Whistler has around 9,400 units of tourist accommodation, ranging from hotels and vacation rentals to RV parks.
Our tourist accommodation regulations help make Whistler a great place to live and visit by:
- protecting housing for residents
- maintaining the character of neighbourhoods
- supporting the tourism industry, and
- ensuring that visitors have a positive experience.
What is tourist accommodation?
In Whistler, tourist accommodation means the business of marketing, managing, and providing paid accommodation to visitors.
Types of tourist accommodation include the following:
- hotels
- hostels
- pensions
- bed and breakfasts
- campgrounds
- recreational vehicle (RV) parks
- vacation rentals (including self-managed properties with Phase 1 covenants or without covenants)
Only certain properties in Whistler are zoned to allow for tourist accommodation.
If you’re unsure whether your property qualifies, check the zoning rules before listing it as a rental.
What is required to operate tourist accommodation in Whistler?
There are three basic requirements to operate tourist accommodation (also known as short-term rentals) in Whistler. You need to:
- Make sure that your property (or unit) is zoned for tourist accommodation.
- Apply and pay for a business licence from the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW).
- Register with the provincial short-term rental registry.
Follow the steps below:
1. Check your property’s zoning and covenants
If you want to market and rent your property for tourist accommodation (also known as nightly rentals or short-term rentals), the property’s zoning needs to list “tourist accommodation” or “temporary accommodation” as a permitted use.
Properties with residential zoning and employee housing units cannot be marketed or rented to tourists for any length of time.
In Whistler, a property with “residential” zoning must be used as a fixed place of living, to which a person intends to return when absent. Therefore, regardless of the length of stay, tourist accommodation is not permitted in any residential-zoned area.
Check your zoning
Use RMOW’s online GIS mapping system to check your property’s zoning.
- Open the RMOW’s online map.
- Enter the property address or place the cursor over the property on the GIS map.
- When the zoning category is displayed, click on the link to check the “Permitted Uses” for that zone in the zoning bylaw. Your property’s zoning needs to include “tourist accommodation” in the “Permitted Uses” or details about “temporary lodging”.
For general information, you can use the online map to see all the zones where tourist accommodation is allowed:
- Open the RMOW’s online map.
- To see this layer of the map, select “Zoned for Nightly Rentals” under “Property.” You will still need to check for details in the zoning bylaw about the permitted uses for the zone where your property is located.
Check for covenants
Development, rental pool, and other covenants registered on the title of your property may also affect how you are allowed to use your property and your tourist accommodation business licence.
Check for covenants (PDF) and learn about Phase 1 and Phase 2 rental pool covenants, which are common in Whistler.
2. Apply for a business licence
The RMOW Tourist Accommodation Regulation Bylaw No. 2142, 2017 requires business licences for all tourist accommodation activity, including the marketing of properties/units. Find more information about business licences for tourist accommodation activity.
To apply for your tourist accommodation business licence:
- Complete the Tourist Accommodation Application.
- Pay the application and annual licence fee (listed below).
- A hotel or lodges also needs to schedule and pay for an annual fire safety inspection (PDF). Complete the fire safety checklist (PDF) before you schedule your inspection.
3. Register with the provincial short-term rental registry
Tourist accommodation (also known as short-term rental) hosts, platforms, and strata hotels need to register with the provincial short-term rental registry by May 1, 2025.
If you are listing your property on short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO, your provincial registration number is needed to validate your listing.
Tourist accommodation business licence fees
You will need to pay the following business licence fees:
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Business licence application fee | $25 |
| Change of business location or ownership, if applicable | $10 |
| One of the following: Tourist accommodation business licence Hotel business licence (for properties with Phase 2 rental covenants, only one business licence per hotel is required) Campground | $250 per guest unit per year $190 + $10 per guest unit per year $190 + $5 per site per year |
| Fire safety inspection for hotels and lodges, if applicable | $125 per year for initial inspection and one follow-up inspection, if needed $300 for any additional re-inspections |
In addition, you will need to pay the provincial short-term registration annual fee.
Fines and enforcement
If you’re operating a property for tourist accommodation without a licence, this is an illegal rental, and you could be fined up to $3,000 per day. The Resort Municipality of Whistler can also require short-term rental platforms to remove your listing.
If you are concerned about an illegal nightly rental in your neighbourhood, you can file a complaint with Bylaw Services.
Frequently asked questions
1. How do provincial short-term rental rules affect me?
In 2023, the provincial government adopted the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act to help municipalities regulate short-term rentals and enforce their regulations.
The Resort Municipality of Whistler has required tourist accommodations to be licensed since 2017.
If you are a short-term rental host (or tourist accommodation provider) the new provincial short-term rental regulations require you to:
- Display a valid municipal business licence number on your listing on any short-term rental accommodation platform (for example, Airbnb or VRBO); and
- Register with the provincial short-term rental registry by May 1, 2025 and pay annual registration fees.
Short-term rental accommodation platforms need to validate all accommodation listings with a provincial registration number beginning May 1, 2025.
2. What happens if there’s an open or incomplete building permit associated with my property?
When you apply for a business licence, we check the property file for any outstanding building permit files. We will notify you if you have an open or incomplete building file.
You will then need to work with the Building Department to resolve any deficiencies and close the building permit before we can issue your business licence.
These are the steps to close an open building permit:
- The Building Department will confirm that they have received a referral.
- A building inspector will review your file and let you know about any outstanding issues. There will be fees to process your file depending on its complexity. These are charged at $73.09 per hour with a two-hour minimum. We estimate that most files will take two to eight hours to process.
- Once you have resolved those deficiencies, the Building Department will do a final review of your file and issue a file completion letter or occupancy certificate.
- After your building permit is completed and closed, staff can process your business licence application for tourist accommodation.
The Building Department processes building files in the order they are received. Find current building permit times.
3. What should I check before buying a property to use for tourist accommodation?
It’s your responsibility when you purchase a property to make sure that it complies with all local and provincial regulations.
Follow these steps, if you’re considering buying a property to provide tourist accommodation in Whistler:
- Check whether tourist accommodation is a permitted use in the zoning <link to anchor above>.
- Research the property’s history, including building records, zoning regulations, and any liens or easements that may affect ownership. You can apply for a property record request. You need an owner’s authorization (PDF) for this.
In some cases, new property owners are surprised to find out that there are open or incomplete building permit files associated with their property. Building and plumbing files are attached to the property, rather than the property owner.
Any building or plumbing permits need to be closed or completed, before you can apply for a tourist accommodation business licence.
4. As a tourist how can I check the property I am planning to rent?
All properties that market or provide tourist accommodation in Whistler need to have a business licence.
If in doubt, you can ask for proof of a business licence when you book your stay.
Related links
- Business Licence and Regulation Bylaw
- Tourist Accommodation Regulation Bylaws
- Tourist Accommodation Council Policy (PDF)
- Zoning and Covenant Use Provisions – Amended (PDF)
Contact
Business Licences
604-935-8249
businesslicences@whistler.ca