Better than the rest - BnB Tips for Christchurch 2026

In 2026, the Christchurch Short-Term rental market (or commonly referred to as BnB) is more competitive than ever, with supply growing steadily with the release of the One NZ Stadium and other developments to the city. But to keep competitive and keep all eyes on your BnB rather than the competition we need to move away from the “one-size-fits-all” marketing and target the high-value guest profiles that we will chat about in this article.

Point 1: The Digital First International Travelers

• The Data: international Guests now represent that majority of the market meaning that 53.6% of BnB guests being international travellers, and 50% of all guests belonging to the Post-2000s (Gen z/Gen Alpha) age group. (Zhou, 2026)- What this tells us: The amenities that we see dominate this group at things related to the tech accessibility of your property. Its key to make sure your properties have modern amenities like Fast Wi-Fi, Smart Home Features, modern appliances and modern heating/cooling solutions.

Point 2: The “Privacy Priorities” and Size Requirements

• The Data – 81.9% of Current Short Term Accommodation options in Christchurch entire houses, and the most common number of guests is 4 People (26.7% of visits are 4 guests.) with the second most amount of guests being 2 People (Zhou, 2026)- What this tells us: The best performing investments in Christchurch now are those that can cater between 2 and 4 people comfortably. If your property is too big you will miss out on the group of 2, and if it is too small the group of 4 won’t have enough room. The sweet spot seems to be 2bedroom and between 1 and 2 bathroomsdepending on the stay length.

Point 3: Flexibility and Length of stay

• The Data: The average stay length floats around 4.4 days so ensuring your BnB is suited for this length is key, but with length of stay being a range 72.6% of Christchurch Listings offer Flexible or Moderate Cancellation policies, where strict policies are rare at only 3.5% of listings. (Zhou, 2026)- What this tells us: During the slower months it’s important that we allow a bigger pool of potential guests. We can do this by allowing flexibility around cancellation and stay length and making sure that the BnB isn’t so small that they won’t look to extend the stay out.

For more information about maximising your next BnB Investment, the team at Investr would love to talk about potential options or answer any questions you might have. You can reach out to us any time for a free consult

Zhou, J. (2026, May 4th). Christchurch, Canterbury Airbnb Market Data 2026: STR Report & Statistics. Retrieved from airroi: https://www.airroi.com/airbnb-data/new-zealand/canterbury/christchurch#stay-pattern-analysis