Vancouver currently has 29 hotel projects totalling 5,800 rooms in the development pipeline.
The new data is included in a staff report that goes before council at a Jan. 15 public hearing being held to consider a 33-storey hotel at Granville and Davie streets.
The 29 projects are either under review, approved, under construction or recently completed since 2022 and break down as follows:
• 14 projects totalling 3,950 rooms in rezoning application stage.
• Five projects totalling 380 rooms in development permit stage.
• Four projects totalling 730 rooms in building permit stage.
• Four projects totalling 610 rooms under construction.
• Two projects totalling 130 rooms recently completed.
The data excludes active rezoning inquiries, which the report said are “confidential in nature.” The number of projects in development align with a policy council approved in 2025 to encourage more hotel construction.
The policy was adopted in response to a critical shortage of hotel rooms in Vancouver, with occupancy rates exceeding 90 per cent during peak seasons and average daily rates significantly above the national average.
The goal of the policy is to facilitate the creation of approximately 10,000 new hotel rooms in Vancouver by 2050 to support the city’s tourism economy and broader economic sectors such as film, tech and life sciences.
The rezoning application before council Jan. 15 is for a 33-storey, 464-room hotel at the northwest corner of Granville and Davie streets. Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership on behalf of Deecorp Properties has submitted the application.
The eight-parcel site is currently occupied by three single-storey commercial buildings and three, two-storey mixed-use buildings, including four rental residential units. All tenants are protected under the Residential Tenancy Act, but none are currently eligible for the city’s tenant relocation and protection policy.
“If any eligible tenants are identified through the city’s regulatory approvals process, the applicant will be required to provide a tenant relocation plan that meets the city’s [tenant relocation and protection policy],” the report said.
The report said approximately 40 per cent of the proposed hotel rooms will be for short-term stays with the remaining for long-term stays. Rooms for long-term stays typically include a kitchen and are serviced by housekeeping less often.
“This provides more options for visitors, with some business-oriented travellers in the film, technology and health-care sectors often seeking hotel accommodations for temporary contracts, training and relocation purposes, as well as caregivers needing to stay near loved ones for hospital treatment,” the report said.
“The mix of room types also provide the hotel with operational flexibility to use long-term stay rooms for short-term during peak tourist periods.”
The proposed hotel has the support of Destination Vancouver and the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA), whose leaders both provided letters of support as part of the rezoning application.
Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Destination Vancouver, said his organization commissioned a study in 2022 to review the demand for visitor accommodation and establish a baseline of the existing hotel capacity.
The study found that if the supply of hotel rooms remains at current levels, demand will exceed supply by 2026 in the summer months in Vancouver, and by 2040 in every month of the year across Metro Vancouver.
“The cumulative economic impacts are projected to be significant between 2022 and 2050 with $30.6 billion in foregone output, $16.6 billion in forgone GDP, 168,000-plus full-time equivalents of foregone employment and $7.5 billion in foregone tax revenue for all three levels of government,” Chwin said.
He further noted that the study identified 550 hotel rooms were lost in Vancouver during the pandemic when BC Housing and the City of Vancouver purchased hotels and converted them into supportive housing.
Jane Talbot, president and CEO of DVBIA, said the proposed hotel would help Granville Street evolve as a nightlife and entertainment district. Talbot said she wants to see the area re-establish its dynamic, fun and welcoming place to gather.
“Not only would this development bring tourists conveniently to the doorstep of our entertainment district, but a hotel would contribute to an improved 24-hour sense of security for pedestrians in the area,” she said.
The public hearing begins at 6 p.m. in the council chamber at city hall.
