In February 2020, a count of short-term rentals in Nanaimo came to 549. The figure came from Host Compliance, a firm that tracks listings for municipalities, and it went into an October 2020 City of Nanaimo staff report that set out how the city should treat Airbnb, VRBO and their competitors. Three years earlier the city's affordable housing strategy had found 416. The report is the starting point for nearly every argument about Nanaimo Airbnb rules since, and it sits inside a longer argument about who pays for visitors, who markets the city to them, and where they are supposed to go once they arrive.

What the 2020 short-term rental review found

The staff report was written because two groups asked for it. The affordable housing strategy recommended a review, and hotel operators had asked the city to require licences for short-term rentals. The report counted 602 listings in all, 549 of them unique, and said about 71 per cent were for an entire home. It also cautioned against treating them as lost apartments: 86 per cent were available for less than half the year, and 29 per cent were rooms inside a home someone lived in. If every one converted to a long-term rental, staff estimated, Nanaimo's primary rental stock would grow by 6 per cent.

The hotel industry's comments, summarized in an attachment, asked for eight things, including host and platform registration, a principal residence restriction, a cap on the number of days, safety standards and a "level playing field with hotel operators" on taxes. Hosts answered in their own terms. One quoted in the report said "at least 80% of my guests would not visit our town if they hadn't seen my space on Airbnb. They are certainly not hotel guests." Tourism Vancouver Island told the city that short-term rentals offered accommodation hotels did not, and pointed to a 2017 survey in which only 10 per cent of visitors stayed in a vacation rental or guest house, while warning the figure was likely low because the survey was done at hotels and tourist spots.

The tax side was already partly settled. The report explained that the province had extended the 3 per cent Municipal and Regional District Tax to online accommodation platforms in 2018, and that council sent that platform share to the city's Housing Legacy Reserve Fund. Between December 2018 and December 2019 it brought in $90,603.

The Nanaimo Airbnb rules now in force

The city amended its zoning and parking bylaws in February 2022 to allow short-term rentals in any zone that permits a home. Its operator guide sets the limits: one short-term rental per property, a maximum of four adult guests, no more than two bedrooms when the rental is inside the main house, and one extra off-street parking space for each booking. A suite built without a permit cannot be used. Whole-home rentals are allowed only for up to four months a year in total, while the owner is away.

Provincial law tightened all of this. Under B.C.'s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, the city announced that from May 1, 2024, short-term rentals in Nanaimo were permitted only in a primary residence, defined in the guide as the place a person lives more than anywhere else and for at least eight months of the year. Hosts must display a valid city business licence on every listing, and the city's notices named Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com. The province now runs a registry as well; hosts must register and renew each year, and a host who does not will see listings removed and bookings cancelled. If you are thinking of listing a basement suite, the guide's sharpest line is the duplex rule: owning both halves does not let you rent the half you do not live in.

The Nanaimo Airbnb question is no longer whether rentals are legal but how many hosts meet the residence test, and the city has not published a newer count than the 2020 report's.

Two per cent, then three: the hotel tax

The tax on hotel rooms has its own history of disputes. When the province approved a 2 per cent Municipal and Regional District Tax for Nanaimo in January 2015, the Times Colonist reported that the city had first approached hoteliers more than a decade earlier, and that the major hotels had always insisted on a say in how the money would be spent. The law required support from operators representing a majority of rooms. Dan Brady, then manager of the Harbourside Howard Johnson and chair of the Nanaimo Hospitality Association, said, "We must increase overnight stays." The tax was expected to raise up to $400,000 in its first year. It later rose to 3 per cent.

The hospitality association administered the money for years. By April 2024 the city wanted that changed, and NanaimoNewsNOW reported a standoff: the city proposed that Tourism Nanaimo take over about $1.2 million a year from January 1, 2025, when the association's agreement expired. Brady, by then the association's executive director, said the change lacked transparency and would shut out the operators who collect the tax, and that the accommodation sector should hold a controlling number of seats on the tourism board, as he said it did in Victoria, Vancouver, Whistler and Kelowna. Mayor Leonard Krog replied that the money came from visitors and should go to the body that markets the whole city. "We were the outlier in British Columbia," he said.

The city won.

On April 7, 2025, it announced that administration of the tax had moved to Tourism Nanaimo under a new five-year business plan approved by Destination BC, with two voting council members on the society's board.

How tourism marketing changed hands

Tourism Nanaimo itself has been rebuilt more than once. In October 2016 the Times Colonist reported that council had stripped tourism marketing from the Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation, an arm's-length body created in 2011 that had taken on tourism in 2012, and that its chief executive, John Hankins, was fired after publicly criticizing the decision. The city says council voted that December to dissolve the corporation; its 2022 release puts the dissolution in 2017. Either way, Tourism Vancouver Island took over Nanaimo's destination marketing on February 1, 2017, and gave notice in December 2020 that it would stop.

