Projections show demand in metro Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, will outpace hotel supply by as early as 2026, according to a new study by Destination Vancouver.
To close the gap, the study shows 20,000 new hotel rooms are needed in metro Vancouver by 2050, with 10,000 of those needed just in Vancouver.
Between 2022 and 2050, metro Vancouver could face $30.6 billion in forgone output, $16.6 billion in forgone gross domestic product and $7.5 billion in foregone tax revenue for all three levels of government if no new investment in hotel supply is made.
If hotel supply remains at its current levels, demand will surpass supply in the summer months in the city of Vancouver by 2026, by 2028 in the summer months in the rest of metro Vancouver and by 2040 every month of the year across metro Vancouver.
"Metro Vancouver's infrastructure is not keeping up in delivering on our global profile," Royce Chwin, Destination Vancouver's president and CEO, said in the study. "This is critical because on our doorstep over the next few years are tennis' Laver Cup, the Invictus Games, next year's Grey Cup and in 2026 we're a host city for the world's largest single sport event, the FIFA World Cup."
Since 2010, hotel supply in Vancouver has been down by nearly 2,000 rooms, with 1,500 lost in Vancouver. An additional 550 rooms were lost in the city due to being converted into supportive housing during the pandemic.
An interim hotel development policy was passed by the city of Vancouver in 2018, though it is only a policy statement.
"Existing development applications and permits for additional hotel capacity submitted to the city of Vancouver are insufficient to replace the losses. And the total estimate of approximately 1,100 new rooms in rezoning, planning, or permitting stages through to 2026 is by no means guaranteed," a news release for the study states.
Chwin added lack of available hotel inventory will make visiting the city more expensive and less competitive in securing major events, conferences and leisure group travel.