HT0617

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R H O T E L E X E C U T I V E S / J U N E 2 0 1 7 $ 4
CLEAN SLATE
Trends in hotel
housekeeping and
laundry operations
the
SUSTAINABILITY
ISSUE
CONNECTING
THE DOTS
Hotel guests
are demanding
connectivity
above all else
CANADIAN PUBLICATION MAIL PRODUCT SALES AGREEMENT #40063470
ARCHITECT
OF CHANGE
Marriott International's CEO Arne Sorenson on what it takes
to lead the largest hotel company in the world
hoteliermagazine.com
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER I

30 years is just
the beginning
We’re excited to be celebrating 30 years of
better journeys, collaboration and innovation

Volume 29, Number 4 | june 2017
Contents
COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY BLOOMBERG/CONTRIBUTOR
Features
9 ON THE WORLD STAGE
Highlights from the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai
By Stephen J. Renard
10 LEADING THE CHARGE
Hotelier sits down with Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott
International Interview by Rosanna Caira
19 SUSTAINABLY SPEAKING
How going green can increase your hotel's profitability
By Jennifer Febbraro
26 YOURS TO DISCOVER
Ontario boasts a rich and colourful hotel history
By Chris Powell
33 2017 TECH REPORT
Connectivity is king at Canadian hotels
By Denise Deveau
36 KEEPING IT CLEAN
Trends impacting hotel housekeeping and laundry
departments By Andrew Coppolino
43 DRIVEN BY DESIGN
Why design-driven hotels are attractive to guests
By Jessica Maiorano
49 COMFORT LEVEL
Improving HVAC efficiency for increased guest comfort
By Sherene Chen-See
55 HITEC 2017 PRODUCT PREVIEW
Departments
2 EDITOR’S PAGE
3 CHECKING IN
56 HOTELIER: Ameer Wakil,
White Oaks Resort, Niagara-onthe-Lake
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 1

EDITOR’S PAGE
PRIMED FOR SUCCESS
As we hit the halfway mark of 2017,
hotel pundits continue to define
where the industry is at in terms of
the cycle, with many wondering whether
the industry is, in fact, at its peak.
Notwithstanding problems plaguing
resource-driven markets such as Alberta,
much of the country experienced strong
fundamentals last year, and already the
first quarter of 2017 shows signs of this
year being just as strong, if not stronger.
Occupancy remains solid in most of the
country (averaging 64.5 per cent in 2016)
as does RevPAR (average of $96 last year). Even ADRs have been inching
upward in the past few years ($149 in 2016).
The continued fragility of the globe is also impacting the industry.
Fortunately, many continue to view Canada as a safe harbour in an
increasingly precarious world. Certainly, Donald Trump’s presidency
continues to cause consternation around the world. In fact, a recent report
from the Washington, D.C.-based Global Business Travel Association
(GBTA) projects a loss of more than $1.3 billion in overall travel-related
expenditures in the U.S. in 2017, including hotels, food, rental cars and
shopping expenses that inbound travellers would have spent. That includes
$250 million lost in spending from inbound business travellers from Europe
and the Middle East. The greater concern is that the longer-term impact
on business travel will become larger as companies begin to host meetings
and events in other destinations. In an earlier survey of GBTA’s European
members, 45 per cent indicated their company will be less willing to plan
future meetings and events in the U.S. due to executive orders on travel.
In Canada, the news is better. With BMO forecasting the Canadian dollar
to remain in the low 70-cent range against the U.S. dollar through the
medium term, the tourism industry will continue to be a shining light, with
Statistics Canada reporting that tourism was up by 9.4 per cent in 2016.
But beyond 2017, the federal government's unveiling of its new Tourism
Vision at last month’s Rendez-vous Canada bodes well for the future. As
part of that vision, the government is intent on increasing the number of
international tourists to Canada by 30 per cent by 2021, while doubling
the number of Chinese visitors by the same year. The plan calls for the
government to invest in stronger and more sustained marketing to promote
the country, while addressing issues related to travelling to and within the
country. Those expected changes should help position Canada to compete
for a top-10 destination ranking by 2025, a marked improvement from its
current number 17 status.
