A 250-room floating hotel could be coming to Vancouver.
Finnish hotel developer, Sunborn International Holding (SBIH), is proposing a low-carbon hotel that will operate as if it’s on land, with no contamination to the water.
It would be built in partnership with the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre (VHFC) and would directly connect to the Vancouver Convention Centre’s existing infrastructure.
Sunborn Vancouver will also not use fossil fuels or create any emissions from engines or generators.
“The new floating hotel will be a jewel for the crown of Vancouver’s waterfront,” Graham Clarke, chairman of VHFC, said in a statement.
“The new property will contribute to the urgent need for hotel rooms in Vancouver in an innovative and effective way, with no permanent footprint or environmental ramifications, adding new public spaces, viewpoints, cafés and restaurants to Vancouver’s vibrant waterfront.”
If the project is approved, Sunborn Vancouver will be built off-site.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
“It’s an exciting proposal for Vancouver,” city councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung told Global News.
“It would operate just like a building does on land.”
Kirby-Yung said the city is short 10,000 hotel rooms so this would be a “step in the right direction.”
It is expected that the floating hotel with its amenities and service would create more than 200 direct new jobs.
Pending approval with the City of Vancouver, the new hotel is scheduled to open in 2027.
Many tourism organizations expressed support for the project.
“The proposed hotel is a new and unique attraction that would complement the existing offerings from our destination, as well as bringing 250 new hotel rooms,” Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Destination Vancouver said.
“In our view, a bespoke floating hotel development would enhance our waterfront and we look forward to working with Sunborn and their partners in promoting this new attraction and hotel to our global visitors.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
