STAY Magazine.. Vol. 3, Issue 5

WCLC 2023: Insights & outlooks Celebrating housekeeping team members, one story at a time

A ‘Swift’ kick in the economy & taking the bull by the horns

Beyond the blueprints: The art of building Canadian hotels (+ cities)

BC’s first carbon-neutral hotel earns Biosphere Certification

FALL 2023 Volume 3 Issue 5 staymagazine.ca

Publisher Big Picture New Media 45 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 1001 Toronto, ON M4V 1K9

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Gunjan Kahlon VP Franchise Sales and Development, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Judy Sparkes-Giannou Co-Owner, Clayton Hospitality Inc. Deborah Borotsik Senior VP, Beechwood Real Estate Advisors Alan Perlis President & CEO, Knightstone Capital Management and CEO, Knightstone Hotel Group Alnoor Gulamani President, Bayview Hospitality Inc.

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CONTENTS

FALL 2023

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EDITOR’S NOTE Year-end outlook

32 MAY WE RECOMMEND Products & services from WCLC exhibitors

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EVENTS THAT SELL A ‘Swift’ kick in the economy

39 INNSIGHTS Western Canadian Lodging Conference (WCLC) program

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INTERNATIONAL PROFILE 43 ARCHITECTURE Four Seasons Hotel - Amman, Jordan a-A: The art of building Connecting accommodations with experiences Canadian hotels (+ cities) 20 SUSTAINABILITY 49 HUMAN TRAFFICKING B.C.’s first carbon-neutral hotel & THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY earns Biosphere Certification The elephant in the room: Part two in our series 25 OPERATIONS 53 REVENUE MANAGEMENT A workday in the life of an Enhancing collaboration and communication undercover CAA hotel inspector across all departments to reposition your hotel asset 30 INTELLIGENCE Diversification to eventually decouple oil prices and hotel performance in oil markets

On the Cover FALL 2023

WCLC 2023: Insights & outlooks Celebrating housekeeping team members, one story at a time

A ‘Swift’ kick in the economy & taking the bull by the horns

Beyond the blueprints: The art of building Canadian hotels (+ cities)

BC’s first carbon-neutral hotel earns Biosphere Certification

Inn at Laurel Point Victoria, B.C. Photographer, Vince Klassen Courtesy of Inn at Laurel Point

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EDITOR’S NOTE

REFLECTIONS

IN THE LAST MONTHS OF 2023, many thoughts come to my mind as an avid observer

of industry activity and successes. At STAY Magazine, we’ve had a remarkable year of growth and we’re proud of the contributions we’re making to the Canadian hotel landscape by producing important news and intelligence that is hyper-focused on the businesses and people that make Canada’s lodging industry so unique.

We could not do it without the experts who lend us their insights, or without you, our readers who engage with and champion the stories we tell. As we plan for 2024 and a new year of Canadian hotel intelligence, I leave you with the following words of wisdom from some of the aforementioned experts who regularly contribute to STAY. If you would like to add to the discussion with your insights and outlook for 2024, please send an email to stacey@staymagazine.ca – I look forward to hearing from you.

Stacey Newman Editor-in-chief

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Insights & outlooks on Canadian Hotel Markets (with some emphasis on the West) as we approach year-end Brian Leon, Chief Executive Officer, Choice Hotels Canada After enduring the biggest disruption in the history of our industry, we are now experiencing the greatest rebound.

Clearly, we’re still facing some challenges including elevated operating costs, interest rates and costs and macroeconomic uncertainty. However, we are seeing continued strength in RevPAR across the country. While growth was driven by rate earlier in the recovery, we’re also now seeing occupancy trends well above pre-pandemic levels. If there was ever a question about the resilience of our industry, that was answered through the pandemic and in the period since.

The recovery has been extraordinary, something we couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. In my view, we’re emerging into a period of great promise and opportunity for our industry. The fundamentals driving hotel room demand are very favourable, at a time when long-term room growth remains muted. This creates a very positive environment for both industry RevPAR and new-build development. So, we’re very optimistic about the prospects for our industry and our franchise partners in the coming years. It’s going to be an exciting time!

Brian Flood, Executive Vice President and Practice Leader, Hospitality and Gaming Group | Canada, Cushman & Wakefield In 2023 Alberta and B.C. markets have seen continued recovery with RevPAR growth of 20 per cent on a YTD basis; Manitoba leads the West with RevPAR growth of 50 per cent YTD. Major centres such as Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg have outperformed provincial results as group and corporate demand began to return. RevPAR for YTD 2023 exceeds results for the same period in 2019 by a wide margin.

With stronger GDP growth projected and strong commodity pricing, expect to see continued growth in 2024.

Strong top line performance is driving record profitability for hotels, and the sector continues to outperform other commercial real estate sectors. In the past year, returns on hotels have outpaced other classes despite high interest rates

and inflation. In the past year, hotel property values have rebounded strongly and, in most cases, values are now above pre-Covid levels. With the predicted growth in earnings, we expect hospitality asset values to continue increasing in the near to mid-term.

Alnoor Gulamani, President, Bayview Group We are thrilled to see the travel industry bounce back, with most segments reaching or exceeding their pre-pandemic levels of demand, except for corporate travel, which is also showing positive signs. We have overcome some of the supply chain and talent issues that affected us earlier, but we know they are not going away anytime soon, as the demographic shifts and ensuing trends continue. We believe that travel is a precious and valuable experience, and we welcome the arrival of low-cost airlines in Canada, which will stimulate more domestic travel.

At the same time, we are aware of the major challenges that the industry faces, as interest rates, construction costs, and operating costs have skyrocketed in the past year, making new development harder to justify. We are committed to finding smart and efficient solutions for design and operating standards that deliver an amazing guest experience while ensuring the profitability that our development partners need to attract capital.

I hope major Canadian cities will follow the examples of New York and other major cities in further restricting the use of residential properties such as Airbnb and other short-term rentals given the shortage of residential housing.

Sylvia Occhiuzzi, Senior Vice President, Beechwood Real Estate Advisors Despite escalating interest rates and operating costs and stabilizing demand, national RevPAR levels remain robust.

Hotel investment has proven to be a viable option for existing and new investors this year, thanks to steady top line performance and positive industry momentum. Hotels are a great investment, particularly during high inflationary periods. Expect to see transaction activity grow and values Fall 2023 |

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continue to rise as owners face important decisions around recapitalization, much-needed renovations, and refinancing.

Will owners renovate and hold or sell all or a portion of their portfolios? These important decisions will fuel much of the investment fire over the next year, along with the increasing availability of debt capital.

Mark Hope, Senior Vice President, Development, Coast Hotels Q3 (July/Aug/Sep) began on a promising note, but unfortunately, the onslaught of wildfires, thick smoke, and subsequent evacuations across both B.C., Alberta and Washington State significantly elevated our cancellation rates across various locations. To mitigate the loss in volume, we welcomed evacuees, albeit at lower rates. As we shift our focus to Q4 (Oct/Nov/Dec), we're pleased to report that our occupancy levels are resilient and slightly ahead of the same period last year. Consequently, our primary objective for the quarter is to sustain these occupancy levels while strategically enhancing Average Daily Rates (ADR). Our Q4 occupancy forecast remains robust, and by implementing a thoughtful ADR strategy, we anticipate surpassing our 2022 performance. As we enter the fourth quarter of 2023 and look to 2024, the expense pressures of increasing labour and utilities costs, plus supply chain challenges continue to impact bottom line performance, despite the forecasts of improving top line results.

Carrie Russell, Senior Managing Partner, HVS There is never a dull moment when you own real estate that has new tenants every night and hoteliers in Western Canada know that very well as 2023 has pushed performance to new peaks. As expected, the first quarter of 2023 far surpassed the prior year as pandemic restrictions seemed like a distant memory. By the end of Q1 RevPAR for Western Canada was up 19.2 per cent, exceeding the national performance and led by strong numbers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The second quarter of 2023 was the point we started to wonder if this demand and ADR was sustainable and the answer for that three-month period was again yes. RevPAR in Q2 was up another 19.3 per cent, again outperforming Canada as a whole, and driven in large part by double-digit ADR growth across the region. The start of Q3 is when it is becoming clear that we are cresting the growth wave, ADR growth in July was a respectable 9.3 per cent and a further 5.0 per cent 4

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in August, but the long weekends and summer peaks didn’t have the frenzy noted in prior months.

The strength of this market has been driven by the continued desire for leisure travellers to explore, the strong recovery of the meeting and group segment that is back hosting tournaments and hopping on buses and even the commercial travellers who have projects to complete and customers to service. The industry has also benefited from population growth and immigration as the shortage of housing has resulted in contracts with hotels, with the added advantage of broadening the labour pool. Sadly, the preponderance of natural disaster has also displaced many and forced them into hotels as wildfires were a major issue this summer.

The question becomes now what does the growth picture look like for the fall and into 2024? A glance at the fundamentals indicates that they are sound, demand continues to grow, and supply has been held in check by the cost to develop and the turbulence the industry has experienced in recent years. Occupancy should continue to tick up modestly as commercial demand and group bookings improve, but the stunning ADR numbers that got us to these new highs are likely going to be a fond memory soon. Economic pressures are starting to put pressure on discretionary income for the leisure market and that segment is finally reaching a ceiling on the rates they can stomach.

The group market has always been more rate-sensitive, and competition will hold major ADR increases in check. The overall result is that we expect RevPAR growth to moderate for the region but continue in a positive direction. Costs are not going down in the operations, capital needs to be reinvested to update the facilities and interest rates are pushing debt costs up so hoteliers will need to continue to drive the top line, it just won’t be at the stellar pace we have seen so far this year.

Ed Khediguian, Senior Vice President - CWB Franchise Finance The period between the great financial crisis and Covid was witness to greater consolidation of hotel ownership across major markets in Canada. With that came greater sophistication and liquidity in ownership mix which bolstered the ability to weather the impacts of the pandemic, the shifts in travel patterns, and the impacts of inflation. This consolidation in ownership combined with the impact of

operational inflation sharpened the focus on maintaining rate vs. eroding yield in exchange for demand. This combined with the material reduction in new supply pipeline driven by first a pause due to the realities of the uncertainties of the impacts of the pandemic, to inflation in the cost of development, and now the environment of contracted institutional capital puts the sector in a position of strength.

Alberta is poised for prosperity over the medium to long term as a result of the conflagration of its economy, its politics, and the shift in demographics that it has experienced over the last several years. The period of cyclical weakness in oil led efforts towards economic diversification which combined with an influx of younger households seeking a more balanced lifestyle and cost of living has positioned itself strongly in the face of the return in strength in the energy and commodity markets and a business-oriented political environment. B.C., other than Vancouver, has benefited similarly to Alberta, with the exception of its politics, while Vancouver and Victoria have raised their lifestyle and leisure destination profiles to world levels.

The industry will navigate a period of high operational inflation and a contraction in institutional capital over the short term, it will rebound materially with the realization of strength and quality of ownership mix and the hedge it provides against inflation.

Curtis Gallagher, Principal, Canadian Hospitality Lead, Avison Young Canadian hospitality participants are very pleased by the resiliency and recovery levels on the operating performance side of the business. Despite increased input costs driven by inflation, particularly for labour, many hotels have set historic income levels. From that standpoint, logic would suggest increased transaction activity and value improvements.

However, the high cost of debt financing at relatively lower leverage levels has created a bid/ask gap that can be very difficult to resolve, and transaction activity has been stymied.

