Soccer fans planning to visit Vancouver for the 2026 FIFA World Cup may struggle to find hotel accommodation for the event, according to the city’s tourism board.
A 2023 study by Destination Vancouver has found that demand for hotel rooms is expected to exceed supply in the summer months of 2026, despite the province saying more than a thousand hotel rooms are being developed in the city.
“We’re not going to be able to fulfill demand and that’s hugely concerning,” said Vancouver city councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, referring to accommodation spaces.
Vancouver will host seven World Cup games at B.C. Place between June 13 and July 6.
With the exception of Team Canada, it’s not yet known which national teams will play in Vancouver.
Regardless of the matchups, Kirby-Yung says the city will be busy.
“The reality is when people come in for FIFA … we are going to be full in Vancouver, in the surrounding communities, in Burnaby and Richmond and Surrey,” she said.
“So you’re going to see sort of an unprecedented level of occupancy during that event.”
The Early Edition7:10Is Vancouver ready to welcome the world for the World Cup?
Destination Vancouver says the city faces a big shortage of hotel rooms. We find out more about the extent of the shortage, and what it means for the World Cup.
1,400 hotel rooms in the pipeline
In a statement, B.C.’s tourism ministry says 1,400 hotel rooms are in the development pipeline for Vancouver.
Destination Vancouver says there are 418 rooms across three properties on Keefer, Robson and West Georgia streets that are currently under construction.
The ministry says the City of Vancouver and Destination Vancouver are leading “a working group to support hotel development and are discussing projected needs and developments that will enhance visitor capacity.”
Last fall, Vancouver city councillors passed a motion to explore updating zoning regulations to make it easier to build hotels in more areas of the city.
Since then, Kirby-Yung says they have seen “more hotel applications coming in,” although she did not specify how many.
“We said, ‘Let’s accept some applications while planning.’ So I would point to Granville Street and the revitalization work we’re doing there,” Kirby-Yung said.
“We want hotel uses there … We want it to be a revitalized and re-energized entertainment destination.”
City staff have been asked to report back to council with recommendations by the end of March.
‘You’re looking at a 3-year build’: professor
According to Tsur Somerville, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, unless shovels are already in the ground, it’s unlikely Vancouver will see any new hotels by 2026.
“If you’re thinking about building a hotel, particularly one out of concrete in a high-rise building in the downtown core along the Broadway corridor, you’re looking at a three-year build … two years if you’re phenomenally quick,” he said.
John Nicholson, vice-president of hotels and restaurants for Listel Hospitality Group — a Vancouver-based group that operates hotels, restaurants and event venues in B.C. — says another barrier to building hotels is the cost of land.
“The cost to do a development is prohibitive and that’s the challenge. Your land cost and everything else to buy land to build a hotel is super difficult.”
The Listel Hotel, for which Nicholson is a spokesperson, will not be available for out-of-towners during the World Cup, he says: the downtown Vancouver hotel has 129 guest rooms and is being redeveloped to accommodate more rooms and rental suites.
Construction will take place during the World Cup, and is not expected to be complete until 2028.
Cruise ships, floating hotels
Kirby-Yung says the city is also exploring other options to help accommodate World Cup visitors, including utilizing cruise ships, converting older buildings to include hotel rooms, and temporarily relaxing short-term rental regulations.
CBC’s Laurence Watt breaks down how you can get in on tickets for the seven FIFA World Cup games scheduled for B.C. Place Stadium.
“I think there is a proposal coming … for a floating hotel, which could be really exciting for Vancouver,” she said. “They can be built off-site, very environmentally friendly and literally brought in.
“I think those are all things that council needs to have conversations about so that people have somewhere to stay [for the World Cup].”
B.C.’s tourism ministry says visitors will also be able to stay in hotels outside of downtown Vancouver and use transit to travel into the city for the games.
“Hotels outside of downtown Vancouver … are important to the tourism sector and good transit makes it possible for visitors to stay in other parts of the Lower Mainland with efficient access to the whole region.”
