NEW ENVIRONS

Outdoor meetings can inspire and foster collaboration

ALBERT VAN SANTVOORT

While meetings are a part of most people’s corporate lives, it is no secret they can get a little boring. A meeting in a stale and formal boardroom environment, disrupted by interruptions and stunted by office politics, can reduce productivity and, ultimately, a meeting’s effectiveness.

Many are looking for ways to break the meeting routine, enhance employee engagement, boost employee communication and elevate focus to not only make meetings more effective, but also create a happier workforce.

Heather Pelletier recently started Nature’s Boardroom with the goal of transforming corporate team meetings and events. The company prioritizes the use of nature to help develop talent, foster teamwork and increase employee engagement.

“I knew that there would be an appetite to have a new format of gathering and I felt it would be compelling for that to be in nature because I think nature has a lot to teach us,” says Pelletier.

Through her programs, Pelletier offers organizations a chance to take their meeting out of the corporate box – literally and figuratively – and into the woods.

Heather Pelletier is the founder of Nature’s Boardroom

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”It’s a breathe of fresh air,” she says. “When you get out of your regular space and typical roles, you become just a group of people hiking in the forest.” It allows people to get out of not just the office’s physical structure, but some of the hierarchal and social structures that exist as well. In nature’s environment, those traditional office hierarchies melt away, says Pelletier.

So, why outside? Simply put, its restorative. Studies have shown that spending time outdoors in nature can help reduce stress, foster creativity, restore mental energy and even increase creativity and productivity – things that traditional, less stimulating meetings may inhibit.

Not only does the physical act of gathering in the forest for a hike help promote better cooperation, communication and understanding within a workforce or team, but the more technical, biological happenings within a forest can offer important lessons about teamwork and achieving common goals. Pelletier points to the cooperation between birch trees and Douglas firs, and a fungal network that allows trees to transfer energy to each other. In the winter, when birch trees are bare and the needles of Douglas firs are able to photosynthesize, this fungal network allows one tree to send energy to the other. During the summer, when birch trees’ leaves cover fir trees’ needles, birch trees can reciprocate and transfer carbon and energy to firs. Taking the time to reflect on and learn from these kinds of relationships can provide payoffs for organizations. “Following the themes that exist in the natural ecosystems of nature, we can get back to a more natural ecosystem within the company,” says Pelletier. Organizations that try this new approach of meeting outdoors are often surprised by how employees are able to be themselves and have hard conversations that get to the root of a business’s or individual’s development, says Pelletier.

Surrounded by nature and away from deadlines and ringing phones, team members are able to work together in a way that fosters greater communication and cooperation than does a traditional office environment. Pelletier says that working in and learning about nature can also help challenge some of the misconceptions about business and organizational success, and help companies shift their culture dramatically from one that prioritizes a winner-take-all mentality to one that helps promote group success, teamwork and collaboration.

FOLLOWING THE THEMES THAT EXIST IN THE NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS OF NATURE, WE CAN GET BACK TO A MORE NATURAL ECOSYSTEM WITHIN THE COMPANY Heather Pelletier Owner Nature’s Boardroom

KanataHotel • HOLLYPARK HOTELS

Kelowna hotel sale nabs top spot among this year’s deals Kanata Kelowna ranks as the Interior’s second-largest hotel sale ever

Peter Mitham

Record-setting pricing for a Kelowna hotel made B.C. the priciest market in the country for hospitality properties in the first half of 2022.

The Kanata Kelowna Hotel & Conference Centre sold to Hollypark Hotels Corp. of Vernon in June, in what broker Mack Hair of Macdonald Realty in Kelowna described as “the second-highest price ever paid for a hotel in B.C. outside of the Lower Mainland.”

A purchase price for the Kanata was not disclosed, but the highest price ever paid for a hotel outside the Lower Mainland was $131 million.

Royal Host REIT’s sale of the Grand Okanagan Resort to Delta Hotels Ltd. in 2008 worked out to an average price of $404,320 a room.

Originally built in 1993 and expanded in 2010, the Kanata has a total of 190 rooms and 5,000 square feet of conference space. An average room price similar to the Grand Okanagan Resort would put the Kanata sale price in the range of $80 million.

The high price makes the transaction the largest single deal among all B.C. hotel sales in the second quarter of this year.

According to Colliers International, four properties worth $167.1 million sold during the quarter. The average price per key was $385,000.

This marked an intensification of the market from the first quarter, when seven hotels sold for just $32.2 million.

The hotel market continues to be plagued by the lingering effects of the pandemic. While occupancies are rebounding, Colliers noted that cross-border travel remains at 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. This will be critical to restoring the performance of hotels as revenue-producing assets.

Rising interest rates are another factor playing into the overall transaction market.

“What was anticipated to be a relatively strong year for hotel investment will likely be softened by a rising interest rate environment,” Colliers reported.