There are several pre-pandemic loans that will mature in the balance of this year and into 2024 within a much higher interest rate setting that is likely to remain for several years.

While we don’t expect a broad-scale pressured investment sales environment, we do believe transaction activity will increase for those sellers and buyers acting reasonably in this new environment.

Martin Stitt, Senior Vice President Operations – Canada, Hotel Equities As 2023 progresses and we look toward 2024, RevPAR growth has certainly slowed to more historic trend lines.

Growth is now predominantly driving off ADR. Markets are also rebalancing as the mix of group and corporate travel grows, reflected in urban market RevPAR growth outpacing some of the resort markets.

If an economic soft landing is achieved, I anticipate a solid 2024 with modest RevPAR growth driven by ADR. If it's an economic hard landing, then I would expect to see some retrenching on RevPAR, however, hoteliers have clearly shown since 2021 a better recognition of the importance of maintaining ADR that should both lessen and shorten any RevPAR impact.

Fraser Macdonald, Director | Hotels | Canada, Colliers Western Canada’s hotel real estate market maintained positive momentum for the first three quarters of 2023, with investment volume of more than $545 million recorded.

Confidence in the hotel asset class was evidenced by the active participation of a diverse investor pool and notable urban, suburban, and resort market sales. Given strong operating fundamentals and resilient debt market conditions (albeit at higher interest rates), investors are focusing on the long-term horizon with strong cash flow and great potential for future appreciation.

As for Western Canada—Alberta and British Columbia witnessed large resort transactions such as the Rimrock Resort Banff and Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, as well as a significant amount of trading in the limited/focused-service segments, where there were turnaround opportunities with capital investment.

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Housekeeping SPONSORED CONTENT

CHOICE HOTELS CANADA:

Celebrating housekeeping team members, one story at a time International Housekeepers Week is observed the second full week of each September.

Choice Hotels Canada is celebrating some of its hotels’ team members by sharing their stories. Meet just a few of the professionals at the heart of the properties day-to-day housekeeping operations across the country, with sincere thanks for their dedication and service.

We couldn’t do it without them.

OLEKSANDRA MAIOVA HOUSEKEEPING ATTENDANT Hailing from Ukraine, Oleksandra Maiova's journey took an incredible turn when her whole family sought refuge in Canada following the invasion of her homeland.

With her effervescent personality, Maiova forms connections that light up every corner of the Halifax Tower Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection. Her enthusiasm contributes to the guests' overall experiences and creates a sense of belonging that transcends mere service. She has exhibited leadership qualities among her peers and has taken new housekeeping attendants under her wing, developing their skills and training them. Maiova reminds us that the true essence of hospitality lies in the people who make it all possible.

Maiova speaks fluent Ukrainian and Russian, and she is actively improving her English. She has been working in housekeeping for more than a year. “It was in Canada that my journey as a housekeeping attendant began. Few people know, but I worked as a painter at the Halifax Tower Hotel before it even opened a little over a year ago! So, you could say that I have been working in the Choice family since the first week I moved to Halifax from Ukraine. After the painting job, I wanted to look for new work. It was through a friend on Facebook who shared with me an email where I can send my resume and when I got invited for an

Oleksandra Maiova

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Housekeeping interview, it turned out to be the Halifax Tower Hotel! I thought it was fate,” she explains.

She goes on to say that success in her job means simply doing the job well. “It doesn't matter if you work for yourself or for someone else. It doesn't matter what position you hold. My work is an integral part of guest satisfaction and every moving part within the hotel is of great importance,” says Maiova.

MARY JANE MOLINA HOUSEKEEPING MANAGER A person who ignites the vibrant spirit of Comfort Hotel Bayer's Lake in Halifax, N.S., Mary Jane, affectionately known as MJ is a petite powerhouse with a giant personality. As the housekeeping manager, she's not just a leader; she's a model of excellence, setting the bar high with her hands-on approach and her uncontainable energy. A true role model, she forges ahead, leading the charge through her own actions.

Her commitment to perfection shines through in her meticulous attention to detail, ensuring that every facet of the guest experience is flawlessly delivered.

Danielle Hébert

Mary Jane Molina

Arlene Navarro (head housekeeper), Antonio Centeno, and Honorina Centeno

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Molina speaks Filipino and English.

She has worked in the housekeeping department of the Comfort Hotel for nine years. She says her favourite part of the job is attending to guests’ requests and the routine of cleaning the rooms, inspecting all areas with precision and ensuring everything is up to standard.

“I care about each of our guests sincerely, and I’ve established very good relationships with some of the guests who regularly frequent the hotel. Guest experience is our utmost priority and how you treat everyone and make them feel are impactful factors on their overall experience,” she explains.

Molina’s most memorable experience was working at the hotel during the Covid-19 pandemic. She talks about being given the opportunity to work alongside the general manager during those challenging times. “In order to keep the hotel running, she trained me in front desk operations as a guest services agent,” she says.

“Because we had a limited workforce at the time, in addition to working as a housekeeping attendant, I was also in charge of preparing the continental breakfasts for the guests, ensuring food health and safety were maintained. It was a privilege for me to go through that training and I have truly enjoyed understanding the operation elements of the business.”

To achieve success in her role, Molina says that it takes courage, hard work, patience, determination, and dedication to be a good housekeeping manager. She encourages open communication among the staff.

“All of us are unique and have our story to tell, and if you listen with empathy and an open mind, you will continue to grow and build trust with your peers.

Having all those qualities wouldn’t have happened without the constant guidance, encouragement, and motivation of our GM, Nimfa. Having a good mentor contributes to the success and motivation of a person. She is a role model and hands-on with every detail of the job, and sees potential and development among the staff. She harnesses our strengths and makes sure that we are appreciated and recognized,” explains Molina.

ANTONIO AND HONORINA CENTENO HOUSEKEEPERS Antonio and Honorina Centeno are a couple who have worked within the

Housekeeping Choice family for eight years. They work alongside each other at two hotels in close proximity—the Comfort Inn & Suites and the Quality Inn & Suites, both located near the Edmonton International Airport. The Centenos speak English and Tagalog.

They say their favourite part of the job is the flexibility and work environment, as well as interactions with different people.

To be successful in their roles, the Centenos say that being confident and asking for help if necessary is important, as well as building relationships, learning from mistakes and being organized.

CHRISTY BURCHAT OPERATIONS MANAGER/ EXECUTIVE HOUSEKEEPER Christy Burchat has been with the Quality Inn & Suites Petawawa, and various Choice Hotels, for over 13 years.

She started off as a housekeeper and was soon asked to train all new room attendants, then promoted to assistant supervisor and then to supervisor. Most recently, Burchat was promoted to operations manager and she continues to look after the housekeeping team when needed.

“I love so many aspects of my position.

It is very rewarding; it has taught me so much about myself and about many ways in how people learn. It feels so good when you take the proper amount of time and train your staff accordingly and see them become shining stars and being able to execute their duties spot on, to be able to take on more responsibility and see them successful in their position. I get to work with many amazing people, which is why I enjoy my position so much,” says Burchat.

When she first started at the Quality Inn & Suites, Burchat’s “enemy” was folding fitted sheets, which, today she has down to an art and science. Struggles that Burchat has seen over the years include seeing new staff without passion in what they do and turnover due to the job being too strenuous, which she says she understands. Sometimes if rooms are trashed, or you have to wash soiled floors, it can be unglamorous, a bit overwhelming and hard on the body.

“In 13 years, you meet a lot of people.

Some stay, but a lot go as well. I’ve been so fortunate to have met some very amazing people. We had owners and a GM who invested in their staff, who believed in them and gave me opportunities I never could have dreamed of. I would say the most memorable experience would be when the owners sent me to Vegas to one of the Choice Hotels Conventions, where I was able to learn so much in my time there and helped me grow into the person I am today. I was also able to meet some very amazing people along the way, who took me under their wing and we enjoyed a fantastic few days. We were also very fortunate when our new owners and GM took over, as they share the same values and treat their staff with respect, and like family,” she explains.

Burchat says a big accomplishment for herself and the hotel is long-term staff retention. “We have a few that have reached 4, 5, 10, 13 and 14 years.

I don’t think you see this in hospitality as much. I think our approach of being understanding, compassionate, kind, patient, accommodating, praising your staff, coaching in a positive proactive manner, and truly caring about our staff have made our workplace an enjoyable

place to be and keep coming back,” she states. Adding, “I love it when I walk in a room, and it smells clean, and the beds are perfect with beautiful hospital corners. This brings a huge smile to my face when staff get how important first impressions are.”

DANIELLE HÉBERT LAUNDRY ROOM ATTENDANT Danielle Hébert is a laundry room attendant in the Choice family, working at the Quality Suites in Drummondville, Que. She speaks French and has worked in housekeeping for over 13 years.

Hébert loves to see a job well done and she demands this of herself to satisfy all customers.

Her most hated task is unclogging a toilet, but, she says, “When I'm called on to unplug a toilet, I do it with a smile!”

Her most memorable experience took place during a Christmas reception when she helped serve meals. Hébert took a lot away from this experience, saying that “human contact is very important to me.”

To be successful in her role according to Hébert requires care, cleanliness, respect, and communication between team members and with customers. She says that she knows how to listen and be responsive.

Christy Burchat and team

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EVENTS THAT SELL

A ‘SWIFT’ KICK IN THE ECONOMY Analyzing the impact of major events on Canadian hotel markets

By Stacey Newman

IN THE DYNAMIC WORLD OF HOSPITALITY, THE HOTEL INDUSTRY IN CANADA FACES A CONSTANT EBB AND FLOW OF DEMAND. Disruptions like we’ve recently experienced, tourism

seasons, and corporate events and travel all play a significant role, however, major events like the Calgary Stampede and Taylor Swift concert dates bring unique challenges and opportunities to the forefront.

In this article, we delve into the impacts of these two major events on the Canadian hotel industry, examining their influence on occupancy rates, pricing strategies, overall economic contributions, and Canadian destinations as tourism hotspots.

The Calgary Stampede: A cultural extravaganza The Calgary Stampede (also referred to simply as “Stampede”) is a not-for-profit community organization designed to preserve and celebrate Western heritage, cultures and community spirit. The festival features rodeos, live music, and cultural exhibitions. This influx of tourists has a substantial impact on the hotel industry in Calgary.

Supported by thousands of passionate volunteers, Stampede’s year-round events, programs and initiatives invest in youth, support agricultural programs, celebrate Western culture and make a lasting economic impact on the City of Calgary.

Shannon Greer is the manager of communications and media relations for Calgary Stampede. She explains the primary event, Stampede itself, is a 10-day event held in July, attracting more than one million visitors per year and generating more than $225 million in economic benefit to the City of Calgary. And Stampede 2023 was a big and bustling return to normal for the event.

“Stampede 2023 was an incredible success that wouldn’t have been possible without our community. From July 6 to 16, we welcomed 1,384,632 people. 2023 was officially the second-highest attended Stampede in our organization’s history,” says Greer.

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Events That Sell Other than The Greatest Show on Earth (as Stampede is also referred to), Stampede Park hosts more than 1,200 business, tourism, sporting, hospitality, and community events and welcomes more than four million guests per year. These events create thousands of jobs and contribute more than $540M to the Alberta economy.

Opening in 2024, the expansion of the BMO Centre promises to make gatherings even greater. At over 1 million square feet, the BMO Centre will be the largest convention centre in Western Canada. Plans for the new convention centre and hotel on a 31,000-square-foot parcel at the north entrance to Stampede Park are progressing.