ROSANNA CAIRA |
AMY BOSTOCK |
DANIELLE SCHALK |
DEREK RAE |
COURTNEY JENKINS |
JHANELLE PORTER |
CHERYLL SAN JUAN |
MARIA FAMA VIECILI |
ELENA OSINA |
WENDY GILCHRIST |
DANIELA PRICOIU |
DANNA SMITH |
CIRCULATION |
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
rcaira@kostuchmedia.com
MANAGING EDITOR
abostock@kostuchmedia.com
ASSISTANT EDITOR
dschalk@kostuchmedia.com
MULTIMEDIA MANAGER
drae@kostuchmedia.com
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
cjenkins@kostuchmedia.com
SOCIAL MEDIA/EVENTS
CO-ORDINATOR
jporter@kostuchmedia.com
ACCOUNT MANAGER
csanjuan@kostuchmedia.com
ACCOUNT MANAGER
mviecili@kostuchmedia.com
ACCOUNT MANAGER
eosina@kostuchmedia.com
SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER
wgilchrist@kostuchmedia.com
CONTROLLER
dpricoiu@kostuchmedia.com
ADMINSTRATIVE ASSISTANT
dsmith@kostuchmedia.com
PUBLICATION PARTNERS
kml@publicationpartners.com
(905) 509-3511
ADVISORY BOARD
David McMillan, AXIS HOSPITALITY INTERNATIONAL; Bill
Stone, CBRE HOTELS; David Larone, CBRE HOTELS; Anthony
Cohen, CRESCENT HOTELS — GLOBAL EDGE INVESTMENTS;
Charles Suddaby, CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD LTD. — HOSPI-
TALITY & GAMING GROUP; Christiane Germain, GROUPE
GERMAIN HOSPITALITE; Michael Haywood, THE HAYWOOD
GROUP; Lyle Hall, HLT ADVISORY; Ryan Murray, THE PILLAR +
POST HOTEL; Geoffrey Allan, PROJECT CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
HOTELS; Stephen Renard, RENARD INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL-
ITY & SEARCH CONSULTANTS; Anne Larcade, SEQUEL HOTELS
& RESORTS
HOTELIER is published eight times a year by Kostuch
Media Ltd., 23 Lesmill Rd., Suite 101, Toronto, Ont., M3B 3P6,
(416) 447-0888, Fax (416) 447-5333. All rights reserved.
Subscription rates: Canada: $25 per year, single issue $4,
U.S.A.: $30 per year; all other countries $40 per year. Canadian
Publication Mail Product Sales Agreement #40063470.
Member of Canadian Circulations Audit Board, the American
Business Media and Magazines Canada. We acknowledge the
financial support of the Government of Canada through the
Canadian Periodical Fund for our publishing activities. Printed in
Canada on recycled stock.
ROSANNA CAIRA
Editor and Publisher
rcaira@kostuchmedia.com
FOLLOW US:
For daily news and announcements: @hoteliermag on Twitter Hotelier magazine on Facebook and @hoteliermag on Instagram
2 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

Checking In
THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS FOR HOTEL EXECUTIVES FROM CANADA
AND AROUND THE WORLD
SHARING IDEAS
The second-annual Hotelier Housekeeping Forum addresses department
challenges and opportunities
BY AMY BOSTOCK
A
spirit of collaboration was
the order of the day at the
second-annual Housekeeping
Forum, held April 25 in Toronto.
Hosted and presented by Hotelier
magazine, in partnership with Ecolab,
the event drew more than 120 hotelhousekeeping
professionals to One
King West Hotel & Residences.
The event, sponsored by Miele
Professional, Canadian Hotel Supply
and HD Supply Hospitality Solutions,
focused on what it takes to run a
successful housekeeping department — from ensuring staff have the latest tools
and technology to do their jobs properly, to understanding the newest trends in
cleaning methods.
The day kicked off with High-tech Housekeeping, a panel discussion centred
around new trends in housekeeping technology. Brendan Gibney, senior director,
Franchise Operations, Choice Hotels Canada; Bill Nash, Diversey Care, Canada
at Sealed Air Corporation – Sealed Air Corporation; Jason Mcleish, Canadian
Sales Director, Amadeus Hospitality; and Odette Foster, Housekeeping Manager
at The Hazelton Hotel offered insight into what new technology is available and
what the housekeeping department has on its technology wish list.