The current Tourism Nanaimo Society was incorporated in 2022 with a 15-member board drawn from government, public bodies and industry, and the city gave it $711,000 in its first year. NanaimoNewsNOW listed seats for the city, Vancouver Island University, the airport and the Snuneymuxw First Nation, with three reserved for hospitality association members. Tourism Nanaimo also runs the Nanaimo Bar Trail, which sends visitors to businesses selling creative versions of the city's namesake dessert.

The $80 million events centre vote

The largest visitor project of the period never got built. On March 11, 2017, Nanaimo voted on Loan Authorization Bylaw 2017 No. 7237, which would have let council borrow up to $80 million over as long as 20 years for an events centre with an ice arena. CBC reported the building would have sat on vacant city land at 1 Port Drive with up to 5,700 seats for hockey and about 7,100 for concerts, and The Navigator said its main purpose was to house a possible Western Hockey League team.

The city's preliminary count put the No side at 80.3 per cent. CBC's early numbers were 19,179 against and 4,706 in favour. Turnout figures differ: the city's release gave 36.2 per cent of registered voters, while The Navigator reported 23,885 ballots and 35.3 per cent. Coun. Diane Brennan said there was "no doubt where the people stood," while Coun. Jerry Hong said, "I don't think this is the end at all."

The site is still waiting. In February 2024 NanaimoNewsNOW reported that the city had bought the nearly 27-acre property, about 10 acres of it developable, from CP Rail in 2013, cleared old buildings, docks and a wharf, and was considering a mixed-use concept with up to two 12-storey residential towers. Staff said an archaeological monitor came across the remains of a longhouse during the cleanup, and staff said consultation with the Snuneymuxw First Nation had to come before any rezoning. The earlier waterfront venue that did get built, the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, was budgeted to lose about $948,000 in 2026.

Beban Park, Frank Crane Arena and the Social Centre

Without a downtown arena, the city's main event venues stayed at Beban Park on Bowen Road. The city bought the Beban estate in 1953, and the park was first known as Exhibition Park, home of the Vancouver Island Exhibition. Frank Crane Arena, Beban Pool and the Beban Park Social Centre opened together in 1976, and in February 2026 the city marked the complex's 50th anniversary with free Family Day skating and swimming. Recreation manager Damon Johnston said the Social Centre had hosted tens of thousands of community events, festivals and private functions.

Frank Crane Arena seats 2,400-plus, according to the city, and is home to the BCHL's Nanaimo Clippers and the Nanaimo Timbermen lacrosse teams. Its renovations have come in pieces rather than as one project: new refrigeration and sound systems in 2019, LED lighting over the ice in 2020 and a large electrical upgrade in 2021. A wider 2010 renovation of the park was helped by $1 million in federal money.

The aquatic centre gym, the buses and the Old City Quarter

The Nanaimo Aquatic Centre at 741 Third Street, inside the Larry McNabb Sports Zone near the university, has a 50-metre pool, a leisure pool, slides and what the city calls one of the largest wave pools in western Canada. It also holds one of the city's two public weight rooms; the other is at Beban Pool. Closures for annual maintenance are routine: in 2015 the centre shut from September 7 to 27 for pump, lighting and air-handling work, and the weight room reopened two weeks before the pools, on limited hours. The regional district's pool in Qualicum Beach has its own article, on the closure of Ravensong Aquatic Centre.

Visitors without a car rely on the Regional District of Nanaimo's transit system, run with BC Transit. The rider's guide effective September 6, 2026, lists a $2.75 single fare, a $5.50 DayPASS and a $65 adult monthly pass, with free rides for local youth aged 13 to 18. From January 4, 2026, the Gabriola Sounder reported, 4,000 annual service hours were added to Route 1, the Nanaimo Rapid Line, and Route 40 VIU Express, though the plan had called for 16,100 hours and the rest was pushed to 2027. Walk-on travellers arriving by sea can take the Nanaimo foot passenger ferry from Coal Harbour in downtown Vancouver, a crossing of roughly 75 minutes.

The Old City Quarter takes in the older shopping streets along Fitzwilliam Street. The city's heritage blog says the Willard Service Station, built around 1910 at the corner of Wallace and Fitzwilliam, marks the district's east entrance; it has housed a fish and chips shop, a tire store and CFDC, Nanaimo's first radio station, and a pizza restaurant since 1991. Sid Clark Gyro Park, inside the quarter, is mostly used for youth baseball and soccer. More council stories are collected under Civic Nanaimo.

The 2020 staff report recommended that the city revisit enforcement software one year after its rules took effect. Whether Nanaimo ever hired Host Compliance to count listings again is not something the city's published notices say.

Questions

Is Airbnb legal in Nanaimo?

Yes, within limits. Since May 1, 2024, short-term rentals in Nanaimo are allowed only in the host's primary residence, and the host must hold a City of Nanaimo business licence and display it on every platform listing. The city defines a short-term rental as a stay of less than 30 consecutive days.

Can I rent out my whole house on Airbnb in Nanaimo?

Only if it is your primary residence, and only while you are away. The city's operator guide allows whole-home rentals for up to a cumulative four months a year when the primary resident is not living there, within the guest and bedroom limits.

