Press Release: Affordable Housing Now! Coalition Launches City Hall Campaign as World Cup Hotel Rationale Crumbles
Vancouver, BC – More than 100 hospitality workers, tenants, and community members gathered outside Vancouver City Hall yesterday for a lively rally calling on City Council to put affordable housing ahead of hotel development.
The rally highlighted a stark contradiction: while politicians argued the World Cup required a rush of new hotel approvals, many hospitality workers lost shifts during the tournament as hotel occupancy declined. Recent hotel performance data show downtown occupancy fell to levels not seen since the pandemic, calling into question claims that Vancouver faces an urgent hotel room shortage. City Hall is approving hotels faster than affordable, non-market housing at a time when affordable homes should be the priority.
“Council has been told for years that the World Cup justifies fast-tracking hotel projects,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “The facts now tell a different story. Vancouver doesn’t have a hotel room crisis – we have an affordability crisis.”
Meanwhile, proposed hotel projects could displace existing tenants, including residents of Myron Manor at 75 East 8th Avenue, illustrating the human consequences of replacing affordable housing with hotel development.
Participants called on City Council to postpone major hotel development approvals until after the October municipal election, arguing that voters deserve an opportunity to weigh in on proposals that could shape Vancouver’s future.
Speakers highlighted the growing pressures facing working people across the city, including soaring rents, the loss of affordable housing, and the displacement of long-term tenants. They urged City Hall to focus on protecting existing affordable housing and accelerating new non-market and below-market housing instead of advancing hotel developments.
Recent polling conducted by Stratcom shows Vancouver voters favour prioritizing affordable housing over building more hotel rooms by a 3:1 margin, reinforcing that the public’s priorities differ sharply from those of the hotel development industry.
The coalition announced that yesterday’s rally marks the beginning of a broader “Affordable Housing Now!” campaign at City Hall. Beginning Tuesday, July 14, when Council resumes its meetings, coalition members plan to maintain a daily presence at City Hall and organize a series of actions until Council wraps up this summer.
The campaign comes as City Council is expected to consider dozens of rezoning applications and major land use decisions before wrapping up business ahead of the October municipal election. Coalition members say they will be closely monitoring those decisions and pressing Council to prioritize affordable housing over projects that displace existing residents or primarily benefit private developers.
“You can’t build a world-class city by displacing the people who make it run,” said Jan Budd, a hotel worker facing displacement due to the redevelopment of her affordable rental building. “Council needs to put housing first. Vancouver’s housing crisis can’t wait. Hotels can.”
Fact Sheet – Affordable Housing Now
Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785