Similar to other sectors, however, the return to more normal performance levels will support revenues and strengthen the confidence of lenders when it comes to financing transactions.

The tourism outlook for the Okanagan is promising, and this gave Sam Dhillon, CEO of Hollypark, the confidence to add the Kanata to his portfolio, which also includes the Fairfield by Marriott hotels in Vernon and Salmon Arm.

“We’re excited about acquiring this hotel in such a prime location in midtown Kelowna,” Dhillon says. “I believe that growth in tourism volume to the Kelowna area will outpace most Canadian markets over the next decade. We’re betting big on the hotel sector after two years of uncertainty in the industry.”

New 129-room hotel pitched for Victoria International Airport Airport authority in favour as B.C.’s travel and hotel industry recovers

There are more than 400 Marriott TownePlace Suites hotels across North America • MARRIOTT

Frank O’Brien

Among the latest signs of a recovery in B.C.’s hotel sector: Victoria International Airport is considering a proposal for a new 129-room Marriott hotel.

Proposed by Kothari Group as its first B.C. project, the hotel will be a TownePlace Suites project by Marriott. The TownePlace brand is described as “an all-suite extended stay upper midscale hotel experience.”

“We see the addition of a hotel at this location as a logical fit and a great new amenity for the airport and community,” says Victoria Airport Authority’s president and CEO Geoff Dickson. “It is an opportunity for Victoria International Airport to further diversify its revenue base which has been dramatically impacted by the pandemic. We look forward to working with the Kothari Group to hopefully see this exciting proposal come to fruition.”

The Kothari Group was established in Canada in 1996 with a focus in real estate related investments. Kothari’s hotel group works with international brands such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt to develop and manage hotels across Canada.

“We are excited to work with Victoria Airport Authority and Marriott International to bring the first true extended stay hotel in this growing tourist and business market. This project is our group’s first of what we hope are many investments in British Columbia and the Greater Victoria region,” said Anupam Kothari, president of Kothari Group, in a statement.

The proposal is on federal land within the Town of Sidney’s boundaries. Sidney’s staff and council will have the opportunity to review and provide comment on the proposal.

If approved, construction could begin in early 2023. It is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete the hotel with plans that call for a restaurant, 1,500 square feet of meeting space, a swimming pool and a fitness centre.

There are currently more than 400 TownePlace Suites properties across the United States and Canada.

Carrie Russell, senior manager at hotel industry consultancy HVS International, does not expect Canadian hotel revenues to fully recover to pre-COVID levels for at least two years.

“This year we expect a 44 per cent increase in RevPAR (revenue per available room, a key industry metric) to almost $80 with continued recovery until 2024 when it has fully recovered. Since the health restrictions have started to lift across the country, we are seeing booking activity increase and hoteliers are optimistic about performance this summer. Corporate travel is also starting to resume, albeit at a very moderate pace right now,” she says.

Colliers, in its 2022 Canadian Hotel Investment Report states: “The recovery is underway but will be a journey.” The agency notes there is pent-up demand for travel, particularly for leisure and business travel.

After near-zero construction of new hotels in Metro Vancouver over the past three years, at least three new hotels are being planned.

Peterson Group and Coromandel Properties have bought a 0.73-acre site in Vancouver’s Oakridge area for a joint-venture hotel as part of a residential complex.

Landa Global Properties announced last June it is planning a major hotel as a keystone of a mixed-use development on a 3.5acre site near Richmond’s Oval Village waterfront.

Meanwhile, developer Marcon and QuadReal Properties have released plans for a 150-room hotel, “comparable to a Hilton or Marriott,” as part of a large mixed-use proposal in Coquitlam Town Centre on Pinetree Way and Lougheed Highway.

FROM WESTERN INVESTOR STAFF

Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel is the top hotel in North America in

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YVR hotel deemed best in North America Fairmont Airport Vancouver is the continent’s top airport hotel

Valerie Leung

Richmond is home to the best airport hotel in North America.

The Fairmont Airport Vancouver, which is connected to Vancouver International Airport, ranked as one of the best airport hotels in the world this year.

According to a 2022 list of the world’s best airport hotels by the Skytrax World Airport Awards, the YVR-based hotel placed fifth in the world and took the No. 1 spot in North America.

“This award is a true honour and we dedicate it to our entire team who continue to deliver extraordinary experiences for our guests and colleagues every day,” said Randall Williams, general manager of Fairmont Vancouver Airport, in a press release.

“We are thrilled to be recognized once again amongst the top hotels in the world.”

The World Airport Awards are based on guest surveys, which are collected from airline passengers at 550 airports over a six-month period.

Hotels are then assessed through standards such as overall experiences, access to and from an airport, the professionalism of staff, cleanliness, services, food and the overall value for the cost.

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