2025, during the peak season, the rates are currently set at $57 for a bed to up to $160.55 for a private room. The property currently has a 3.8 out of 5.0 star rating on Google Reviews, based on nearly 600 reviews.

According to a new hotel market report by commercial real estate firm Avison Young, Vancouver had the highest hotel room occupancy rates and the highest overnight rates among Canada’s major urban markets in 2024. Throughout the year, occupancy rates reached 78.2 per cent, and the overnight rate of $285.21 represents a seven per cent increase compared to 2023.

HI Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel. (HI)

Hotel room rates in Metro Vancouver have soared in recent years, with even mid-tier hotels reaching nearly $1,000 during the busiest periods. This is due to strong tourism and a growing shortage of hotel rooms, with Destination Vancouver estimating there is a need for 20,000 additional hotel rooms across the region, including 10,000 in the city of Vancouver. As well, the provincial government’s new regulations on short-term rentals have propelled hotel room demand even further.

Destination Vancouver has also expressed concern that young and other budget travellers are increasingly priced out from visiting the city due to the accommodations shortage and costs.

HI Canada’s hostel capacity in Vancouver was also significantly reduced in 2021, when the provincial government acquired HI Vancouver Central Hostel — a longtime popular accommodations location for students and other youth at the Granville Entertainment District in downtown Vancouver. It was permanently converted into supportive housing; the provincial government had previously leased the property from HI Canada as a pandemic-time measure to create temporary supportive housing. It had 80 rooms fitted with either single beds, double beds, and bunk beds.

In late 2020 and early 2021, the City of Vancouver and Park Board also briefly considered turning HI Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel into a pandemic-time homeless shelter, but this idea was ultimately rejected after it was determined that the facility and location were unsuitable.

The only other HI Canada location in Metro Vancouver is HI Vancouver Downtown Hostel, located in the West End neighbourhood of downtown Vancouver. This 67-room property reopened in June 2023 after a renovation. HI Canada also has hostel locations in Victoria, Tofino, Squamish, and Whistler Olympic Village.

The building that houses HI Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel is one of the last remaining structures of RCAF Station Jericho Beach, a major military installation.

Jericho Beach Park was a seaplane hub for the Royal Canadian Air Force in the 1920s, with military barracks and aircraft hangars added in the 1930s.

Remaining Air Force base structures at Jericho Park, 1975. (City of Vancouver Archives)

The building currently used for the hostel was originally built as barracks for the Royal Canadian Air Force about 90 years ago. Other base buildings that still remain today entail the Marine and Stores Building, which is now the Jericho Sailing Centre, and the military gymnasium, which is now the Jericho Arts Centre.

During the Second World War, the area’s military uses expanded southward, as a golf course was converted into the Jericho Garrison, creating a large Department of National Defence precinct.

In the late 1960s, the federal government transferred most of the military base to the City of Vancouver for the purpose of creating a public park. In the process, the wharf and most of the military structures were demolished for beach areas and playing fields. The last of the Jericho Beach detachment fully closed in 1996.

The remaining areas of the former Jericho Garrison, now referred to as the Jericho Lands, were acquired by local First Nations and Canada Lands Company a decade ago, with the site now set to become a high-density, mixed-use residential neighbourhood.

One of the most popular features of Jericho Beach Park is Jericho Pier, which was significantly damaged by a windstorm in early 2022 and has been closed ever since. Construction on a “like-for-like” repair of Jericho Pier began in December 2024, and it could reach completion and finally reopen to the public in late 2025.

Many pilings of the existing pier date back to the area’s original pier, dating back to the Second World War.

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