Next up, Hotelier editor and publisher Rosanna Caira led a discussion around
Keeping the Housekeeping Department Happy: Recruiting, Retaining and
Remuneration. Leading industry experts Bill Pallett, president, WJ Pallet &
Associates; Lis Pimental, president, Unite Here, Local 75; Kevin Porter, GM,
Toronto Don Valley Hotel & Suites; and Rahul Singh Director of Housekeeping,
Royal York Hotel shared their knowledge of where today’s supply of housekeepers
is coming from, the training and development that keeps them knowledgeable
and current and the pay scales that keep them motivated.
The morning sessions wrapped up with a look at risk management in hotels
and the role of the housekeeping department in keeping guests safe and secure.
Graeme McIntosh, director of Business Development – Risk Solutions Inc.;
Kenny Gibson, president, Sunray Group; David Laks, vice-president, Risk
Control Services Manager – Eastern Canada at HUB International; and Kim
Greasley, director of Housekeeping, The Hazelton Hotel addressed some of the
most common risks at hotels — including fire, cyber-threats and safety/security
protocols — and offered training solutions for the housekeeping department
while defining its role in the hotel’s overall risk-management plan.
Attendees were also treated to a look at some of the newest trends in housekeeping
apparel by CMI Uniforms (representing Bragard Uniforms).
hoteliermagazine.com
MEETING OF
THE MINDS
For the first time, the Hotelier Housekeeping
Forum featured an afternoon
of brainstorming, with a challenges-andopportunities
workshop led by Bill Pallett.
Attendees broke off into groups and discussed
problems and solutions to today’s
most pressing housekeeping department
concerns. Each table was presented with
a specific challenge and group leaders
facilitated an interactive session before
presenting solutions back to the group.
WINNING WAYS
At this year’s Hotelier Housekeeping
Forum, the highly anticipated awards
presentations closed off the day, with
Rahul Singh, director of Housekeeping
at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto taking
home the coveted Executive Housekeeper
of the Year Award. Jaya Jameela from
Toronto’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel was named
Junior Room Attendant of the Year.
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 3

COMING
EVENTS
June 26-29: HITEC 2017, Metro
Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto. Tel:
800-646-4387; email: linnet.baskett@
hftp.org; website: hftp.org/hitec
September 18: Women in Tourism
and Hospitlaity, Park Hyatt Toronto,
Toronto Tel: 416-447-0888 ext. 235;
email:dpricoiu@kostuchmedia.com;
website: kostuchmedia.com/shop
Nov. 17: Hotel Capital Connection,
Arcadian Loft, Toronto. Tel: 416-924-
2002, ext. 233; email: vickiwelstead@
bigpictureconferences.ca;
website: bigpictureconferences.ca
Nov. 26-27: Western Canadian Lodging
Conference, Fairmont Waterfront,
Vancouver. Tel: 416-924-2002, ext. 233;
email: vickiwelstead@bigpictureconferences.ca;
website: bigpictureconferences.ca
Dec. 1: The 29th Annual Pinnacle
Awards, The Fairmont Royal York Hotel,
Toronto, Tel: 416-447-0888, ext. 235;
email: dpricoiu@kostuchmedia.com;
website: kostuchmedia.com/shop
FOR MORE EVENTS,
visit http://bit.ly/Hotelierevents
CANADIAN HOTEL INDUSTRY
PRIMED FOR A STRONG 2017
Canada’s hotel industry is
primed for a strong year —
that was the consensus at
the Canadian Hotel Investment
Conference (CHIC)
held at the Westin Harbour
Castle Hotel in Toronto
last month. More than
500 industry executives
and investors attended the
annual conference.
Susie Grynol, president
of the Ottawa-based Hotel Association of Canada (HAC), kicked off the
day with an address in which she spoke of the need for the industry to work
together to facilitate change. Grynol outlined the five key issues the hotel
industry is facing today: disruption, labour, OTAs, Canadian competitiveness
and the increasing costs of doing business. The HAC president said the
association is building a 12-month strategy to target federal politicians to help
them better understand the issues being faced by the industry. “We need a
united voice when talking to all levels of government,” she said. Grynol also
spoke of the need to raise the profile of entry-level workers and the importance
of selling the notion of working in the industry to millennials.