“An anchor to the new and vibrant Culture + Entertainment District, guests will be welcomed with our Western hospitality and Stampede Spirit, in one of the most energetic convention areas in North America. We expect the expansion will help diversify the southern Alberta economy through enhanced trade and tourism,” Greer explains.

Impact on occupancy rates: During the Stampede, hotel occupancy in Calgary surges significantly. According to data from the Calgary Hotel Association, occupancy can skyrocket to over 90 per cent during the event, compared to an average of around 70 per cent during other times of the year. This spike is attributed to both domestic and international visitors who flock to the city to experience the festivities.

Pricing strategies: Hoteliers in Calgary often adjust their pricing strategies during the Stampede. A report by the Canadian Hotel Association shows that many hotels implement dynamic pricing, leading to higher room rates during this period. This can be a double-edged sword, as it allows for increased revenue but can also deter budgetconscious travellers.

Economic contributions: Beyond individual hotels, the Stampede contributes significantly to the local economy. The economic impact of the Calgary Stampede includes hotel bookings, dining, entertainment, and transportation, all of which benefit various sectors.

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Events That Sell Taylor Swift concert dates: A global phenomenon Taylor Swift, a global pop sensation, has an enormous fan following, and her concerts are major events in themselves.

When Taylor Swift announced concert dates in Toronto for November of 2024, it not only set fans afire with excitement, but the events also present a unique set of challenges and opportunities for the hotel industry.

I spoke with Kathy Motton, senior communications manager at Destination Toronto about what major events like this bring to Canadian urban centres, and specifically the Taylor Swift concerts—there are just six Canadian dates, all are in Toronto.

Motton says the Taylor Swift concerts are a great example of the impact that events of this magnitude have on destination cities.

“They bring visitors to experience the city and spend money here, and they support a wide range of businesses and jobs. And while these visitors may come for the concert, they also typically come to experience all kinds of other things that our city has to offer. We've got great sports teams, retail, theatre, an incredible food scene, all the things that visitors will experience when they come here to see Taylor Swift,” says Motton.

Concertgoers will be coming to Toronto from all over—how does Destination Toronto track visitors’ origins? How do we know how many are local versus travelling to the city for the concerts?

Motton says Destination Toronto has an internal business intelligence team that works with various partners, using several data sources including Google search data, which they analyze to produce insights and advice for stakeholders in the local economy.

What industries and sectors will benefit directly and indirectly from Taylor Swift's Canadian concert dates?

“The direct impact comes from visitor spending at accommodations like hotels, food services, restaurants, entertainment, transportation, retail, and any sort of business where a visitor may come and spend their money. But then there's also the broader economic impact and that's where that money goes after it enters our city. That spending affects job growth, the supply chain and retail.” Motton believes that visitors for major events have a lasting and positive impact on everyone who lives or works in the city.

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Events That Sell “The Taylor Swift concert dates coming to Toronto provide a reputational lift that helps other concerts and events attract to our city. It positions Toronto as a must-stop for major global concert tours. We're a large entertainment media market in North America. We see a lot of tours stop here in Toronto. Having Taylor Swift here with six shows is going to be great for Toronto!” says Motton.

It will undoubtedly be a very “Swift” kick to Toronto’s economy— with some experts forecasting around $660 million for the city.

Swiftnomics in the U.S: According to STR’s M. Brian Riley, the Taylor Swift impact has grown to $208 million in U.S. hotel room revenue as of STR’s latest analysis.

STR’s earlier Taylor Swift impact reports the first 28 shows of the tour added $98.2 million in added room revenue on top of normal seasonal levels. The overall $208 million estimated impact three months later (in August) accounted only for the 53 concert nights. What can’t be measured on top of that impact are extended fan stays, extra lift stemming from show advance/ breakdown crews, the broad range of other economic activities beyond concert-night room revenues, or added impact on other hotel revenue streams.

To put the impact into context, $208 million is basically the combined room revenue generated in New York City and Philadelphia in one week. Another way to look at it, $208 million is the average daily room revenue reported by the country’s 17 largest markets.

While that makes the total U.S. impact modest, many host markets experienced unprecedented windfall beyond baseline levels. Two markets—Pittsburgh and Nashville—doubled their RevPAR from shoulder weeks. Eight markets overall reported RevPAR premiums of 50 per cent or higher.* Impact on occupancy rates: Taylor Swift's concerts often lead to a surge in hotel bookings near the concert venues. Statistics from the Canadian Tourism Commission indicate that occupancy rates in cities hosting her concerts can increase by up to 20 per cent during the event week. Fans from across Canada and even international locations flock to these concerts, driving up demand.

(Source: https://str.com/data-insights-blog/taylor-swift-impact-grows-208M-in-us-hotel-room-revenue)

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Events That Sell Pricing strategies: Similar to the Calgary Stampede, hotels near concert venues may adjust their pricing strategies, capitalizing on the increased demand. The flexibility of pricing algorithms allows them to optimize revenue while accommodating fans.

Economic contributions: Concert events like Taylor Swift's tours bring more than just visitors to hotels. They boost the local economy through increased patronage of restaurants, bars, and retail stores near the concert venues. This has a ripple effect on multiple industries, further reinforcing the importance of such events to the local economy.

“The visitor economy has not fully recovered from the pandemic yet. We've got strong momentum. Domestic is all the way back.

Some of our key international markets are doing well, but there are international markets that aren't doing as well, like China.

"And business events and travel have not fully returned yet. There are places where we need to see some more recovery. Having a concert like this Taylor Swift concert, at a critical time of year, in late November, will be a major driver of visitation and activity at a time that would normally be softer,” says Motton.

How might hotels maximize business opportunities around Taylor Swift’s Canadian dates? With clever, fun activations and thematic elements. Motton tells me about a bakery in Minneapolis that created Taylor-themed donuts that fans went wild over. Other destinations have done a great job of leveraging this opportunity—Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum produced a Taylor Swift Pop-Up that was reportedly the best month for visitors in the museum’s history.

“There are so many different ways to interpret and have fun with it. I’d tell hoteliers to think about their own business, what their value proposition is, what they have to offer in terms of their neighbourhood and amenities, and how they can then create an experience based on what they offer that’s fun, achievable, and aligns with the event,” offers Motton.

Major events like the Calgary Stampede and Taylor Swift's concert dates have a demonstrable impact on the hotel industry.

Hoteliers should seriously consider the unique challenges and opportunities presented by such events, ensuring they make the most of these momentous occasions. Major events are not only entertainment spectacles but also critical drivers of economic activity, making them an integral part of Canada's hospitality landscape.

International Profile FOUR SEASONS HOTEL - AMMAN, JORDAN

CONNECTING ACCOMMODATIONS WITH EXPERIENCES

By Jim Byers

NICK SOLOMON WAS JUST STARTING HIS JOB AS GENERAL MANAGER AT THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL IN AMMAN, JORDAN EARLIER THIS SUMMER, AND WASN’T SURE ABOUT SOMETHING.

“When I arrived here, I asked our director of finance for an insurance broker for my home. He asked me why. And I said, ‘In case someone breaks in and steals something.’ He just laughed and said, ‘We’re in Amman. That doesn’t happen.’”

Jordan is in the Middle East. Safety is commonly a concern in this part of the world, so it was natural that Solomon— and potential visitors to the country—might give it some thought. In a video interview with STAY magazine, Solomon, a husband and father of three children, said safety was the first thing he thought of when he found out he was moving from the Four Seasons Seychelles to the hotel in Amman, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. “[But] there hasn’t been any kind of (security) incident in almost two decades. There’s no violence here. There’s no petty theft,” he explained.

The Canadian government travel website says to exercise a high degree of caution when visiting Jordan, but it says the same about the U.K. and France.

The hotel opened in May 2003, and Solomon said there was a big anniversary party in 2023.

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International Profile

Photos courtesy of Four Seasons Amman

“We had a gala dinner for about 500 people to celebrate,” stated Solomon. “We had top hotel execs and our ownership group (the property is owned by METICO, a private company based in Jordan), and a real who’s who from Amman. We also had 23 colleagues who have been working at the hotel since it opened.”

Solomon said the hotel was the only luxury property in Jordan when it opened in 2003, and was the first purposebuilt Four Seasons in the Middle East.

It also brought more luxury hotels in its wake, as Amman is now home to a Ritz-Carlton, a Fairmont and a St. Regis.

All are clustered together in what’s called The Fifth Circle of Amman.

Yasmin Sati, the hotel’s director of public relations, says the Four Seasons is the first and only hotel in Amman to get a five-star rating from Forbes.

Asked what separates his hotel from the competition, Solomon said it’s not so much the bricks and mortar.

“There’s a strong culture that’s very deeply forged into the company. It’s one of the benefits of working for Four Seasons; you have 55,000 of the best employees around the world. Whenever we open a new hotel, we bring people from established hotels that know the culture. It’s kind of our secret sauce.

“What makes this particular hotel special is the people,” he said. “This is their home, and they treat people like they are guests in their living room.

“It’s a matter of recognition as well. We have 192 rooms (29 are suites) and multiple restaurants. We can have a couple thousand people at the hotel when we’re really busy. But our hotel guests appreciate that we know who they are.

We know them by name, and we welcome them back and remember what they like for breakfast. That’s generally why people are so loyal to Four Seasons.”

The property was completely renovated in 2021, including new rooms. The city is a mix of old and new, so the hotel tries to reflect that.

Although it’s technically on the Asian continent, Solomon said Jordan has a very Mediterranean feel.

“If you’re picturing the desert or picturing Dubai you couldn’t be further from the truth. When I first arrived here, I was blown away. There’s lots of white buildings and green conifers and green hills.

“Many people like to refer to this area as the Mediterranean (a mere 110 km away) versus the Middle East,” he said.

“We have a lot of archaeological sites and ruins within a 10-minute drive of the hotel that were built by the Romans or built by the Greeks. The food is very much influenced by

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International Profile

the Mediterranean as well. Definitely, there’s one foot in the Middle East and one in the Mediterranean.

“With all our hotels we try to stay true to the location we’re in and make sure that we feature local cuisine. We also have some great international concepts. We have a French brasserie and a Mediterranean terrace that appeals to visitors and locals.

“This is definitely the place to be from an F&B perspective.”

As well as top-flight food, the hotel features both an indoor and an outdoor pool, a large gym and more than 3,000 square metres of meeting space.

Sati said the hotel can arrange tours to the magical city of Petra, Jordan, about three hours in one of the Four Seasons’ luxury vehicles. They also can set up tours of Wadi Rum, a UNESCO heritage site famous for its rock formations and petroglyphs, or the green hills and parks north of Amman.

“Guests also can take cooking classes with local women, learn about Jordan’s creative arts scene, or go on a cycling or hiking trip.

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“We connect accommodations with experiences. That’s how we stand out from the competition,” she said. “We don’t just sell the hotel; we sell the destination.”

Solomon said the Four Seasons Amman is very popular with diplomats, but also with tourists.

“Our business mix is about 50 per cent leisure and 50 per cent corporate. A lot of companies previously based in Iraq, Lebanon or Syria now have their headquarters here. Amman is coming on as a tourist destination, too. We’re a 45-minute drive to the Dead Sea. Jesus’ baptism site is 45 minutes away, there’s so much to see and do in the area.”

Solomon said Jordan’s tourism board often talks about places like the Dead Sea and Petra.

