With the Olympic Games coming to Canada in 2010, the vacation rental market in Vancouver and surrounding area has started to gain momentum.

Salt Lake City in 2002 (North America's most recent Winter Olympics) saw approximately 220,000 out-of-town visits from athletes, members of the press, Olympics officials, and spectators. Assuming a similar number of visitors arrive in the Vancouver area in February 2010, the local area must now turn its mind to the challenge of satisfying short-term housing demand.

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.

How much will a private vacation rental cost?

As of January 2008, twenty-five of the Vacation Rental Listings set an asking price. The average nightly price for this sample was $343 per bedroom (Canadian currency). Eighteen of these vacation rentals are in or around the city of Vancouver itself, and showed an nightly price of $268 per bedroom.

The author, Mark Szekely, is webmaster for Rent 2010.

Rent 2010 lists Vancouver and Whistler condo, apartment, and house rentals by owner.

Rent 2010 also maintains a list of visitors seeking homes for their visits.

Source: www.articlecity.com