In the first panel of the day titled “Ever Evolving Hotel Landscape,” a mix
of pundits and operators outlined the operating environment faced by today’s
hoteliers. In breakout sessions held throughout the afternoon, a panel of
operators from across the country examined the preference to build hotels or
deal for them. Many of the operators on the panel stressed the importance
of building in markets that you are familiar with. “It’s important to stick to
what you know in your own backyard and keep it simple,” said Deepak Baring,
Calmcrest Holdings. Steve Gupta, owner of the Easton’s Group of Hotels
echoed the sentiment, adding it’s easier for him to build in Toronto because
he’s based there. He added, however, that high barriers to entry, including
the cost of land, are making it more challenging to build in some markets. At
the end of the day, said Gupta, “I’m an entrepreneur, I take my money and my
expertise where I can get the best return.”
— Rosanna Caira
RETURN TO THE SPOTLIGHT
The executive team of the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto unveiled the
revitalized and restored Crystal Ballroom in April. Two years after the ambitious
work began, the design highlights the room’s characteristic features, including
ornate mouldings, eight-metre-high coffered ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows
offering a panoramic view of the city. In debuting the space, Christophe Le
Chatton, general manager told the crowd “The Crystal Ballroom pays tribute
to the past while looking forward to the future.” As part of the restoration, the
room’s unique orchestra balcony was preserved, as well as its oversized chandeliers.
Moncur Design Associates Inc. and Omni Hotels & Resorts (owners of
the historical hotel) led the charge on the new look and design, which cost $6.5
million to complete. The 5,000-sq.-ft. space and new permanent bar are fully
equipped to entertain 300 guests in style. — Rosanna Caira
4 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

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.5”
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
IN MEMORIAM
Ruy Paes-Braga passed away in April at the age of 76. Paes-Braga had
an illustrious career in the hotel industry, having worked for many
years at Four Seasons hotels in Ottawa, Calgary, Toronto and
Vancouver. Paes-Braga was the recipient of a number of awards and
accolades, including the Commander of the Order of Merit from the
Government of Portugal (2002) and an inductee in the B.C.
Restaurant Hall of Fame (2006).
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InBrief
Montreal’s historic George Stephen
House has reopened its doors as the
mansion hotel, Le Mount Stephen.
Owned by the Tidan Hospitality
& Real Estate Group, the property
received a $20-million transformation
to become an exclusive luxury
hotel featuring 90 guestrooms…
The Fairmont Pacific Rim’s new
second-floor restaurant is now open
to the public. Replacing Oru Cuisine,
Botanist offers a fresh culinary
approach reflecting a “new Pacific
Northwest”…Marriott International,
Inc. has announced the expansion
of its initiative to drive adoption of
modular hotel construction in North
America. The company expects to
sign 50 hotel deals in 2017 that incorporate
prefabricated guestrooms or
bathrooms…Hilton Garden Inn has
transformed its food-and-beverage
concept to address consumers’ changing
dining preferences. The upgrade
is the second phase of a large-scale
initiative to amplify the Hilton
Garden Inn global brand…The
Llama is Inn, the fourth book in
Larry Mogelonsky's Llama series was
released last month. The series gives
a detailed picture of the present-day
hotel landscape...Burlington Hotels
Group Inc. has broken ground on the
new Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in
Burlington, Ont. The hotel, which
will be connected to the Burlington
Convention Centre, will offer 135
guestrooms and suites and a Bistro
Plus Restaurant & Bar…Crescent
Hotels & Resorts will manage the
newly opened Courtyard by Marriott
Toronto Mississauga/West. Crescent
will manage the entire operations of
the hotel, including the overnight
guest experience, as well as the more
than 5,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event
space…Realstar Hospitality opened
the 93-room Days Inn & Suites
in Airdrie, Alta. The pet-friendly
hotel boasts more than 840 sq. ft. of
meeting and event space…A new
international awards program has
been launched to recognize women
6 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

in the travel and tourism industry.
The inaugural Women in Travel and
Tourism International (WITTI)
Awards were presented at the annual
Women in Travel and Tourism brunch
during the IPW conference of the
U.S. Travel Association on June 4
in Washington D.C….InterContinental
Hotels Group has opened
the new-build 79-room Holiday Inn
Express Red Deer North in Alberta.
The hotel boasts an indoor pool, hot
tub, 24-hour fitness center and 24-hour
business center.
Supply Side
Drummonds’ taps and shower mixers
have received IAPMO (International
Association of Plumbing and Mechanical
Officials) certification for use in
North America. The company uses
lost wax casting, a traditional process
involving hand carving in wax and the
creation of unique molds. This method
allows extremely fine detail to be
reproduced exactly as intended…Uber
has added Uber Central to its Uber
for Business platform. Uber Central
is Uber’s first global one-to-many ride
product, allowing organizations to
manage multiple rides at the same time
and from the same dashboard. Guests
who receive rides via Central do not
need to have an Uber account or the
app to take a ride — the organization
handles everything.
