Short-term accommodations company incentivizes Vancouverites to rent out homes for FIFA

Airbnb says people living in the Lower Mainland who decide to rent out their homes to visitors during the FIFA World Cup could receive up to $1,000 as an incentive.

The newly launched program targets only new hosts signing up to the short-term accommodations online marketplace company.

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The program runs from now to the end of the soccer competition.

Airbnb spokesperson Matt McNama tells CityNews that the incentive’s goal is to make more room for the large number of visitors expected to visit Vancouver for the FIFA 2026.

“The parameters are essentially as long as you are a first-time host and you are welcoming your first guest anytime between now and the end of the tournament, you can earn $1,000,” McNama said.

“That’s in addition to the money you would earn as a host by booking guests. We anticipate that the host of Vancouver could earn about $4,200 over the duration of the tournament by hosting the guests from around the world, and that can go up or down depending on how much you want to host.”

The program, however, has one catch. There is a fee associated with Airbnb that people have to pay in order to join as a host in Vancouver.

“It’s $1,000, I believe, to register for Vancouver,” McNama added.

“I will say that that is a high fee, probably one of the larger ones in North America. So, it does become a little bit of a barrier to entry.”

Vancouver will host seven matches, with BC Place being the stage for the games. The stadium can fit around 54,000 fans per match.

An official FIFA Fan Festival is planned to take place on the grounds of the PNE between June 13 and July 7.

In total, Vancouver and its surrounding cities are expecting about 350,000 visitors.