“But there really isn’t any kind of luxury hotel offering in any of those places. People are realizing that you can see those places and stay in a Four Seasons hotel in Amman because everything is so accessible."

Solomon started his tourism career as a server in a restaurant. He also worked in the kitchen and served as a chef. He later started working at small, luxury hotels, some with as few as 10 or 11 rooms.

International Profile

“They were small, but sometimes a couple of thousand dollars a night. There was fine silver and fine art on the walls.

That’s where I learned about quality.

“I’ve kind of scaled up in terms of the size of hotels I work at, but I’ve retained the quality and attention to detail.”

Solomon said he loved being a chef but missed interacting with hotel guests.

“I enjoy being around people and I enjoy interacting with people. When I got into leadership, I realized how much I enjoyed being the leader of a team. I enjoy interacting with my team members as much as I do my guests.

“And I love hotels. I love everything about them. It’s like an orchestra; how things smell, the volume of the music, the flowers. There’s so much thought that goes into every detail.

People don’t realize, but it’s incredibly creative. That’s what I really enjoy.”

So, I ask, are you one of those hotel GMs who walks through a lobby and moves a painting a quarter of an inch?

“Exactly,” he said with a laugh.

He can joke about it, but Solomon also knows he’s setting an example for staff.

“The best general managers, the best hotel managers, are always out on the floor spotting things with their own eyes.”

Solomon, who was born and raised in Cape Town, said his work has taken him all over the world, including Colorado (The Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa) and Ireland (Hayfield Manor). He has worked for companies such as One & Only and Westin, and spent five years at the Four Seasons Seychelles before taking over in Amman in early summer of this year.

“I live where other people go on holiday,” he said with a laugh. “Ski resorts, island resorts, city resorts, spa resorts.”

When he’s not moving hotel lobby flower arrangements or chatting with staff or guests, Solomon is busy with his wife and kids (an 11-year-old and two-year-old twins). He also loves golf and tennis.

“I also love history. We don’t have old castles in Cape Town.

When I first went overseas, I went to Ireland and I enjoyed seeing the old castles. That really enchanted me. I enjoy trying to imagine what it was like to live in those days.”

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Sustainability

BC’S FIRST CARBON-NEUTRAL HOTEL INN AT LAUREL POINT EARNS

BIOSPHERE CERTIFICATION The Victoria hotel has reached another milestone in its sustainable practices.

SUSTAINABILITY IS A KEY DRIVER AT INN AT LAUREL POINT. The Victoria hotel’s environmentally

responsible work has recently been recognized with a Biosphere Sustainable certification from the Responsible Tourism Institute—a credential for destinations and businesses which guarantees that the needs of travellers are met across environmental, economic, and socio-cultural arenas. The Responsible Tourism Institute’s ranking system also ensures that Biosphere Sustainable certification aligns with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Inn at Laurel Point, a B.C. carbon-neutral hotel since 2009, is now part of the global certification system that verifies an entity is fulfilling its commitments to sustainability.

Facilitating work-life balance and equal employment and collaborating with external entities, such as academic institutions to promote sustainability and sustainable development, are outlined by Biosphere Sustainable as examples of the hotel’s sustainability efforts.

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“We are true believers in regenerative travel, committed not only to minimizing our impact on the environment but to restoring balance for our climate,” notes Eda Koot, the general manager of Inn at Laurel Point. “To receive Biosphere certification and join entities around the world doing impactful work in sustainability is a huge achievement. We are honoured to be recognized for our sustainability efforts while we continue working towards Project 2030 and on our social corporate responsibility,” Koot adds.

Project 2030 is an ongoing plan for Inn at Laurel Point, in which the hotel aims to advance seven of the United Nations’ SDGs. Inn at Laurel Point aims to achieve its 2030 vision and work towards better corporate social responsibility with initiatives like installing more chargers for electric vehicles, a live carbon counter to track the progress, and commitments to partners that want to work with the hotel towards its goals.

Sustainability

In recent years, Inn at Laurel Point has introduced numerous initiatives to promote sustainability and minimize its carbon footprint, including: ●

Hydrothermal technology to cool rooms with ocean water and working to reduce waste diversion, currently at 79 per cent

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Becoming a BC green leader business

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Donating unused bath products to Soap for Hope, incorporating initiatives by environmental brand Diversey, and purchasing from local and regional producers and businesses

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Offsetting remaining carbon footprint through local investments in nature

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Becoming the first-ever hotel in North America to join The Climate Pledge and initiative, co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism

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Installing hives for 60,000 pollinator honey bees in its garden to promote pollination

In 2021, a report by the University of Sherbrooke Canada and Tourism Durable Quebec recognized Biosphere Sustainable as the best sustainability certification tool in the world.

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Sustainability

The Responsible Tourism Institute The Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI) is an international non-profit NGO, in the form of an association, which has promoted, for more than 20 years, responsible tourism at an international level, helping all the actors involved in the tourism sector develop a new way of travelling.

RTI collaborates with various associations of entrepreneurs in the tourism sector, as well as with organizations, governmental and non-governmental, for the realization of tourist activities and projects—located both in developed countries and in developing countries— where the initiatives are carried out consistent with the principles of sustainable development.

responsibletourisminstitute.com

The United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Sustainability

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Operations - Inspection

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Operations - Inspection

A WORKDAY IN THE LIFE OF AN UNDERCOVER UNDERCOVERCAA CAAHOTEL HOTELINSPECTOR INSPECTOR

By Jim Byers

AUDREY WHITEHEAD HAS PROBABLY SEEN CLOSE TO

place to hang your winter coat. That’s a bonus.”

50,000 HOTEL ROOMS IN HER

35 years as a Canadian Automobile Association inspector. She can analyze a Hilton in the time it takes a major league ballplayer to size up a 95-mph fastball.

I shouldn’t be surprised when she walks into a room at White Oaks Conference Resort and Spa in Niagara-on-the-Lake and immediately starts rattling off various elements.

“That’s a Five Diamond TV,” she says, looking at a television on the wall that’s only slightly smaller than your local NHL arena scoreboard. “There’s a conversation area with two chairs, which is nice if you want to chat or maybe have a glass of wine. There’s a good desk, a luggage bench and a

Whitehead looks over at the bed and spots several USB ports on the wall.

She notes some are the new Apple style, so it’s good for iPhone users.

She also notes there’s a microwave and a fridge and other amenities.

“See that ice bucket? It’s a nice, polished silver one. It’s not cheap plastic.”

She checks out a coffee machine to make sure workers have removed the old capsule. A small thing, but indicative of a good cleaning staff.

Whitehead walks over to the dresser and pops open a drawer.

“Good,” she says.

“No dirty underwear.”

And so, it goes. Fingers are run over the tops of painting frames on the wall. Cushions are raised to look for dust or little treasures left behind.

The height of a shower soap dish is carefully noted on her iPad. Whitehead (not her real name) is one of many hotel and restaurant inspectors employed by the CAA to help with their diamond rating system. The association prefers not to divulge the number of inspectors but says they have multiple white-glove testers in Canada. Their Canadian inspectors regularly do inspections in Mexico and the Caribbean, as well, which helps consumers decide where to take their winter holidays.

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establishments first must apply to be rated), so there’s a great deal of effort behind the ratings.

The CAA rates thousands of hotels and restaurants across the country.

Hotels are checked out every year, and restaurants every two years. The top places are given five diamonds, then four and three. They don’t provide one or two-diamond listings, but if a hotel meets minimum standards for things like cleanliness and guest facilities it will get an “approved” rating.

The guidelines are a full 43 pages long, and the detail is staggering.

For example, the guidelines state that minimum requirements include a “nightstand or equivalent by each bed, a chair, a waste container, drawers/shelving and clotheshanging.” Also required: “Two bath towels, two hand towels, two face cloths and two cups/glasses.” All approved hotels need to have smoke detectors, view holes in the doors and other features, Whitehead tells me.

It’s an important job that provides consumers with the confidence to book a place that could cost several days’ pay or even more.

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At the request of STAY magazine, they let a journalist tag along in June to see how their work is done.

We checked out several rooms and public areas in three hotels in Niagara-on-the-Lake, all in a couple of hours before lunch.

“Anyone can say they’re a fourstar property, but we do the work,” Whitehead told me at our first stop, the Holiday Inn Express. “When people look for hotels, there could be hundreds to choose from, but only a few have CAA approval.

“Our reputation is on the line, as well,” she notes. “I feel good about what we do. It means people know what they’re getting.”

The CAA says a hotel will fail inspection and can’t be listed as an approved place to stay if there are enough issues that need attention, such as housekeeping. Finding one leftover item in a hotel fridge would not be a major negative mark, but finding mildew in several would be a big problem.

Three Diamond hotels require “comprehensive amenities, style and comfort level.” A Four Diamond hotel needs to display “upscale style and amenities, enhanced with the right touch of service.” A rare

Five Diamond rating is available for properties that boast “world-class luxury, amenities and indulgence for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Whitehead says a hotel gets extra credit if there’s free parking. They also take points away if there’s a resort fee, or if there’s a charge for Wi-Fi. In addition to the rooms, inspectors look for peeling wallpaper in hallways, what type of gym equipment is on hand, and the quality of the deck chairs at hotel swimming pools.

The guidelines contain dozens and dozens of criteria about everything from curb appeal to bathroom vanity styles and elevators. For exterior visuals, does the hotel have enhanced roofs, or window treatments? Is the artwork on display “modest,” or will guests find limited edition prints, tapestries and sculptures? Are bed linens “smooth to the touch” (Three Diamond), “very soft to the touch and tightly woven” (Four Diamond) or do they have “a luxuriously soft, silk-like feel” (Five Diamond)?

Service also is key. Properties identified as potential candidates for the Four Diamond designation must employ competent, full-time personnel and systems to provide guests with a comprehensive level of hospitality. To be considered for Five

Operations - Inspection Diamond status a hotel must undergo multiple unannounced evaluations by an inspector and a final decision by a panel of experts. Properties that receive the Five Diamond designation are subject to “rigorous on-site assessments” of all guest service areas. Each section is assigned a point value based on the overall levels of competency, refinement and hospitality.

When she’s inspecting a place that might merit Five Diamond status, Whitehead will stay the night and call the front desk to request scissors or something else that a hotel should have on hand.

“I like to ask the concierge questions, too,” she says. “A really nice hotel will have a concierge who doesn’t just look things up on the web. They should know where to get the drinking glasses I like from the hotel restaurant.

“I remember asking a concierge once about a mosquito repellent product they had, and where I could buy it. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘Try Amazon.’”

Ouch.

Whitehead says she doesn’t particularly enjoy delivering bad news to a hotelier.

“But I don’t mind failing people for poor housekeeping. I don’t want my sticker on the door” of a hotel that’s not worthy.

Some hotel managers get angry if their rating doesn’t measure up to what they expect.

“But a good hotelier takes the criticism and uses it to make his or her hotel better.”

There are only four Five Diamond hotels in Canada (Fairmont Pacific Rim and Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver, Four Seasons Toronto and RitzCarlton Montreal), so it’s clear their CAA status was hard-earned. By contrast, Trip Advisor lists 46 Five Star hotels across the country.

The CAA also has an “Inspected Clean” program, which came about during the pandemic and is still part of their inspection. Whitehead and other inspectors carry a handy machine with them that detects bacteria in just a few seconds.

Whitehead said inspectors are charged with testing eight hightraffic areas in each room, including the inside door knob, the thermostat and the toilet handle. Whitehead also likes to swab the underside of the bathroom sink faucet as it’s something a cleaner might miss.

