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Summary

This Canadian town is 'one of the worst tourist destinations for Airbnb fees' in the world

Here's what a stay will cost you.

​A lake in Canada. Right: A small town in Canada.

A lake in Canada. Right: A small town in Canada.

Writer

If you're looking for a cheap Airbnb in Canada, you may want to avoid certain parts of the country.

New research has shown that some places in Canada are going to cost you quite a bit more when it comes to the price of an Airbnb — in fact, one small town in Canada has been found to be one of the worst tourist destinations for Airbnb fees in the world.

The research was compiled in a study by personal loan company NetCredit, which looked at 64,437 Airbnb listings across 275 popular tourist destinations to uncover how much Airbnb fees cost as a percentage of the overall price of the stay.

The study looked at the price for a five-night stay for two adults in one bedroom, renting the entire house.

According to NetCredit, B.C. is home to two of the worst destinations around the world for high Airbnb fees.

Whistler, B.C., was found to be the sixth worst destination globally for fees, where an average median fee of 26.66% is added to the overall cost of a five-night stay.

It ranked behind five U.S. destinations: Detroit, Michigan, which was found to have the highest fees globally, followed by Phoenix, Arizona, Austin, Texas, Salt Lake City, Utah and Yellowstone National Park.

Located just two hours north of Vancouver, Whistler was found to have the highest Airbnb fees in Canada.

As an example of the fees added to a stay, this condo Airbnb in Whistler is priced at $149 per night for a stay in May 2024. However, the final price includes a cleaning fee of $159, plus an Airbnb service fee of $112.

With tax, the final price for a five-night stay works out to $962, meaning you're paying about 28% of the total cost in Airbnb fees.

Alongside Whistler, Vancouver was found to have the second-highest Airbnb fees in Canada, with an average median fee of 26.26% added to the overall cost for five nights.

The city was ranked the ninth-worst globally for Airbnb fees, coming behind Orlando, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Most affordable Airbnb destinations

On the flipside, some places offer some of the most affordable Airbnb fees around the globe. NetCredit found that Lahore, Pakistan had the cheapest median fees for a five-night stay, followed by Vanuatu, Santorini, Greece, the Maldives, and Bali, Indonesia.

Here are the most affordable destinations globally for Airbnbs, and the least affordable, according to the study:

Most affordable Airbnb destinations

  1. Lahore, Pakistan
  2. Vanuatu
  3. Santorini, Greece
  4. Maldives
  5. Bali, Indonesia
  6. Jaipur, India
  7. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  8. Karachi, Pakistan
  9. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  10. Muscat, Oman
  11. Mumbai, India
  12. Mombasa, Kenya
  13. Zanzibar, Tanzania
  14. Kathmandu, Nepal
  15. Luxor, Egypt
  16. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  17. Singapore
  18. Nepal
  19. Stellenbosch, South Africa
  20. Hanoi, Vietnam
Least affordable Airbnb destinations
  1. Detroit, Michigan
  2. Phoenix, Arizona
  3. Austin, Texas
  4. Salt Lake City, Utah
  5. Yellowstone National Park, U.S.
  6. Whistler, B.C.
  7. Las Vegas, Nevada
  8. Orlando, Florida
  9. Vancouver, B.C.
  10. Chicago, Illinois
  11. Honolulu, Hawaii
  12. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  13. Nashville Tennessee
  14. San Antonio, Texas
  15. Houston, Texas
  16. Cannes, France
  17. Atlanta, Georgia
  18. Darwin, Australia
  19. Portland, Oregon
  20. Columbus, Ohio

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

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    • Contributing Writer

      Katherine Caspersz (she/her) is a contributing writer for Narcity Media, covering travel, things to do and more. She has written for various news sites and magazines, including Yahoo Canada and The National Post, and worked as an editor for the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. She loves shopping, travel and all things spooky.

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