Ottawa vs Quebec City: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Quebec City edges ahead of Ottawa on higher occupancy (62% vs 60%), stronger RevPAR (£30 vs £24).

Head-to-head metrics

	Ottawa	Quebec City
Median occupancy	60%	62%
Median daily rate	£64	£70
Median RevPAR	£24	£30
Active listings	1,888	1,884
YoY occupancy	+25.5 pts	+11 pts
YoY daily rate	+2.8%	+11%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Ottawa vs Quebec City

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Quebec City finishes narrowly ahead of Ottawa. Quebec City turns its rate and occupancy into £30 per available night against £24 in Ottawa, a 23.2% edge on the only yield figure that nets the empty nights out. Across a full year the median Quebec City listing grosses £10,797 against £8,770 in Ottawa. The margin is thin enough that a single strong year in Ottawa would close it, so treat the ordering as a lean rather than a verdict.

Quebec City takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £70 against £64 — and still fills more of the year, 62% against 60%. A market that leads on price and utilisation at once is normally one where demand has outrun supply, rather than one where hosts are discounting to keep the calendar busy. RevPAR reflects the double advantage at £30 against £24.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Ottawa is not simply the weaker market of the two. The twelve-month direction favours Ottawa too: occupancy there moved +25.5 points while Quebec City moved +11 points. Ottawa sits at the cheaper end at £64 a night against £70, which lowers the bar for filling shoulder-season dates and usually tracks a lower purchase price too. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Ottawa nor Quebec City currently has a verified short-term rental regulation record in our register, so the comparison above is a yield comparison only. Regulation is the single largest source of downside in this asset class — an unverified market is an unpriced risk, not an absent one.

The two calendars also behave differently. Ottawa peaks in September at 53.8% and bottoms in February at 29.6%; Quebec City runs from 50.3% in November down to 26.7% in April. Both swing by a similar amount across the year, so neither offers meaningfully steadier cash flow than the other.

Who each suits, then. Ottawa suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Quebec City answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 707 active Ottawa listings and 581 in Quebec City.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ottawa or Quebec City better for Airbnb investment?

Quebec City, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£30 vs £24), higher median annual revenue (£10,797 vs £8,770), and a higher nightly rate (£70 vs £64). Ottawa is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on the better occupancy trend (+25.5 points vs +11 points year over year).

Which has higher occupancy, Ottawa or Quebec City?

Quebec City, at 62% median occupancy against 60% in Ottawa — a gap of 2 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Ottawa can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Ottawa gained 25.5 points and Quebec City gained 11 points, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Ottawa or Quebec City?

Quebec City, at £70 a night against £64 in Ottawa — roughly 10% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £30 in Quebec City against £24, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Ottawa or Quebec City?

Ottawa, on occupancy: +25.5 points over the last twelve months against +11 points in Quebec City. Nightly rates rose 2.8% in Ottawa and rose 11% in Quebec City over the same window. One year of movement is a direction, not a trend — weigh it against the regulation picture before treating it as momentum.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Ottawa or Quebec City?

Ottawa, with 1,888 active listings against 1,884 in Quebec City. Size cuts both ways: a deep market gives you comparables, contractors and an exit, while a thinner one means fewer near-identical rivals competing for the same search results.

How much can you earn from an Airbnb in Ottawa vs Quebec City?

Quebec City earns more: roughly £10,797 a year for a median listing against £8,770 in Ottawa. Those are gross booking revenues before cleaning, management, platform fees, furnishing amortisation and tax — budget for a meaningful share of them, and note that a median listing is a median operator, not a good one.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide

Airbnb in Ottawa →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Quebec City →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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