The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association released its eighth annual ‘State of Downtown’ report Tuesday.
The report finds that Vancouver’s downtown still suffers from high business vacancy rates, declining retail and restaurant sales, and a rise in community members making service calls on their neighbours.
Despite the challenges, the report finds more people are coming downtown, riding transit there, and business vacancy is levelling off.
Meanwhile, the BIA reports that hotel occupancy reached an average rate of over 80 per cent this year, returning to pre-pandemic levels and expected to rise with the arrival of the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver.
“As of March 2026, there are more than 6,500 hotel rooms in various stages of the development pipeline in the city of Vancouver. Over 1,200 of these rooms were approved in the Downtown Van district in the past year,” the report adds.
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The BIA closed its State of Downtown report with praise for recent acts of legislation: the City of Vancouver and B.C. government reaching a deal to close down three Single Room Occupancy hotels (SRO) in the Granville Entertainment District, and the progress of a federal bail reform bill designed to impose stricter sentencing for repeat offenders.
“Advocacy will also continue to address repeat non-violent offenders, who account for a vast majority of business challenges and safety incidents in the district,” the report claims.