A Finnish hospitality company is celebrating a Vancouver city council decision to approve a floating hotel with 250 rooms right on the water in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour.

Council approved the proposal at a meeting Tuesday night. Only Coun. Sean Orr was opposed.

Sunborn Group, partnered with local seaplane terminal Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, said the low-carbon vessel will create 250 hotel rooms and add 200 jobs.

“We think Vancouver is the perfect place to expand, with its natural beauty, commitment to sustainability, and strong need for more hotel capacity,” said Sunborn CEO Hans Niemi in a news release Wednesday morning.

The project includes a large floating dock, which will be open to the public between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., a café and a spa.

The 136-metre vessel will be moored next to the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre chairman Graham Clarke said in a letter of intent submitted to the city in January 2025 that the proposal would contribute to Vancouver’s hotel stock, noting the city has “lost a significant number of hotel rooms to redevelopment.” 

The 2025 development application said the hotel rooms could be operational by 2027 “if approvals are achieved expeditiously.”