The CAA doesn’t inspect public areas such as the lobby as too many people come and go.

The hotel needs to pass six of the eight tests to get an Inspected Clean approval and get a special sticker for the front window.

“We are not trying to hold them to the standards of a hospital or food manufacturing facility,” says CAA spokesperson Kristine D’Arbelles.

“Therefore, hotels need to pass six swabs of the high touch areas in the guest rooms and guest bathrooms.

If they do so while also passing

their traditional physical cleanliness inspection, they are then considered “inspected clean” and receive the sticker.

At the Holiday Inn Express, Whitehead walks in and advises her visitor not to touch anything. She does her swabs, including the tricky bathroom tap, and all results are negative for enemy bacteria.

Whitehead turns to a hotel worker who’s along to open hotel room doors and learn about the inspection.

“You’ve passed,” she says.

The hotel worker is delighted and claps her hands.

“Yay!” “The machines definitely work,” Whitehead says with a chuckle. “I tried a swab on my thermostat at home and the (bacteria) readings were off the charts.”

Hotels know they’ll be inspected at some point, but CAA workers don’t announce their appointment schedule, so the actual day is always a surprise.

At the White Oaks Conference Resort and Spa, Whitehead opens a closet and sees a small safe. She gives it a rattle with her hand.

“This one’s bolted down,” she says.

“You’d be surprised, but that’s not always the case.”

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Operations - Inspection Whitehead scurries off to check something else.

In all, Whitehead tries to scout out three rooms in every property she inspects. Multiply that by maybe 600 hotels in a year and three-and-a-half decades of experience, and you’re looking at someone who doesn’t take long to form an impression.

When I accompany her, she approaches the front desk of the Holiday Inn Express Niagara Falls and asks to speak to a manager.

They’re tied up for a few minutes, but Whitehead waits patiently.

“We usually give them 20 minutes,” she says. If someone took too long, it could be that they’re sending a cleaning crew to a designated room before an inspector can arrive, and that’s not what they want.

So, I ask her while we wait for the manager, how exactly does one end up with a job searching for hotel dust bunnies in Montague or Mazatlán.

“My Dad answered an ad in the Globe and Mail in Vancouver many years ago,” Whitehead tells me. “I had worked for a tour company and as a travel agent, but he thought this would be more of a steady job.”

Thirty-five years later, it would seem her father knew what he was talking about.

Whitehead mostly works in Ontario but also handles Prince Edward Island and parts of Mexico regularly.

It’s a lot of work. Inspectors are on the road pretty much five days a week.

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“Home is anywhere I stay for more than two nights,” Whitehead says with a laugh.

Whitehead says CAA inspectors have to be fair about minor issues. At another spot in Niagara-on-the-Lake, I spot what looks like a bit of spilled coffee on a white closet door. She shakes her head and says it’s not a big deal.

“It’s not like it’s dripping grease or something like that. We want to be lenient but we have to put our members first,” Whitehead explains.

“Prices are higher (in today’s market) and people are paying more for hotels, so we want to give them the best information we can.”

The CAA also offers post-inspection reports to hotels so they can try to improve their score.

We finish our Niagara-on-the-Lake inspections, and Whitehead beetles out of the hotel in search of more USB ports, hidden bacteria, and crooked room mirrors.

After all, diamonds are not forever.

Operations - Inspection

Ratings for restaurants (INCLUDING THOSE WITHIN HOTELS AND RESORTS)

CAA restaurant inspectors are supposed to try an appetizer, a main and a dessert. This is a challenge for Whitehead, who doesn’t have a sweet tooth.

In addition to rating hotels every year, CAA inspectors are charged with rating restaurants.

“But I try something most of the time.

Sometimes it’s an eight-course menu and you have to try everything.”

It’s not a real test, but Whitehead invites me to lunch at the White Oaks’ Play Bar and Grill to see how things are done. She quickly notes the décor and the table setting.

The new CAA Diamond restaurant list is more curated than it used to be.

“It’s quality glassware. They also asked what table we wanted.”

Looking at the menu, Whitehead notices a nice variety of mains, including salads, soups and vegan options. She also notes there’s a good wine list, an important feature in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The CAA website for restaurants states that food and service make up 85 per cent of a dining score, while the “vibe” accounts for 15 per cent.

But that doesn’t mean Audrey Whitehead or her fellow inspectors are Julia Child wannabes.

“We’re not food critics,” she explains.

“We don’t get into what kind of sauces they use or how it’s prepared.”

Room & Terrace in the Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa in Ontario, and Restaurant Laurie Raphaël and Restaurant Tanière in Quebec City. There are more than five dozen dining spots rated Four Diamond.

“We don’t go to chains. People know those places. We do a mix of restaurants. We like diners. We like delis. We want people to go to those kinds of places.”

The CAA restaurant rating site states that an approved establishment is “noteworthy by meeting the industry-leading standards of AAA inspections.” For Three Diamond status, the restaurant needs to show“ trendy food skillfully presented in a remarkable setting.” To achieve a Four Diamond rating, it must show “distinctive fine dining, well-served amid (an) upscale ambience.” For a rare Five Diamond award, the restaurant should display “leadingedge cuisine, ingredients and preparation with extraordinary service and surroundings.”

The soup of the day is ordered from a friendly server at Play.

The 26-page restaurant inspection site goes over details for everything from ingredients to the initial greeting of customers to tabletop covers to how a server presents the cheque.

“It looks homemade,” Whitehead tells me. “It’s a nice bowl. Good presentation. And you can tell the salads aren’t out of a bag. There’s a nice variety of ingredients.”

The CAA website lists only four Five Diamond restaurants in Canada, two of which are located in hotels; Eden at The Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Langdon Hall Dining

A Canadian Automobile Association Inspected Clean sticker.

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DIVERSIFICATION TO EVENTUALLY DECOUPLE OIL PRICES AND HOTEL PERFORMANCE IN OIL MARKETS Less volatile hotel performance likely will present an upside in hotel values Laura Baxter Director of hospitality analytics Canada CoStar Group

Colin P. Sherman Director of hospitality market analytics, Texas & Tennessee CoStar Group

ENERGY PRICES HAVE LONG BEEN A LEADING INDICATOR OF HOTEL PERFORMANCE IN MAJOR OIL MARKETS IN NORTH AMERICA. During an oil boom,

prices go up, and more production follows. This reverberates through the economy, from elevated corporate hotel demand to more large industry conferences, and positively impacts the local finance and real estate sectors.

The severe impact that the 2014 oil price crash had on all aspects of the economy, including hotel performance, made it painfully obvious that diversification was needed.

Although momentum is accelerating to de-risk oil-dependent economies, a firm relationship exists between oil prices and hotel performance in markets such as Houston and Calgary.

Therefore, the steady short and medium-term outlook for the sector should support growth in the hotel sector.

The longer-term relationship is less straightforward.

Economies closely tied to the oil and gas sector are focused on diversifying to become less reliant on oil. This is most urgent in Calgary, with the primary and utilities sector contributing 25 per cent to local GDP. Meanwhile, the contribution in Houston is lower at 10 per cent, with the wholesale and retail sector being used as a lever to differentiate.

As the process continues, there will be an inflection point at which the relationship between the price of oil and revenue per available room, or RevPAR, weakens in each city.

Thankfully, a more diverse economy should also lead to less volatility in the economy overall and, ultimately, hotel performance.

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There are reasons to believe that hotel performance and oil prices are already starting to decouple. When examining economic data for Houston and Calgary, there are clear signs of diversification. According to Oxford Economics, both cities have GDP projections through 2027 that exceed the national average. Notably, there is no GDP contraction in the forecast for each city, and both are expected to be the fastest-growing metros in their respective countries. Growth is not only expected to be driven by the relatively strong medium-term outlook for the energy sector but in other sectors, too, such as professional and business services.

De-risking the city’s economies is also expected to be supported by growth in sectors that benefit from population growth, such as retail and government. Both Houston and Calgary have benefitted from strong in-migration spurred by highly ranked post-secondary education offerings, job growth and relative housing affordability compared to other major urban centres. The fast-growing, young, and educated populations will also serve as a strong foundation for further diversification.

The changes taking place from an economic perspective will trickle through to the hotel sector. In each city, there are also market-specific reasons that hotel performance is starting to decouple from the outlook in the oil sector.

Houston’s strong economic base in energy has provided a foundation for growth in other industry sectors, such as healthcare, and aerospace, while maintaining its reputation as a major business hub. All sectors have helped the city’s hotels to exceed pre-pandemic norms, lifting RevPAR by 5 per cent.

Across the city’s different regions, the strongest performance has been outside of Houston’s “energy corridor," where the

Intelligence

highest concentration of oil and gas businesses are located.

Houston’s central business district (CBD), Galleria/Greenway Plaza, and medical centre boast the fastest improvement in performance indicators and strength in these areas is driven by other parts of its economy. Hotels in Houston’s (CBD) are benefitting from its centralized location and the area’s recent uptick in hosting conferences. The medical centre area of the city is also benefitting from a combination of leisure and growing medical and business travel. Meanwhile, the Galleria area has seen an influx of new businesses and international tourists drawn to its upscale retail and entertainment offerings.

and WestJet have committed to making the airport a major hub and introducing more international routes.

The economy in both cities is still broadly dependent on the energy sector. However, the current trajectory of change is a positive one and is showing up in economic data. This will ultimately lead to less of a correlation between oil prices and hotel performance. As the momentum continues toward diversification, there will be less economic volatility and ultimately present upside opportunities in hotel performance and values.

Calgary has had an even stronger rebound from the pandemic, with RevPAR up 30 per cent ahead of prepandemic levels. Like Houston, in the different areas of the city, hotels that are not reliant on demand generated from the energy sector are outperforming those that are, such as hotels downtown, by 10 percentage points. Notably, success at the airport has been driven by strong leisure demand as it serves as a jumping-off point for travel to the Rocky Mountains.

Growth is expected to continue as the Alberta government

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May We Recommend

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May We Recommend

#WCLC2023 TRADE SHOW PRODUCTS & SERVICES

FAIRMAS Fairmas Canada, a subsidiary of Fairmas GmbH, headquartered in Berlin, develops financial planning, controlling and management reporting solutions specifically for the hotel industry. Fairmas’ cloud-based BI solutions are easily incorporated into the hotel's existing IT software environment and efficiently integrate with other third-party systems, including major property management systems (PMS), accounting systems, revenue management systems, and more. Fairmas also provides data management for hotel assets to standardize and automate the entire portfolio performance reporting.

CONTACT: alexander.engels@fairmas.com

fairmas.com

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CANADA, INC.

NESPRESSO

Samsung’s display technologies provide hotel guests with a modern, integrated, and engaging experience. Since the pandemic, hotels are offering a variety of promotions such as staying more than 24 hours or daytime bookings to enable WFH. Visitors expect a personalized, diverse, and satisfactory experience throughout their stay. Samsung hospitality solutions are designed for guest comfort and hotel staff efficiency.

The Nespresso Professional range of machines includes a variety of options allowing your guests to indulge in worldclass coffee experiences even outside their hotel room.

Whether it be in the lobby, in a conference room or at the hotel restaurant, offer them convenient, consistent high quality coffee wherever they go.

