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

Bottom line

Victoria edges ahead of Vancouver on higher occupancy (39.5% vs 36.2%).

Head-to-head metrics

	Vancouver	Victoria
Median occupancy	36.2%	39.5%
Median daily rate	£175	£144
Median RevPAR	£55	£51
Active listings	4,491	2,666
YoY occupancy	-13.1 pts	-3.2 pts
YoY daily rate	+55.2%	+55.6%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Vancouver vs Victoria

Victoria finishes narrowly 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. The twelve-month direction favours Victoria too: occupancy there moved −3.2 points while Vancouver moved −13.1 points. Victoria's calendar is the flatter of the two — 16.1 points between its best and worst month against 26.8 in Vancouver — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. The margin is thin enough that a single strong year in Vancouver would close it, so treat the ordering as a lean rather than a verdict.

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: £175 a night against £144, some 20.9% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 36.2% occupancy. Victoria is the volume market, filling 39.5% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £55 in Vancouver against £51. 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. Nightly rates favour Vancouver: £175 against £144 in Victoria, a 20.9% premium. Vancouver is the deeper market at 4,491 active listings against 2,666, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. If your model leans on nightly rate rather than volume, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Vancouver nor Victoria 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. Vancouver peaks in September at 66.9% and bottoms in November at 40.1%; Victoria runs from 56.1% in October down to 40% in December. Victoria is the steadier of the two at 16.1 points peak-to-trough against 26.8 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Vancouver 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. Vancouver suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and 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. Victoria answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. 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 4,491 active Vancouver listings and 2,666 in Victoria.

Frequently asked questions

Is Vancouver or Victoria better for Airbnb investment?

Victoria, on the data we track. It leads on the better occupancy trend (−3.2 points vs −13.1 points year over year), a flatter season (16.1-point swing vs 26.8), and higher occupancy (39.5% vs 36.2%). Vancouver is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a higher nightly rate (£175 vs £144).

Which has higher occupancy, Vancouver or Victoria?

Victoria, at 39.5% median occupancy against 36.2% in Vancouver — a gap of 3.3 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Vancouver can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Vancouver shed 13.1 points and Victoria shed 3.2 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Vancouver or Victoria?

Vancouver, at £175 a night against £144 in Victoria — roughly 20.9% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £55 in Vancouver against £51, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

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

Neither is growing on occupancy — both cooled over the last year. Vancouver gave up 13.1 points and Victoria 3.2, so Victoria is the shallower decline rather than the winner. Nightly rates rose 55.2% in Vancouver and rose 55.6% in Victoria over the same window.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Vancouver or Victoria?

Vancouver, with 4,491 active listings against 2,666 in Victoria. 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 Vancouver vs Victoria?

Vancouver earns more: roughly £20,073 a year for a median listing against £18,540 in Victoria. 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 Vancouver →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Victoria →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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