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People
Dorothy Dowling, SVP and chief
Marketing officer of Best Western
Hotels & Resorts, is the recipient
of the Silver Stevie Award in the
Marketing Executive of the Year
category. Dowling was selected for her
30-plus years of dedication to hospitality
marketing, and for leading Best
Western’s notable achievements in
2016…Alana Baker is the new director
of Government Relations for The
Hotel Association of Canada (HAC).
C
Baker joins the HAC from Impact
M
Public Affairs, where she served
as director of Public Affairs since Y
2008…Ali Osman is the new resort
CM
manager at Four Seasons Resort and 7.5”
MY
Residences Whistler. A Four Seasons
CY
veteran, Osman has held positions
in Cairo, Toronto, the Maldives, CMY
Thailand, Bahamas and Saudi
K
Arabia. He joins the Four Seasons
Resort and Residences Whistler from
his most recent role as hotel manager
at Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria at
San Stefano, Egypt…As part of its
expanded commitment to Canada,
Red Roof has promoted regional vicepresident
of Operations, Neil Scott
to vice-president of Sales and Operations,
a position focused on accelerating
the company’s expansion into
Canada…Four Seasons Hotels and
Resorts has appointed Julia Hartz,
co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite,
Inc., to its Board of Directors —
representing long-term shareholder
Cascade Investment.
hoteliermagazine.com
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JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 7

COAST-TO-COAST COVERAGE.
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SHOW REPORT
HIGHER EDUCATION
Dubai hosts the leading global travel and hotel industry event
BY STEPHEN J. RENARD
© WTM:ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET
Arabian Travel Market (ATM),
held April 24 to 27, is the
leading global event for the
Middle-East travel and hotel industry.
The annual business-to-business
exhibition — now a quarter-century
old — generates more than $2.5
billion of industry deals and showcases
more than 3,000 products and
destinations from around the world.
More than 50,000 exhibitors, buyers
and travel-trade visitors gather for
four days at the Dubai International
Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Dubai was chosen to host this
event because it has one of the most
stable economies and is one of the
safest places in the world. It also hosts
the world’s largest and busiest airport,
with 84 million travellers in 2016. By
2020, Dubai, with a population of 2.75
million, will have 150,000 hotel rooms.
A BIT OF HISTORY
Historically, Dubai was sustained
by fishing and pearl-diving for
a thousand years, with the first
records of Dubai being made in
1799 when the Bani Yas clan established
it as a dependency of Abu
Dhabi. Dubai became a separate
Sheikhdom in 1833. The invention of
artificial pearls in 1926 and the Great
Depression in 1929 caused a collapse
in the pearl market, which resulted
in Sheikh Saeed looking for an alternative
source of income and Dubai
becoming one of the leading re-export
ports in the world. In 1966, oil was
discovered in Dubai, which changed
the country beyond recognition and
led to it becoming a vibrant, modern,
business-centered city.
Initially, the Arabian Travel Market
started as a result of the growth of the
real-estate market in Dubai, which
has more condominium construction
than Toronto. Dubai has grown to
be one of the foremost modern hotel
cities of the world — every major
hotel brand and most independents
have at least one hotel there. All of
Marriott’s 30 hotel brands are represented,
as well as all of Hilton’s and
InterContinental’s brands.
THE ATM IN 2017
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum opened the show at 1 p.m.
on April 24th. The event is the only
major trade fair in the world that is
free to attend and offers seminars on
topics such as revenue management,
etiquette for the region, et cetera.
The organizers also provided promotional
activities on how to attract more
visitors from two of the world’s biggest
inbound source markets — China
and India. During the event, they
held educational seminars, including
one by Jan Albreck, CEO of Saudi
Arabian Airlines, which featured an
insightful one-on-one interview exploring
Saudi’s considerable investments
in a new airline fleet. There was also
a showcase on sustainability — the
three pillars of sustainability being
economic, social and environmental.
Other panels discussed how technology
— from blogs to podcasts to virtual
reality — are used to virtually transport
the customers to destinations and
sell them products. The Global Halal
Tourism Summit highlighted some of
the world’s leading Halal-friendly destinations
and their success in developing
Muslim-focused tourist offerings.