CONTACT: s.dalzotto@samsung.com

CONTACT: emmanuelle.crete@nespresso.com

samsung.com/ca/business/displaysolutions/hospitality

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May We Recommend

ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions

AVENDRA

Providing hotels with advanced electronic locking solutions and a range of tailored services for guest convenience and peace of mind. From spearheading the latest advancements in contactless digital key functionality to pushing the limits on Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and cloud-based innovation, ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions is committed to remaining at the forefront of innovation to fully serve the hotel security needs of both today and tomorrow.

Avendra takes the time to learn about the nuances of your business goals, corporate brand strategy, purchasing practices and procurement needs and then tailor a supply chain management solution to meet your requirements— delivering great savings, as well as other benefits. Avendra successfully serves hundreds of properties across Canada with tailored solutions to fit every brand; from unique boutique and long-term living to the industry’s leading hotel chains.

CONTACT: riise.walker@assaabloy.com

CONTACT: Afsar.Khan@avendra.com

assaabloyglobalsolutions.com/en/ hospitality-solutions

avendra.com

MTY FRANCHISING INC.

GORDON R. WILLIAMS CORP

Founded in 1979 by Stanley Ma who opened his first restaurant in Montreal: “Le Paradis du Pacifique,” a fullservice restaurant offering Chinese and Polynesian cuisine.

MTY Group would then go on to innovate in quick-service restaurants and brands for the decades that followed. Today, MTY Food Group is one of the largest franchisors in North America’s restaurant industry.

Gordon R. Williams Corporation offers cost-effective specialized HVAC solutions for both retrofit and new construction, with an extensive range of new and replacement HVAC products available for commercial, institutional and industrial buildings. Not just equipment, Gordon R. Williams Corp. provides total project management and turnkey solutions, no matter how complex your requirements are, including project coordination, startup analysis as well as service and maintenance plans.

CONTACT: myriam@mtygroup.com

mtygroup.com

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CONTACT: gordon@williamshvac.com

williamshvac.com

May We Recommend

WESTERN FINANCIAL GROUP

PROCTER & GAMBLE PROFESSIONAL

Western Financial Group is a diversified insurance services company that is focused on creating security and has provided over one million Canadians with the right protection for more than 100 years. Headquartered in High River, Alta., Western provides personal and business insurance through 179 locations, its affiliates and a variety of connected channels, with a team of approximately 1,800 people.

Elevating guest satisfaction with hospitality cleaning solutions for laundry, housekeeping, foodservice, floor care, hand hygiene, and air care—P&G Professional helps you keep every area of your property sparkling clean, fresh smelling and comfortable, so your guests feel right at home.

With service and training programs available, at P&G Professional, we aim to make your cleaning program easy to learn and easy to use.

CONTACT: drew.woytko@westernfgis.ca

CONTACT: isackson.c@pg.com

westernfinancialgroup.ca

pgpro.ca/solutions/for-hospitality

NERVAL CORP

CETIS, INC.

Nerval Corporation is a provider of hotel and building products and services to individuals and organizations across Canada and the U.S. Nerval’s commitment is to deliver high quality products at truly affordable prices by purchasing large volumes of raw materials and finished products and passing the savings on to clients. Nerval’s expertise lies in sourcing, manufacturing, quality control, logistics, and project delivery. Visit Nerval’s 100,000-squarefoot facility in Sherwood Park, Alta.

The Cetis advantage means one source for all your telephony needs. With three globally recognized and trusted brands, Cetis offers a broad range of high-quality telephony products, backed by a global sales, service, and distribution network. For customers throughout the hospitality industry, large enterprise, the Fortune 500, healthcare, and government, Cetis offers innovative telephony solutions designed and engineered to meet requirements and exceed expectations.

CONTACT: jessy@nervalcorp.com

CONTACT: akalhoefer@cetis.com

nervalcorp.com

cetisgroup.com

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DORMAKABA

AMANA-PTAC HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING

Dorma and Kaba are now dormakaba—offering products, solutions and services for secure access to buildings and rooms, now all from a single source. With more than 150 years of experience, Dormakaba stands for security, sustainability and reliability. There for you through every development phase of your building project, enabling the best solutions for your requirements; Dormakaba provides smart, secure access solutions—everything related to doors and secure access to buildings and rooms.

The Amana name itself has long been a revered symbol of American ingenuity. It all began in 1934, when George Foerstner founded Amana Refrigerator Inc. in Amana, Iowa, and accepted a challenge from an Iowa City businessman to build a dependable beverage cooler. Two years later, the company introduced another innovative product—the walkin beverage cooler, also known as a cold storage locker. The company became an American institution in the design and manufacture of a wide array of innovative commercial and residential appliances. Today the Amana packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC) is found in thousands of hotels and institutions in the U.S. and around the world.

CONTACT: crystal.adams@dormakaba.com

CONTACT: linda.rodriguez@quietflex.com

dormakaba.com

amana-ptac.com

BAYCON

BWH

BAYCON is a construction solutions company specializing in multi-residential, condominium, long term care, and hotel design/build, project and construction management across Canada. We are owner-operated and offer a personalized, specialized service that is result-driven with over decades of experience. Call us today to discuss your needs.

4,200 hotels in 100+ countries: Best Western is so much more than a hotel franchise. It's a group of member hotel owners who are committed to providing the best possible hospitality experience to every guest. If you're interested in building a new hotel or converting an existing one, talk to our hotel development team.

CONTACT: sabrina@baycon.ca

CONTACT: geoffrey.beckett@bwhhotelgroup.com

baycon.ca

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May We Recommend

ECOLAB

GENUINE COMFORT

Ecolab’s hospitality solutions include Automation Data and Digital, Dishwashing, Employee and Guest Safety Supplies, Food Preparation Supplies, Food Preparation Tools and Supplies, Hotel Cleaning, HVAC Performance Services, Laundry, Pest Management, Pool and Spa, Quality Assurance Programs, Restaurant Care and Kitchen Cleaning, Water and Process Treatment Equipment, Water Quality Management, Water Safety, Water Treatment, and Water Treatment Construction Specifications.

Genuine Comfort was founded in 2010 and has evolved to become a room air conditioning equipment distributor to the multi-family residential (apartment and senior living communities) and hospitality markets (hotels) across Canada & Mid-North U.S. In October 2020, Genuine Comfort grew with the acquisition of NRG Equipment Inc. and the Perfect Comfort brand.

CONTACT: nicole.randazzo@ecolab.com

CONTACT: brittney@genuinecomfort.com

en-ca.ecolab.com

genuinecomfort.com

BURNWEST

MEIZAI MANUFACTURING

The 1.95-acre Greystone hotel site is situated just south of downtown Cochrane and is an integral part of the new 140-acre master-planned community of Greystone, currently under development. The hotel site is adjacent to the fully operational 325,000 square foot Spray Lakes Sawmills Family Sports Centre, home to three hockey rinks, six curling rinks, a running track, fitness facility, aquatics centre, basketball courts, field hockey, etc). The location presents a significant opportunity to drive customers from sporting and cultural events as hotel guests.

Meizai Canada creates custom furniture, millwork and decor for hospitality projects around the world including Victoria, B.C.’s Fairmont Express. Based on Vancouver Island, the Canadian branch specializes in building materials as well as furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) for both interior and exterior, such as flooring, kitchens and vanities, millwork, doors, wall cladding, bespoke furniture, lighting, art, and accessories.

CONTACT: guy.desmarais@burnswest.com

CONTACT: dov@meizaicanada.com

liveatgreystone.com/hotel

meizaicanada.com

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SPONSORED CONTENT

AS PART OF OUR ONGOING COMMITMENT TO BUILDING EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCES, BAYCON

is delighted to announce that we have been awarded a unique signature hotel project, Hotel Vie, a five-star boutique hotel located in the heart of Vaughan, Ontario, scheduled to open its doors in early 2026.

This luxury twelve-storey 320,000 square foot hotel was designed by MATAJ Architects, featuring 254 top-ofthe-line, masterfully crafted suites, 86 luxury executive offices, two levels of underground parking and a list of five-star amenities including a wine club, luxury restaurants and a spa to serve every need.

Hotel Vie will be recognized as the epicentre of extraordinary entertainment and ambiance with a combination of amenities and venues unmatched throughout the GTA. Our experience building many branded and specialty hotels is enriching BAYCON to be one of the leading construction management companies in Canada.

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Innsights

#WCLC2023 November 1st & 2nd, 2023 Hyatt Regency, Vancouver

WCLC is Western Canada's premium hotel investment conference of the year. Focused on the hotel and resort sectors within Canada’s Western provinces, WCLC offers attendees a fulsome economic and lodging overview, and insightful dialogue amongst industry leaders on the investment market, development and operational best practices, deal structuring, and which markets and asset types have the most potential.

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Innsights

#WCLC2023 PROGRAM AT A GLANCE *Note: All times Pacific Standard Time (PST)

Wednesday, November 1, 2023 Opening Reception: 17:30 - 20:00, Plaza Ballroom

Thursday, November 2, 2023 Networking Breakfast and Tradeshow: 07:30 - 09:00, Regency Foyer Opening Remarks: 09:00 - 09:15, Regency Ballroom Plenary Session #1: 09:15 - 10:15, Regency Ballroom DISSECTING TODAY’S ECONOMIC AND HOTEL DATA – YOUR DIRECT DRIVE DOSSIER Get the sweeping data download, including a comprehensive overview of the Western Canadian economy – its strengths and causes for concern and a detailed checkup on the hotel markets’ performance. Will leisure travel remain strong? Is there a willingness for corporate to come back fully? Also, what are driving the major deals to get done and what’s attractive and motivating sellers and buyers in this environment?

Plenary Session #2: 10:15 - 11:00, Regency Ballroom MANAGING THE NEAR IMPOSSIBLE - DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATING COST MANAGEMENT First, you couldn’t get the product in time, now they cost way more than expected. Construction materials, food costs and labour are ramping up. How and when do you readjust development costs (aka inject more equity) and deal with diminishing returns? Listen to experts from multiple perspectives provide their insight and experience for implementing development and operational best practices in today’s environment.

Networking Coffee Break and Tradeshow: 11:00 - 11:30, Regency Foyer Plenary Session #3: 11:30 - 12:15, Regency Ballroom CAPITAL IDEA - HOW TO CREATE AND MAINTAIN FINANCIAL STRENGTH IN UNSTABLE TIMES You need a durable hotel or resort in a strong and growing market. Equally important is the deal structure. You have your debt lined up but not all the equity, or your investors are “in”, but debt costs are 50% higher than a year ago. And now to be competitive, you must renovate, maybe even rebrand. Hear what it takes to pull a deal together in today’s capital-constrained markets.

Networking Lunch and Tradeshow: 12:15 - 13:30, Regency Foyer Update from the Hotel Association of Canada: 13:30 - 14:00, Regency Ballroom

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Innsights

Thursday, November 2, 2023 continued Plenary Session #4: 14:00 - 14:45, Regency Ballroom ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - IT WAS ME, OR WAS IT? We are using it enthusiastically, even before we fully understand its power and potential. Well, that may sound a bit ominous, but it isn’t meant to. Remarkably, industrial applications are leading this nascent period of AI adoption, and this asks the question—how are hotels successfully using AI in their business and operations? This session will tell you what you need to know.

Networking Coffee Break and Tradeshow: 14:45 - 15:15, Regency Foyer Plenary Session #5: 15:15 - 16:00, Regency Ballroom EXPANDING YOUR PORTFOLIO GROWING IN LARGE AND SMALL WESTERN CANADIAN MARKETS Opportunity rarely sleeps, it may doze every now and then but it’s always out there. And the ongoing “Do we acquire versus develop” discussion is as rampant as ever. Find out which markets and hotel asset types have the greatest chance of success today and down the road.

