What is the difference between a short-term rental and a bed & breakfast?

Licensing

Feb 8

What is considered a short-term rental?

Short-term rental refers to renting out an entire dwelling unit. This could be a secondary suite, a condo unit, or a full single-family dwelling. Any of these rented for less than 30 days are considered short-term rentals.

What qualifies as a bed & breakfast?

Think of a bed and breakfast as renting rooms within your own single-family home. These rooms are not separate dwelling units but rather part of your primary residence—the single-family dwelling. Operating a bed and breakfast is typically permitted within all standard residential zones.

Additionally, the provision of a morning meal to these guests is included, along with access to common living and dining areas within the dwelling. It's important to note that bed and breakfast use is not permitted in conjunction with a Secondary Suite.

Where are bed & breakfasts permitted?

Your standard residential zones (R1s and R2s) allow for Bed & Breakfast use.

Where are short-term rentals permitted?

In all of those standard zones, short-term rental gets a little more complicated. In order to run a short-term rental within the city of Revelstoke, you're required to have appropriate zoning for the use.

Throughout the 2010s, the city approved numerous rentals through “spot zoning applications”. Within these zones, single-detached dwellings are permitted to operate whole home rentals. In these homes, the owner doesn’t need to live on site to operate. They just need 24/7 property management services.

In April 2022 as part of the short-term rental regulatory updates, the city expanded this allowance to two areas in the city, one of the areas being properties that are in Zone C – the downtown area.

To check a property’s zoning refer to Revelstoke’s Full City Zoning Map.