Are you noticing a bunch of new short term rentals in your neighbourhood? Well, it’s not just you.
The amount of money short term rentals bring in make has jumped up by 940 per cent, according to figures released by Statistics Canada Thursday.
In 2018, the short term rental industry brought in $2.8 billion across Canada, compared to just $265,190,000 in 2015.
Of the $2.8 billion total, $2.6 billion went to hosts while about $200 million went to hosting sites like Airbnb.
B.C., Ontario and Quebec accounted for nearly 90 per cent of 2018’s revenue, while Nunavut saw the fastest growth in short term rentals despite having only 715 in 2018.
In B.C., where short term rentals have come under scrutiny for lowering vacancy rates in the province’s already packed cities, the number of units rose from 92,020,000 in 2015 to 876,080,000 in 2018.
Popular short term rental site Airbnb began collecting eight per cent PST and the up to three per cent municipal and regional district taxes in 2018.
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Across Canada, the number of days booked each year went up by 485 per cent between 2015 and 2017, up to 10 million from 1.7 million. Of those, about 65 per cent were for entire homes or apartments, while the others were for rooms.
On average, short term rentals were about about one-third the cost of hotel stays across Canada at $37 a night, compared to $95.