Keynote Speaker: 16:00 - 16:45, Regency Ballroom Final Remarks: 16:45 - 17:00, Regency Ballroom

cdnlodgingconference.ca

Park Hyatt Toronto, Canada

Our Promise to Developers: When you choose to work with Hyatt, you get more than just a development partner. You get an individualized growth strategy, a global business network, 60+ years of experience and high

Hyatt Centric Ville-Marie Montréal Quebec, Canada

value guests to fuel your vision. hyatt.com/development

The Walper Hotel, Kitchener, Canada | JdV by Hyatt

Spirit Ridge, Osoyoos, Canada The Unbound Collection by Hyatt

Architecture

Join the Hotel Equities legacy and allow us to elevate your hotel management experience.

Canadian Portfolio Performace:

OCC: 104%

ADR: 106%

RevPAR: 109%

Contact Us: development@hotelequities.com

hotelequities.ca

Architecture

architects— Alliance (a—A) The art of building Canadian hotels (+ cities)

By Caeli Mazara

“Architecture is a record of where a city and a culture [is] at a particular time … The exceptions in the urban framework articulate the city.” — Peter Clewes, Canadian architect and principal at a—A on the role of architecture in the city A VISITOR ARRIVES IN A STRANGE CITY AND TAKES IN THE SKYLINE, a series of disparate forms amidst the thrumming energy of

people and vehicles. The city’s shape in her memory will be locked in its current iteration. The architecture around her appears to be static, the flow of building and rebuilding paused. In reality, it is anything but— over the course of years, the skyline changes, growing in slow motion in comparison to the headlong pace of its inhabitants. She returns at night to her hotel. This building will inform the core of her trip, the place she returns to each day, the base of operations for her travels. Here, she unwinds her experiences, gathering the sights, sounds, and tastes of the city into memory.

Often a city’s hotels are some of the most intrinsic shapes in its skyline.

They are integrated into the landscape beside office towers, parks, churches, and museums. In so many cases, the (re)imagining and building of a hotel involves requisite historical context coupled with a deep understanding of contemporary needs: those of the hotelier and the visitor.

One of the most fascinating elements of the Canadian hotel sector is the very act of building the structures around which the hospitality industry revolves. From concept to design to coordination to consultation to construction, architects are the master planners without whom the hotel industry would disintegrate. architects–Alliance is a name you will find yourself bumping into while researching architecture and hotels today. The firm is based in Toronto, the very city it has helped to shape over the past 25 years. However, the professionals at a—A have an impressive and diverse portfolio stretched across the country that includes the Chateau Laurier addition, the former Thompson Hotel & Residences (now 1 Hotel and Residences), and the Fall 2023 |

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Architecture Four Seasons Hotel & Residences, as well as expansions and renovations to the Hotel Vancouver, W Hotel Toronto Toronto’s Sheraton Centre and Sheraton Airport Hotel.

street to a transparent rooftop pavilion that leads to the bar. It's like an art installation, and creates a unique sense of place for the hotel on Bloor Street.

The firm describes itself as a design practice of lowercase and uppercase architecture: thus a—A. To learn more about these two distinct but complementary classifications of architecture— where the lowercase ends and the uppercase begins—STAY Magazine spoke to senior associates Rob Cadeau and Blair Robinson, and a—A’s business development director, Mary McIntyre.

“There was an internal courtyard embedded in the core of the building, a feature that hadn’t been capitalized on, aesthetically or functionally. Now…you leave behind the noise and activity of Bloor and Yonge and enter this new glass-enclosed sky lobby. It gives checking-in a sense of serenity and significance.”

“What's important in the design of a hotel and the concept of a hotel,” says Cadeau, “is [building spaces] that create a sense of place specificity and a sense of event.”

Cadeau explains that, for any hotel project, it is incumbent on the architect to familiarize themselves with the hotel’s brand, which is expressed explicitly in the interiors and programming and more generally in the architecture. Some brands have a very young feel to them, which lends itself to a very contemporary, modern style of architecture. “Then again, we also work on projects such as the Chateau Laurier or Hotel Vancouver, which are national icons, part of Canada’s cultural heritage.”

In the latter case, Cadeau says there’s a very delicate balance between serving the operator’s brand and respecting the significance of the existing building; adding onto it in a way that refreshes the image of the building and its facilities, while preserving its heritage and legacy. All of these considerations— the building’s history and a hotelier's ambitions—must receive equal attention.

“The W Hotel is integrated into the Hudson’s Bay facade,” says Cadeau. “For a long time, it looked quite dated. The project was an opportunity to refresh the public identity of the property. From the initial brief to renovate the existing Marriott hotel, it evolved into a complete gut of the interior and reimagining of the exterior as well.

“We saw the roof as an opportunity to create a new terrace and bar. It offered a new vantage point overlooking the intersection of Bloor and Yonge, which is the heart of the city. To emphasize this aspect, we developed the idea of an external elevator that lets you see and be seen from the street. The shaft is cloaked in frosted glass and the elevator cab is in a bright red-orange cladding. At night, you see this glowing element rising from the 44

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Robinson adds another example: the renovations to the brutalist/modernist Sheraton Hotel Toronto, another iconic build in the cityline located directly across from City Hall.

“That was a very interesting project,” he says. “It opened in 1972, but over the years had had various renovations that didn't necessarily respect the original architecture. When we were brought in to work on that, we wanted to return to and respect the original modernist design by John Parkin—one of the few Parkin buildings that remain in the city.”

To do this while creating a structure that fit the hotel branding, met the city’s needs, and checked the boxes when it came to planning and zoning, meant navigating through design teams, engineers, city officials, and at the time, pandemic restrictions and closures.

But, points out McIntyre, this is par for the course when it comes to architecture.

“As someone who isn't an architect, but who works with architects, I never cease to be amazed by the way that they look at a project,” she says. “They examine it from the client's strategic perspective and business model. They look at municipal concerns regarding planning and infrastructure. They ask: What does this building contribute to a city? What does this building mean as an object in an urban environment? They have to think about it culturally, sociologically, historically. Architecture is not like any other profession. It's not like engineering. It's not like interior design. It's not like landscaping. But it interfaces with all these genres of design.”

With these words, McIntyre seems to pinpoint what a—A means by “lowercase and uppercase” architecture. When it comes to building hotels, the lowercase carries as much weight as the uppercase; bathroom tiles matter as much as the pure form of the building on a skyline.

Architecture

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Architecture “Our practice spans quite a broad scale,” agrees Cadeau. “It does span from the master planning to the interiors, but at the core are those values that we hold very dearly as a designdriven practice.”

“The hotel is where you go when you visit a place you've never been before,” says McIntyre. “Often, you'll identify your experience of the city by the place you stayed. We're very conscious of that.” a–A as a firm is intimately engaged in the project of the city and in exploring nuanced ways of defining and redefining it; articulating and advancing its development through thoughtful responses to today and tomorrow’s urban questions, big and small.

Whether working in a major metropolitan centre, or across the country and other geographic borders, a—A project team members are oriented towards a careful and rigorous interrogation of built form.

Blair Robinson and Rob Cadeau

“THE MOTHER ART IS ARCHITECTURE. WITHOUT AN ARCHITECTURE OF OUR OWN WE HAVE NO SOUL OF OUR OWN CIVILIZATION.” – FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

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Architects and designers at a—A ask how they might take a simple geometric form and give it a sense of material presence specific to its location. They research, experiment, and look for inventive ways to address the relationship of the building to the street, and public space and find character in form and materials.

With attention to context and community, use and user, their work aims to strengthen the bridge between people and place. a—A continues to create new and interesting spaces in the Canadian hotel-scape. Their catalogue of projects has grown steadily, and with each build, they leave new shapes on the everadapting skylines of our cities and our history.

Architecture

Human Trafficking

HUMAN TRAFFICKING & THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM PART TWO in our series

By Stacey Newman

This is the second instalment in our STAY Magazine series on human trafficking. This segment is focused on Canadian hoteliers and hotel employees and why they feel it is imperative to remain vigilant, outspoken and educated about this criminal activity that too often takes place in or around hospitality businesses.

IRWIN PRINCE STOOD ON STAGE AT THE CANADIAN HOTEL INVESTMENT CONFERENCE (CHIC) EARLIER THIS YEAR and he used the time allotted to him, during which he might have talked about his business interests, to instead discuss human trafficking. As a media professional, this stood out to me.

I subsequently spoke with Prince, president and chief operating officer at Realstar Hospitality—the master franchisor of Days Inn, Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in Canada—about his advocacy and work to prevent human trafficking and advice for other Canadian hoteliers.

When Prince greeted me on the phone, he prefaced his responses to my interview questions with the following: “I don't profess to be an expert in this area. I’m just passionately engaged and involved and think that hospitality has a role to play in eliminating human trafficking from at least the rooms that we have control over. So, there are probably people that are more qualified to talk to you,” he suggested.

I have great respect for his concern and I understand he is not an expert. I assured him that we are connected with experts on this topic in Canada, and some of the recent data follow this series of interviews. Where I’d argue Prince is an expert—it’s in the business of hotels. That he felt there was no better opportunity—than a room filled with Canadian hotel industry leaders—to address this elephant in the room speaks to his principles and leadership, and his humanity.

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Human Trafficking Prince explains that talking about something as heavy and important as human trafficking isn’t actually dissimilar to discussing a problem like bedbugs. When he is talking at a conference like CHIC about a very uncomfortable topic (maybe it’s first thing in the morning and it’s a topic that's unpleasant to acknowledge), analogizing it can be helpful and engage the audience around building awareness.

So, he tells me about bedbugs. “Nobody wants to admit they have bedbugs, but bedbugs happen and it doesn’t matter if it is a six-star hotel or a one-star hotel, they come in uninvited on somebody's luggage,” says Prince. “Of course, nobody wants to talk about it or admit that this happens in their hotel, it's all very quiet and hushed. You call an expert company to come in and take care of it and you hope that guests don’t see it and the problem goes away.”

Bedbugs are an elephant in the room that we can handle without drawing too much attention in the industry. But, according to Prince, human trafficking demands that we not only draw it into the light by acknowledging it happens but that we openly take responsibility for preventing it in the industry.

He believes that we should not shy away from talking about it and that we have to share resources and information, as well as training hotel employees on what to do. “It's not rocket science, it takes time, attention and consistent awareness. We aggressively rolled out a program for all of our associates in every Days Inn, Motel 6 and Studio 6 across the country,” explains Prince.

He wants everyone in the industry to be able to openly talk about difficult subjects like human trafficking. Human trafficking can happen anywhere, in any kind of hotel, too. And it does. And so Prince has taken the opportunity to raise this important topic at industry events over the past several years.

According to a report from the U.S.-based Polaris, 75 per cent of U.S.-based human trafficking survivors report having some contact with a hotel or motel during their trafficking experience.

This number stresses the fact that the hospitality industry, which includes hotels and motels, but also businesses like casinos, amusement parks, cruises and other tourism-related events, is a known sector for both sex and labour trafficking activity.

Prince says his awareness of human trafficking has grown over many years, as has his knowledge about ways that

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franchisees can play a role in proactively addressing this issue, contributing to its prevention.

“The telltale signs are different for folks that work at the front desk than they are for folks that work cleaning rooms. And it's just a little bit of education. We partnered with a Seattle-based organization called BEST, which stands for Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking,” says Prince.