The topic of blurred lines between
online and offline travel was covered in
a session which took an in-depth look
at the opportunity for forward-thinking
travel businesses to offer and capitalize
on a wide range of touch points.
On the final day, the ATM Travel
Agents Academy was in action. This
popular initiative saw travel agents
receiving invaluable destination
briefings and honing their sales and
presentation skills in a half-day
free workshop. u
Stephen J. Renard is president of
Toronto-based Renard International
Hospitality Search Consultants
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 9

ICONS & INNOVATORS
ARCHITECT
OF CHANGE
CEO Arne Sorenson leads Marriott International
into a new era of industry domination
INTERVIEW BY ROSANNA CAIRA
ROSANNA CAIRA: You didn’t have
the typical hotel trajectory in that you
came from the legal field. How did you
get to where you are today?
ARNE SORENSON: The short answer
is ‘with no plan.’ I am the son of a
Lutheran preacher. Both my grandfathers
were Lutheran preachers. My
father-in-law is a Lutheran preacher.
While I majored in religion, I didn’t
get that call. I went to law school
instead. I practiced law for a dozen
years with a big firm in Washington
and represented Marriott when Host
and Marriott were separating from
each other. I got to know Mr. Marriott
and the team in the context of that.
One thing led to another and I went
there a few years later.
RC: How does it feel to be the first
non-family member to lead the
company?
AS: It’s a huge honour. Marriott has
ANDREA STENSON [ARNE SORENSON & ROSANNA CAIRA]; BLOOMBERG/CONTRIBUTOR
10 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

As it is, it’s been nothing but fun.
RC: Did being a lawyer help you in
this job?
AS: The big advantage is you get used
to being attacked as a lawyer. I tried
cases, hostile-takeover cases, basically.
In that context, there are brilliant
lawyers on the other side whose aim
is to make you look bad, show that
you don’t understand your facts or you
don’t understand the law. You do that
year after year for a while, you develop
a certain toughness.
RC: I came across a quote from Mr.
Marriott that said when he first hired
you, he was a little concerned about
your people skills because you were a
litigator. He said, ‘Litigation does not
have a primary goal of making people
feel good. When I think about a litigator,
I don’t see someone who is putting
his arms around people, coaching,
counselling and loving them, supporting
and promoting them.’ How did you
feel about that? What kind of adjustment
did you have to make from a
litigator to a hotel president?
“IN MANY RESPECTS, IT’S THE
OPPORTUNITIES THAT PRESENT
THEMSELVES TO YOU THAT YOU
DON’T ANTICIPATE THAT ARE THE
MOST INTERESTING.”
a tremendous legacy, which, in part,
is driven by the family’s philosophy
about taking care of people and
actually putting our people ahead of
our guests — something businesses
seldom say. We know we can’t get
to the customer except through our
[employees]. That legacy is a great
thing to be able to tend to and to try
and maintain as we grow and evolve.
Over [the] 21 years [with Marriott], I
was not the putative successor to Mr.
Marriott the whole time, but there
were years when I think he, Bill Marriott,
anticipated I would follow him.
That natural transition made the shift
from a Marriott CEO to a non-family
member CEO fairly natural. It was
certainly something that Bill Marriott
wanted to have happen. He has been
amazingly supportive throughout. I
can’t step into that job and pretend to
be a Marriott. If I had tried to, maybe
that would have made it more difficult.
AS: In many respects, he was being
deliberate about communicating in
a way…he’s an extraordinarily kind
man. He is a mentor to me; sort of
father-like. He is a wonderful man
and we have a very close relationship.
He is also hesitant to be direct,
face-to-face, with somebody. So,
when you read about the history of
Marriott … he has a book underway
now. You’ll see him talking about ‘I
had so-and-so and I knew they were
bad, but it took me four years to …’
So, I think in some respects, this
was a way of giving me encouragement
to say, ‘don’t forget the people’.
It’s really important.
RC: What was the biggest challenge
for you, stepping into a role in a hotel
company?
