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

Bottom line

Ottawa edges ahead of Vancouver on higher occupancy (60% vs 42%).

Head-to-head metrics

	Ottawa	Vancouver
Median occupancy	60%	42%
Median daily rate	£64	£85
Median RevPAR	£24	£36
Active listings	1,888	3,993
YoY occupancy	+25.5 pts	-7.3 pts
YoY daily rate	+2.8%	-2%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Ottawa vs Vancouver

Ottawa finishes decisively ahead of Vancouver on our composite of occupancy, revenue per available night and regulation risk — and it is the calendar rather than the price tag doing the work. Ottawa sells 18 more points of its calendar — 60% median occupancy against 42% in Vancouver. The twelve-month direction favours Ottawa too: occupancy there moved +25.5 points while Vancouver moved −7.3 points. That is not a rounding difference, and it compounds over a hold period.

The two markets reach their revenue by different routes, which is what makes this pairing worth reading rather than just tabulating. Vancouver is the rate market: £85 a night against £64, some 33.6% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 42% occupancy. Ottawa is the volume market, filling 60% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £36 in Vancouver against £24. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Vancouver is not simply the weaker market of the two. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 50.7% higher in Vancouver: £36 against £24. Across a full year the median Vancouver listing grosses £13,207 against £8,770 in Ottawa. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Ottawa nor Vancouver 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%; Vancouver runs from 62.3% in September down to 38.4% in January. 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 and whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Vancouver answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. It is the contrarian side: buying it means buying a market that has cooled. 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 1,206 in Vancouver.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ottawa or Vancouver better for Airbnb investment?

Ottawa, on the data we track. It leads on higher occupancy (60% vs 42%), the better occupancy trend (+25.5 points vs −7.3 points year over year), and a thinner competitive field (1,888 vs 3,993 active listings). Vancouver is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on stronger RevPAR (£36 vs £24).

Which has higher occupancy, Ottawa or Vancouver?

Ottawa, at 60% median occupancy against 42% in Vancouver — a gap of 18 points. That is a wide spread by short-term rental standards and usually reflects a structural demand difference rather than better hosting. Over the last twelve months Ottawa gained 25.5 points and Vancouver shed 7.3 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Ottawa or Vancouver?

Vancouver, at £85 a night against £64 in Ottawa — roughly 33.6% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £36 in Vancouver against £24, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Ottawa or Vancouver?

Ottawa, on occupancy: +25.5 points over the last twelve months against −7.3 points in Vancouver. Nightly rates rose 2.8% in Ottawa and fell 2% in Vancouver 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 Vancouver?

Vancouver, with 3,993 active listings against 1,888 in Ottawa. 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 Vancouver?

Vancouver earns more: roughly £13,207 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 Vancouver →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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