BEST helps organizations through employee training, consulting, and survivor empowerment. Prince says he met the folks at BEST at a conference where he sat in on a training session. He thought they had a very straightforward, easy-to-understand message that Realstar could use.

Realstar team members took the BEST training, and then translated English educational materials into French as well, and distributed the information to hotel employees across its network. “You need to know what to look for. You need to know what to do if human trafficking is suspected, it's such an ugly crime and we know that it happens more in urban centres than in secondary markets. But it's not just sex trafficking, it's also labour trafficking that happens in certain markets,” says Prince.

He wants hotel employees to understand what to be on the lookout for—“tells” that could suggest a problem. And then, he says, in the training they work on really belabouring the point.

Prince hopes that the three minutes he uses to talk about human trafficking at industry conferences such as CHIC and the Western Canada Lodging Conference (WCLC) results in reaching three or four more people each time—decision-makers who will take that message back to their hotel partners, asset managers and hotel managers and they will then educate every associate at every hotel they are associated with. "We are in the hospitality business. If you see something that doesn't look quite right that you suspect may not be what it presents itself to be, there are things that you can do, people you should report it to, and steps to take. Building strong relationships with local police departments and having an officer to call when you've got a question or concern goes a long way,” says Prince. He would much rather make a difference, he concludes, than hope or pretend that human trafficking doesn't happen in or around our industry.

If you think someone is a victim of human trafficking, call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline 1-833-900-1010, 9-1-1, or your local police.

Human Trafficking HUMAN TRAFFICKING REMAINS A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE IN CANADA, NEW DATA REVEAL. According to the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking (CCTEHT), the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline has identified 1,500 human trafficking cases since its launch in May 2019. Newly released data show that the number of cases has fluctuated between 251 and 460 cases per year. During this time, the Hotline supported 2,170 victims and survivors of human trafficking. Victims/survivors comprised the primary group of callers—approximately 37 per cent—reaching out to the hotline’s person-centred, confidential service.

While human trafficking happens everywhere in Canada, most trafficking situations disclosed to the hotline occurred in large urban centres with populations over 100,000 people.

Approximately 13 per cent of reported trafficking cases occurred in municipalities with smaller populations. The majority of trafficking incidents disclosed to the Hotline took place in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec.

Other findings include: •

The hotline received a total of 12,706 calls and identified 1,500 human trafficking cases between 2019-2022. Call volume has steadily increased year over year.

•

Hotline staff provided over 1,400 program and service referrals related to a trafficking case.

•

Shelter/housing support was in greatest demand among human trafficking victims and survivors who contacted the Hotline. Case management and supportive counselling were also highly requested in human trafficking situations.

•

Sex and labour trafficking were the most common forms of human trafficking in Canada (1,029 cases of sex trafficking and 88 cases of labour trafficking were disclosed). Labour trafficking is likely under-reported in Canada.

funding of critical services such as housing—combined with the pressures that Covid-19 placed on Canada’s social safety net—have left service providers struggling to support our country’s at-risk and marginalized populations. What’s more, survivors in rural, northern and remote regions often do not have equal access to services that are vital to their recovery.

Additional federal, provincial and municipal investments are desperately needed.

“While only a subset of all human trafficking cases in Canada was captured in our data, we are seeing clear trends occurring across the country,” said Julia Drydyk, executive director, the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking. “For example, existing services are not enough to help those who come forward and exit their trafficking situation. Healing from trafficking trauma is a complex and difficult journey. Increasing the capacity of front-line organizations to serve victims and survivors of human trafficking can guarantee that no one is left behind. Victims and survivors of human trafficking should have immediate access to the supports they need, regardless of where they are in Canada.”

canadiancentretoendhumantrafficking.ca

Acknowledgements Information contained in this article was provided by the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and Statistics Canada. Special thanks to Irwin Prince for his candour and advocacy.

While the hotline doesn’t collect demographic data on all callers, the CCTEHT knows that historically marginalized communities are underrepresented in the data, including Indigenous peoples, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, Black people, and migrant workers. The data are solely based on the information voluntarily provided by the callers.

The data also confirm that victims/survivors depend on social services to heal from human trafficking and other traumas.

Hotline staff faced challenges connecting victims and survivors with appropriate support services. Decades of insufficient

Irwin Prince

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Revenue Management

TURNING THE QUEEN MARY Enhancing collaboration and communication across all departments to reposition your hotel asset

By Tim Wiersma

EVER WONDER WHERE THE EXPRESSION “THAT IS LIKE TRYING TO TURN THE QUEEN MARY” COMES FROM? It is a U.K.-based metaphor and comes from the fact that large ocean liner vessels, like the Queen Mary, can take up to 10 nautical miles to slow down enough before they can initiate a turn. How many of us find ourselves in situations like this as we try to turn a hotel asset position around?

One of the more challenging assignments in my career was working for a big box hotel in downtown Toronto. This particular hotel was on a wayward course and needed to set a new direction. The owners made it very clear that the current state was not sustainable and if the course continued, it would spell certain failure.

I was part of a new management team brought in to turn this “ship” around. It was very much like trying to turn the Queen Mary.

Certain fundamental changes needed to occur (slowing the vessel), including a change in perspective, focused goals, and strong

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Revenue Management collaboration. There were many well-intentioned teams within the hotel, but they worked in their own silos and inadvertently created several conflicts, which ultimately formed a condition of gross underperformance. Simply put, they were not achieving asset objectives. It was not until everyone fully understood the enterprise goal, comprehended their role within the greater context of the organization, were willing to align themselves to that end, and had a new set of goals that we were able to begin to change course.

As you reflect on your hotel asset or portfolio, ask yourself these questions: 1.

What are you trying to achieve? Do you fully understand what your owners are trying to achieve?

2.

How well can you articulate the enterprise objectives to others?

3.

How aligned are these goals with your other disciplines in your organization?

4.

Do you have a system in place to ensure that individual department goals align with the enterprise goal?

5.

Is your organization set up to be transparent about its specific goals and effectively communicate its successes and failures?

As a consultant, I often encounter hotel teams who struggle to identify their asset objective. An asset objective is a critical component of any hotel's success strategy, but it's surprising how many teams are unaware of it. When asked, they give generic answers such as "to make a profit" or "to drive NOI." However, understanding your hotel's asset objective is much more nuanced than that. It involves identifying whether it is a short-term, mid-term, or long-term hold. It encompasses understanding ROI cycles and expected market positions, to name a few. Without this understanding, it's challenging to create a comprehensive plan for the hotel's success. So, it's essential to take the time to identify your hotel's asset objective and create a strategy that can achieve it.

Departments that have opposing goals or a lack of awareness of what the enterprise is trying to achieve can often find themselves in conflict. A classic example, and one that I experienced recently, has to do with the age-long tug-of-war between sales revenue goals and revenue management RevPAR/profit goals.

The subject property I worked with gave their director of sales the ability to book the entire hotel without the consultation of 54

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Revenue Management revenue management or the GM. Furthermore, no displacement analysis was done on the impact of such a decision. This created a situation where the hotel fell far short of its full potential. By assigning the right goals and ensuring collaboration amongst disciplines this situation could have been avoided.

It is central for hotel teams to have a clear understanding of the asset objective in parallel with the enterprise objective. By doing so, they can focus on properly aligned key performance indicators and work towards achieving the desired outcome.

When hotel teams are empowered to work towards a shared goal, they are more likely to achieve success and contribute to the overall success of the enterprise. To do so, it is recommended that hotel teams receive regular training and communication to ensure they reflect the asset and enterprise objectives.

Create your own hotel balanced scorecard Creating a hotel-balanced scorecard is a great way to focus on four key areas: customer experience, customer acquisition, revenue optimization, and financial success.

By utilizing this framework, we can ensure that our efforts are concentrated on improving customer perspective, increasing revenue share, acquiring new customers, and optimizing our financial performance. We believe that this approach will help you achieve your long-term objectives and maintain your position as a leader in your respective market and increase overall asset value.

With the hotel balanced scorecard, you will be able to track and measure progress in each of these areas and make datadriven decisions to continuously improve your performance.

This tool will allow you to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement and will provide your teams with a framework for making strategic decisions that benefit the entire organization.

A hotel balanced scorecard strategy enhances collaboration and communication The hotel balanced scorecard will serve as a strategic management tool that will enable teams to measure and monitor their performance against key performance indicators (KPIs) that support business objectives. This helps to identify areas where a hotel team is excelling and areas where they need to improve.

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Revenue Management the same goals and have a shared understanding of business objectives. By promoting collaboration and enhancing communication, leaders can ensure that their operations, sales, marketing, revenue management, and finance teams are all working towards the same targets and are aware of each other's progress. This also assumes, of course, that your organization has an environment where associates feel like they have a forum to communicate their successes and failures and are open to discussing strategies with others.

How to create your hotel balanced scorecard By following a few simple steps, you can develop a hotel balanced scorecard that will effectively measure your organization's performance.

First and foremost, set your asset or portfolio objectives. When it comes to setting asset goals for your hotel, it is important to keep in mind that these goals can vary based on the objective at hand. This involves diving into the analytics to understand the true story behind your asset to identify your strengths and vulnerabilities.

Whether you are looking to increase profits, improve guest satisfaction, or simply maintain the status quo, your asset goals should agree with your objective. By understanding your objective and setting realistic and measurable goals, you can better track progress and make informed decisions about how to allocate resources and make improvements. So, take the time to assess your current situation and determine what your hotel asset goals should be based on your specific objectives.

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Second, begin to create discipline objectives that line up with your asset objectives. All departments should have goals that they specifically can control and positively influence the asset objectives. It’s important that these goals do not create a conflict with another departmental goal. Make sure all disciplines have focused and balanced set-up objectives that are realistic and achievable.

Finally, once all teams are updating the progress of their KPIs regularly and reporting on their successes and challenges, together your team can decide how to close the gap. Everyone should have visibility on all team goals so they can see how others are progressing.

The discipline of creating a hotel balanced scorecard hotel balanced scorecard ultimately enhances camaraderie and a sense of collective success which will, in the end, set your “ship” on the path to success. It’s not always easy and can sometimes be frustrating to find the right combination of KPIs, but the right mix will yield strong results.

I work with teams on building the right mix of goals that align with the shared vision of management and ownership and have found that it’s very rewarding for the team members to feel like they are working towards something that benefits everyone. This ultimately will set your hotel assets in a direction that enhances overall value.

To access a simple template with detailed instructions, please visit the following web page: https://tinyurl.com/3pwaw6ny

Revenue Management About Timothy Wiersma

President and CEO, Revenue Generation LLC. With more than three decades of experience in the hospitality industry, Timothy Wiersma is recognized as a leader in revenue management and commercial strategy. His company specializes in property and portfolio revenue management, business analytics, distressed-asset turnaround, and asset assessment; his company consistently delivers results for properties around the world.

Before Revenue Generation, Wiersma was head of revenue management with Canadian Hotel Income Properties (now Silverbirch Hotels), He was also vice president of revenue management with Host Hotels and Resorts, a Fortune 500 company, and the largest hotel REIT in the U.S. Other positions held were vice president position at TPG Hospitality, a private equity firm with over 60 full-service hotels, and vice president of Red Roof Group where he oversaw the Revenue Strategy of over 650 economy hotels.

Wiersma is an active board member and past president of HSMAI (Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International). He is also teaching the HSMAI Revenue Optimization Essentials course on a regular basis. In his spare time, time enjoys spending time outdoors, gardening and flying small aircraft.

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