AS: The biggest challenge, then and
today, is about priorities and allocating
your time. There is so much that we can
do and nothing is ever finished, liter-
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 11

unique members between the two
programs and they are linked, so
customers can get the most of the
benefits of the two programs — even
before the two programs have merged
into one. We did [that] at midnight
the night [the deal] closed. I think
the other thing that was important
to us was Starwood had staked out
a place in lifestyle and luxury and
parts of the hotel business which are
most inspiring and aspirational to
people. We had great brands, such
as Ritz-Carlton and others — which
were also the kinds of places people
dreamed about staying — but we
wanted to be even stronger in this
part of the industry.
ally. I love being out and seeing what is
happening in the hotels and connecting
with our teams. There is nothing
like it because you really get connected
with them and what is happening with
the customers. But that [takes] a lot of
time. In the midst of all that, we’ve got
a day-to-day balance sheet to run and
deals to do and investment communities
to satisfy and strategies to set. So,
how do you do that? I do average on
setting those priorities, but am blessed
with a team of people who take care of
the places I miss it. If I’m off someplace,
then there is somebody else who is going
to take care of it.
RC: The topic everybody has been
talking about is the acquisition of
Starwood. Were you the architect of
that deal?
AS: Not alone, but certainly a decision
like this doesn’t get made unless I am
supportive of it — and I was.
RC: How long did that deal take?
AS: There are a couple of really
accurate answers to that, but the
facts are 25 days. Over the years
that Starwood has existed, we have
watched them as a competitor and
we have, on a few occasions, done
desktop models of whether or not this
is something we would be interested
in acquiring but it never really worked
and they weren’t for sale. They came
on the market in early ’15 formally
and we, of course, were approached by
the bankers, looked at it quickly and
decided we were not going to pursue it.
RC: Why was that?
AS: A mix of reasons, the biggest
being it seemed like it was expensive
and we could work like dogs and
maybe make it successful, but we
wouldn’t produce enough value for
our shareholders. And then, over
the course of the next three or four
months, we saw the relative values
of the company shift. So, Marriott’s
value was increasing and Starwood’s
was declining, which had a dramatic
impact on the economic aspects
of the deal. We were engaged in
negotiations with OTAs and discussions
with technology partners in
trying to sort out the path to the
future and it became clearer to us
that technology and the loyalty
programs, particularly, were our
key distinguishing features. Those
two things came together [and in]
October of 2015, we said, we should
do this. Twenty-three days later, we
signed binding deals.
RC: Were the loyalty program and
technology the two driving reasons
you wanted to acquire Starwood?
AS: Loyalty being singularly the
biggest. We now have 100 million
RC: With such a large number of guests
tied to their loyalty programs in different
ways, how did you merge the programs?
AS: From the moment we announced
the deal in November of 2015, the
SPG loyalists — Starwood’s loyalty
program — were frightened. The
Marriott rewards [members] are equally
as passionate, but because Marriott
was the acquiring company, they were
less concerned. The first thing we did
before closing was we implemented,
in the Marriott rewards program, late
checkout and room upgrades and
a number of features that were in
the SPG program, because that was
actually the best way to believably
communicate to SPG members that
we’re going to do things to Marriott
rewards, bringing it towards SPG,
as opposed to the other way around.
That was picked up quickly. The
linking and the points-conversion
formula we did the first night of close
was also well-received by them and
comforting. The anxiety level in the
SPG ranks is much less today than it
was, certainly, when we announced
the deal. But it’s still there and it’s a
big program.
RC: How about the other synergies
of this acquisition, purchasing, for
example? Has that changed dramatically
now that you've brought the
companies together? Is that going to
save you a lot of money?
ANDREA STENSON [ARNE SORENSON & ROSANNA CAIRA]
12 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

AS: Yes, it will. Classic procurement,
cost of systems and any shared services
— all of those are places where we
should be more efficient. The new
procurement platform is being rolled
out as we speak. A number of the
supply contracts we had were put in
place already. So, that is moving very
quickly. In essentially every cost line,
PNL cost line of the hotel, with the
exception of the compensation of our
teams, it should be more efficient as we
go forward.
RC: The downside of any acquisition is
sometimes people have to be let go.
Did you eliminate many positions?
AS: We have talked about $250
million of overhead savings — not
only people, but it includes people.
The fact of the matter is, those people
are almost never property level. So,
immediately, 95 per cent or so of the
people at Starwood are safe and are
continuing their jobs. In fact, the
opportunities for them have increased,
not decreased. You think about a
market like Canada, where we now
have 220 hotels, 100 full-service hotels
across the country, 120 limited-service
— immediately, [people] have more
opportunity in Toronto to grow in their
career — from the Sheraton Centre to
the Delta to the Marriott. That’s really
good for them. In contrast, the top-ofthe-house
is where the impact is most
profound. Those, by and large, are
folks that will, and probably already
have, landed extraordinarily well and
certainly have been well-compensated.
