Vancouver Olympics Accommodation

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The majority of Olympic spectators will stay in hotels. However, others will seek to rent self-catered houses or condos instead. With today's information technology, it has become possible for a visitor to arrange to rent a private house directly from its Canadian owner. Canadians have responded to this trend by offering their homes for rent during the 2010 Olympics.

Event venues for the Winter 2010 Games span about 120 kilometers from Richmond (south of Vancouver) to Whistler (a two-hour drive north of Vancouver). While Vancouver is a large population center with many hotels, smaller centers will need to turn to creative housing solutions. Proposals to date have included:

A proposal for short-term lodging aboard cruise ships in Squamish; and,

A proposal to house Whistler workers in construction trailers or modified shipping containers.

An additional source of housing supply will come from local private homeowners. As of January 2008, the website Rent 2010 identifies more than 30 Vancouver, Squamish, and Whistler homeowners who plan to make their homes (or rooms in their homes) available to athletes, spectators, and other guests during the period of the 2010 Olympics.

When thinking about renting out a home for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, most Vancouver residents are somewhat unclear about market pricing. Certainly, hotel room rates (which will account for most Olympics accommodation) are a factor to consider. However, hotel rates have not yet been announced, and hence the only available "pricing benchmark" is the asking rates of other owners.

What rents do Vancouver homeowners hope to charge during the 2010 Winter Olympics? Home rental data from the website www.Rent2010.net shows an average nightly rate of slightly over $900. Because the average listed home size is 2.7 bedrooms, this translates to a nightly rate of almost $350 per bedroom. Smaller-size properties show a higher per-bedroom rate, while larger-size properties show a lower per-bedroom rate.

Asking rates for the 2010 Winter Olympics tend to be highest around Whistler ski area (about $480 per bedroom), followed by Vancouver (about $390 per bedroom).

Pricing is important, but is not the only challenge faced by those planning to rent self-catered homes for the 2010 Winter Games. For a private accommodation deal to succeed, the homeowner and prospective renter must establish a relationship of trust and accountability.

To protect the interest of both parties, a renter will often pay a deposit to secure the property. When doing so, homeowners and renters may wish to use an escrow agreement where funds are held a neutral third party (e.g., attorney or trust company) instead of being paid to the homeowner directly. In the United States, specialized "vacation rental escrow" firms have emerged to service vacation rental deals.

Vancouver homeowners also face challenges relating to promotion. While a private homeowner's budget cannot rival that of major hotels, a Google query will bring up numerous resources for Vancouver residents seeking to rent homes during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Keep in mind that the promotional value of any service will depend not only on aggregate daily site traffic, but also on the countries from which these site visits originate. Before paying money to list on any website, always ask the site's owner for website visitor statistics, and for specific locations where the website is advertised.

By carefully considering the issues of market pricing, trust-building, and effective promotion, Vancouver homeowners and prospective renters can increase the likelihood of concluding a successful vacation rental deal.

Reference: The author, Mark Szekely is webmaster for Rent 2010 Vancouver Accommodation

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