New Airbnb data suggests the 2026 FIFA World Cup delivered a major boost to Vancouver’s short-term rental market, with the average host earning $4,500 during the tournament. In a report released Monday, Airbnb said this year’s men’s World Cup, which ran from June 11 to July 19 and involved 16 host cities, was its “biggest-ever hosting event.” As the sole Canadian host cities, Vancouver hosted seven matches while Toronto hosted six—yet Airbnb’s data shows West Coast hosts earned 32 per cent more than their eastern counterparts average of $3,400. “During the dates of the tournament, Vancouver saw a 24 per cent increase in new active listings compared with the same period one year earlier,” notes the report, adding that bookings cost less than $340 per night on average. “Toronto saw an 11 per cent increase in new active listings compared with the same period one year earlier,” an Airbnb spokesperson told CTV News. Both cities require residents to obtain a licence before they can host on Airbnb. The City of Vancouver says it saw a 163 per cent increase in short-term rental business licence applications this year compared to the same period last year. “Between Jan. 1 and June 7, 2025, the city received 546 STR business licence applications. For the same period in 2026, the city has received 1,438 applications,” a spokesperson said in an email to CTV News. This past June, the City says Vancouver had 3,809 active short-term rental licences, up 34 percent from 2,842 in June 2025. Airbnb’s data also highlights some tourism benefits the World Cup brought to Vancouver, with first-time Airbnb users accounting for 15 per cent of bookings. “Around one in five guests who booked tournament-time stays in Toronto or Vancouver also booked a stay elsewhere in Canada, spreading tourism benefits to communities beyond the host cities,” the report notes. World Cup cost review still to come The City has yet to release a summary of the costs, revenues and economic benefits of hosting seven World Cup games, but told CTV News earlier this year that it plans to do so in spring 2027. The gross cost of hosting the tournament in Vancouver was most recently estimated at between $685 million and $729 million, with expenses shared by the municipal, provincial and federal governments. Vancouver’s portion was estimated at between $320 million and $338 million. With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Andrew Weichel
