Buying a Short Term Rental

Here are some notes on short-term rental options (Airbnb style) in Canmore and area. There are two types of short-term zoning in Canmore – Hotel Condo VS Tourist Home.

Hotel condos cannot be lived in full-time. They are usually located within a hotel/resort complex and are zoned for vacation use only. That means owners can stay for less than 30 days at a time. These properties tend to be less expensive than Tourist zoned condos because they are more restricted.

Tourist home condos allow you to either live full-time or rent it out nightly. These properties tend to be more expensive. If you want to see a map of approved Tourist Zoned areas in Canmore, reach out.

There are a few options for how to manage the property. If the condo is within a resort complex you can normally take part in the hotel-pool. Some resort complexes also allow owners to self-manage or hire a third party management company. These companies typically charge 15-30% of the gross revenue. Hotel management pools tend to be more expensive than this, but it is 100% handsfree. Everything is looked after if you are part of the hotel rental pool.

If you are curious about prices in Canmore I would suggest visiting the Airbnb Canmore section of homes.
In terms of expenses here is a list of what you can expect:

1. Condo fees – This varies between buildings. Typically, the more amenities like pools and hot tubs the more expensive the monthly fee.

2. Taxes (normally range between $3,500 – $4,000 / year)

3. Insurance (about $50 / month = $600 / year)

4. Utilities – most condo fees include the utilities

5. Mortgage – this depends on your financing and budget

I’d be happy to run through some numbers with you. It’s hard to give a general projection because everyone’s mortgage requirements are different, also each building has different condo fees.

I self-manage my Airbnb in Victoria and manage a property in Canmore. I’d be happy to share my expertise.

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