Private short-term rentals over doubled its market share in the accommodation services subsector from 2017 to 2021

Private short-term rentals in Canada over doubled its market share in the accommodation services subsector over a five-year period, rising from 7.0% of total revenue in 2017 to 15.2% in 2021, according to a new study.

Private short-term rentals are generally defined as a privately owned home or condo made available for rent via online platforms from 1 to 28 days.

The market share of private short-term rentals in the accommodation services subsector continued to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit at a slower pace. For example, revenues for private short-term rentals (-26.2%) declined at a slower pace compared with commercial accommodations (-38.1%) in 2020 and bounced back stronger in 2021 (+24.0% for private short-term rentals; +13.0% for commercial accommodations).

The stronger performance by private short-term rentals during the first two years of the pandemic may be attributable, in part, to stricter pandemic regulations faced by commercial accommodation services industries and a change in consumer behaviour away from larger hotels in big cities.

Prince Edward Island has the strongest short-term rental market in Canada

Prince Edward Island had the largest share of private short-term rentals nationally every year from 2017 to 2021, accounting for a record high 29.9% of accommodation services revenue in the province in 2021. The short-term rental market share in Prince Edward Island was almost 10 times larger compared with Saskatchewan (3.1%).

The short-term rental market accounted for approximately one-fifth of the revenue generated by accommodation services in British Columbia (20.0%), Nova Scotia (19.9%), Quebec (19.7%) and Ontario (18.5%).

Alberta (5.3%) had the largest share of short-term rentals in the accommodation services subsector on the Prairies in 2021, while Yukon (4.2%) led the territories.

Short-term rentals account for almost two-thirds of the accommodation services market in Whistler

Montréal (14.5%), Halifax (14.3%) and Victoria (13.3%) had the largest share of short-term rentals in the accommodation services market among the 11 large cities covered by the survey, while Edmonton (2.1%) and Winnipeg (2.5%) had the smallest share in 2021.

Among five of Canada’s hottest tourist destinations, short-term rentals accounted for almost two-thirds of the accommodation services market in Whistler (62.3%), over half in Mont Tremblant (57.9%) and 43.2% in Muskoka.

Conversely, the short-term rental market was closer to the national average in St. Catharines–Niagara (17.5%) and Banff (14.4%).

Banff has a built-up commercial accommodation subsector that includes two of the largest hotel resorts in Canada, while Niagara Falls has many hotel and resort properties in its town centre close to the falls.

To learn more about the evolution of the short-term housing market in Canada, check out the study “The growing share of private short-term rental revenue in the Canadian accommodation services subsector: Trends from 2017 to 2021.”