Creative hosts on Airbnb in Vancouver

Vancouver is undoubtedly one of the hubs of Canada’s creative sector. According to the Vancouver Economic Commission, Vancouver is the third largest Film & TV production centre in North America.

As early adopters of Airbnb, creatives in Vancouver helped to establish the sharing economy culture, and continue to be a big part of the Airbnb host community. In 2011, when Airbnb was still new and fledgling, creative hosts made up 14 per cent of the host population. Creatives have been effectively managing multiple gigs, flexible jobs, self-employment, and alternative income options for ages — and home sharing is a natural complement.

Today, creative hosts represent 11 per cent of the host community in Vancouver. With a thriving arts and culture scene, Vancouver is muse to world-renowned artists, writers, dancers and musicians, and home to the highest proportion of creatives in Canada.

Learn more about Vancouver’s Airbnb creative community:

• The majority of creative hosts on Airbnb, 73 per cent, depend on Airbnb income as supplemental income to help make ends meet.
• Creative hosts in Vancouver are predominantly female (69%) while the remaining 31% are male.
• All ages are represented in the Vancouver creative host community, with 13 percent of hosts under the age of 30, 63 percent of hosts between 30 and 50, and 24 percent over 50.
• Due to instability of work, 45 per cent of creative hosts in Vancouver juggle multiple jobs or roles.
• Of creative hosts who share their primary home while away, 25 per cent report sharing their home while traveling for work, often hosting medium- and long-term stays.
• 54 per cent of Airbnb guests report that they attended cultural events and cultural attractions when they visited Vancouver.
• 26 per cent of Experiences in Vancouver are creative experiences in the arts, entertainment, fashion, or music, one of two of the largest categories of Experiences, the other being food and drink.

A strong creative community makes places more attractive for both residents and visitors. Today, Vancouver is North America’s third largest producer of movies after Los Angeles and New York, and North America’s second largest producer of television shows. The City of Vancouver was also recently ranked as the best big city in North America to live and work as a moviemaker. Building vibrant communities that support quality of life is critical to attracting a workforce and allowing areas to grow and prosper. In this way, supporting a creative community contributes to a strong community.

We believe that creative Airbnb hosts, and creatives in Vancouver generally, make important contributions in their communities, helping to make the neighbourhoods of Vancouver great places to live and visit.

Meet some of the Airbnb creatives and read the full report here.