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

Bottom line

Vancouver edges ahead of Quebec City on higher occupancy (36.2% vs 34.5%), stronger RevPAR (£55 vs £44).

Head-to-head metrics

	Quebec City	Vancouver
Median occupancy	34.5%	36.2%
Median daily rate	£151	£175
Median RevPAR	£44	£55
Active listings	1,999	4,491
YoY occupancy	-9.9 pts	-13.1 pts
YoY daily rate	+61.3%	+55.2%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Quebec City vs Vancouver

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Vancouver finishes narrowly ahead of Quebec City. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 25.2% higher in Vancouver: £55 against £44. Nightly rates favour Vancouver: £175 against £151 in Quebec City, a 15.9% premium. The margin is thin enough that a single strong year in Quebec City would close it, so treat the ordering as a lean rather than a verdict.

Vancouver takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £175 against £151 — and still fills more of the year, 36.2% against 34.5%. 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 £55 against £44.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Quebec City is not simply the weaker market of the two. The twelve-month direction favours Quebec City too: occupancy there moved −9.9 points while Vancouver moved −13.1 points. Nightly rates are also climbing faster in Quebec City, +61.3% over the last year against +55.2% in Vancouver. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Quebec City 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. Quebec City peaks in October at 58.9% and bottoms in January at 27.9%; Vancouver runs from 66.9% in September down to 40.1% in November. Vancouver is the steadier of the two at 26.8 points peak-to-trough against 31 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Quebec City concentrates its return into a shorter window and rewards operators who price the peak aggressively instead of holding a flat rate all year.

Who each suits, then. Quebec City suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. Vancouver answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. 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, dated 2026-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 1,999 active Quebec City listings and 4,491 in Vancouver.

Frequently asked questions

Is Quebec City or Vancouver better for Airbnb investment?

Vancouver, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£55 vs £44), a higher nightly rate (£175 vs £151), and higher median annual revenue (£20,073 vs £16,021). Quebec City is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on the better occupancy trend (−9.9 points vs −13.1 points year over year).

Which has higher occupancy, Quebec City or Vancouver?

Vancouver, at 36.2% median occupancy against 34.5% in Quebec City — a gap of 1.7 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Quebec City can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Quebec City shed 9.9 points and Vancouver shed 13.1 points, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Quebec City or Vancouver?

Vancouver, at £175 a night against £151 in Quebec City — roughly 15.9% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £55 in Vancouver against £44, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

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

Neither is growing on occupancy — both cooled over the last year. Quebec City gave up 9.9 points and Vancouver 13.1, so Quebec City is the shallower decline rather than the winner. Nightly rates rose 61.3% in Quebec City and rose 55.2% in Vancouver over the same window.

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

Vancouver, with 4,491 active listings against 1,999 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 Quebec City vs Vancouver?

Vancouver earns more: roughly £20,073 a year for a median listing against £16,021 in Quebec City. 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 Quebec City →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Vancouver →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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