How many guests can a Nanaimo short-term rental host?

The city's guide sets a maximum of four adult guests and one short-term rental per property. Where the rental is inside the main dwelling, no more than two bedrooms can be used, and one extra off-street parking space is required for each guest booking.

Do VRBO and Booking.com listings follow the same rules as Airbnb?

Yes. The city's 2024 notices say the business licence must be shown on all advertising platforms and name Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com. Hosts also need a provincial registration, renewed every year, or platforms remove their listings.

Do short-term rentals in Nanaimo pay the hotel tax?

Yes, when booked through an online platform. The city's guide says a 3 per cent Municipal and Regional District Tax is collected by the province on online short-term accommodation, and Nanaimo directs that share to affordable housing rather than tourism marketing.

Who runs tourism marketing in Nanaimo?

Tourism Nanaimo, a non-profit society the city set up in 2022 with a 15-member board. Since an agreement announced in April 2025 it also administers the hotel tax revenue, which the Nanaimo Hospitality Association used to manage.

Why did Nanaimo voters reject the events centre?

On March 11, 2017, 80.3 per cent of voters said no to letting the city borrow up to $80 million for a waterfront arena at 1 Port Drive. The Navigator reported that some believed many No votes were aimed at council members rather than the project, and that several councillors apologized at their March 13 meeting for the high emotions of the debate.

How many seats does Frank Crane Arena have?

The city lists seating for 2,400-plus. The NHL-sized rink is home to the BCHL's Nanaimo Clippers and the Nanaimo Timbermen lacrosse teams.

Does the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre have a gym?

It has one of the city's two public weight rooms; the other is at Beban Pool on Bowen Road. The aquatic centre at 741 Third Street also has a 50-metre pool, a leisure pool, slides and one of the largest wave pools in western Canada.

What does a bus ride cost in Nanaimo?

The rider's guide effective September 6, 2026, lists a $2.75 single ride, a $5.50 DayPASS and a $65 adult 30-day pass. Youth aged 13 to 18 who live in the Regional District of Nanaimo ride free with a fare-free Umo product.

What is the Old City Quarter?

It is Nanaimo's historic shopping district along Fitzwilliam Street. The city's heritage blog says the Willard Service Station, built around 1910 at Wallace and Fitzwilliam, marks its east entrance.

Sources

  1. Staff Report for Decision: Short-Term Rental Regulations, City of Nanaimo, 2020-10-26
  2. New provincial short-term rental regulations, City of Nanaimo, 2024-04-15
  3. New provincial short-term rental regulations now in effect, City of Nanaimo, 2024-05-01
  4. Short-Term Rental Operator's Guidebook, City of Nanaimo
  5. Short-term rental registry, Government of British Columbia
  6. New Accommodation Tax to Drive Visitation and Sports Tourism, City of Nanaimo, 2015-01-22
  7. Two-per-cent hotel tax approved for Nanaimo, Times Colonist, 2015-01-25
  8. Nanaimo economic development CEO fired over rant, Times Colonist, 2016-10-27
  9. A Year of Transition: Economic Development & Tourism Update, City of Nanaimo, 2017-11-29
  10. A re-imagined Nanaimo Tourism agency focuses on destination marketing, City of Nanaimo, 2022-04-26
  11. City & accommodators battling for control of Nanaimo hotel tax dollars, NanaimoNewsNOW (102.3 The Wave), 2024-04-10
  12. City and Tourism Nanaimo sign Municipal Regional District Tax agreement, City of Nanaimo, 2025-04-07
  13. Referendum preliminary results for proposed events centre now available, City of Nanaimo, 2017-03-11
  14. Nanaimo says no to $80M waterfront arena, CBC News, 2017-03-12
  15. Referendum brings city council back to drawing board, The Navigator, 2017
  16. City provides update on long-envisioned south downtown Nanaimo waterfront plans, NanaimoNewsNOW (102.3 The Wave), 2024-02-15
  17. A Look Through Time: the History of Beban Park, City of Nanaimo, 2019-01-15
  18. Nanaimo's Beban Park celebrates 50 years with Family Day fun, NanaimoNewsNOW (106.9 The Wolf), 2026-02-16
  19. Frank Crane Arena, City of Nanaimo
  20. NAC Pool & Rooms, City of Nanaimo
  21. Gymnasiums & Weight Rooms, City of Nanaimo, 2026-05-27
  22. Nanaimo Aquatic Centre to close for annual maintenance and upgrades, City of Nanaimo, 2015-08-25
  23. BC Transit services in Nanaimo will expand early next year, Gabriola Sounder, 2025-08-27
  24. Nanaimo Regional Transit System Rider's Guide, effective September 6, 2026, BC Transit and Regional District of Nanaimo, 2026-09-06
  25. (Re)Focus on Nanaimo's Heritage: From Service Station to Pizza Joint, City of Nanaimo, 2016-01-25
  26. Parks by Activity: Rugby, City of Nanaimo Parks Search