There is a range in the middle, but
we’re in a strong economic environment
for hiring.
RC: This acquisition is going to be the
biggest challenge for this company for
some time. Beyond that, what is the
biggest challenge for you?
AS: There are a thousand things that
we are focused on. The things I worry
about most … one is obvious, and that
is about policy, politics, nationalism,
a global concern about the movement
of people and immigration. Canada
has a special place in that debate. It’s
one of few countries in the world that
seems to continue to have its arms
open. I suspect beneath that there is
some internal debate within Canada
about that, but it doesn’t seem to be
as loud as it is in the rest of the world,
obviously the United States, but the
U.K. and France. People seem to be
saying we want to turn back inward
a little bit; we want to control our
borders more. Some of that is about
security issues, much of that is about
immigration. Travel is not the same
thing as immigration and people
travelling for business or people travelling
for leisure are 99 per cent of the
time, simply going to see the sights,
see family, meet people and have a
good time. We’ve got to make sure
policy evolves in a way that allows [us
to do] business.
RC: With the portfolio now at 30
brands, do you have a few that you
are focusing on in terms of growth in
expansion?
AS: We will try and grow all of them.
Some of the brands are easier in the
sense that they don’t require redefinition
or repurposing in any way. They
will continue to march along. I’m
thinking about some of the legacy
Marriott brands, which have tremendous
RevPAR index numbers. We
put a lot of effort into continuing to
refine and renovate the product, the
core Marriott brand, the Residence
Inn, Courtyard. These brands are
often category killers and they are
going to continue to grow in a way
that is reaffirming. There are a couple
of places where there is close overlap,
such as Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis,
and so we need to figure out what are
the distinctions we want to emphasize
or introduce, produce or service?
Aloft and Element are interesting to
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 13

us — they are dramatically sub-scale.
Aloft has about 100 hotels around
the world; Element, only 20. In a
sense, Element is a lifestyle version of
Residence Inn and Aloft is a lifestyle
version of Courtyard. It’s a bit of an
oversimplification, but we know our
hotel owner partners are attracted to
these brands. If we can make them
perform better, be both less expensive
to build through efficiencies, not quality,
and drive the top line, we should
be able to take both of those brands
to sizes comparable to Courtyard
and Residence Inn. So, that is taking
Element from 20 hotels to 900. There
is good effort that is focused on that.
RC: What role does Canada play in Marriott
International’s growth? Do you see
the country as still fertile for growth?
AS: Absolutely. The most important
piece for Canada is still about the
Canadian economy. A local GDP is
going to, by and large, drive demand
growth among the local population
and Canadian business is still
the most important business in our
Canadian hotels. When we got into
the Delta deal, we thought by putting
Delta and Marriott together, we
actually could be stronger in both [the
U.S. and Canada]. So far, that has
played out pretty well — the hotels
are ramping up well and performance
has been improved in both sets. I’m
not sure we would have bought Delta
if we had done Starwood first, but
I’m thrilled it came in the way it did
because we now have both.
You look longer term and Canada
has a real opportunity in global
travel, particularly out of Asia and
the Canadian West. We have had at
least a handful of instances already
in which we have heard global groups
saying ‘we’re not going to go to the
United States, we’re going to Canada
because we worry less about our
global audience being able to come
in and be welcomed.’ That is a nearterm
opportunity. It may not be an
opportunity long-term, but all of that
is an exciting upside for the Canadian
market.
RC: Corporate culture has always
been a big part of Marriott’s success.
How can you inculcate the right
environment to succeed, especially as
you have gotten so much bigger now?
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AS: You remind people that it’s
important and you permit it. You
empower people; give them the ability
to run their own business. You tell
them, of course, you are going to pay
attention to what their culture looks
like. Our culture is as strong as it has
ever been — not because of what I do
or what Don [Cleary] does in Canada
— but because of what the team at
this hotel will do for each other.
RC: What is the most important issue
when it comes to staffing?
AS: It’s really about building careers
for people. You want to take care
of them on a day-to-day basis and
a [company] of this size has a huge
community of associates. For them
to feel good about their work is
about being compensated fairly, of
course, but more than that, it’s about
being respected as an individual
by the team. You immediately see
the way this can work, and when it
works well, it makes all the difference
in the world.
RC: Do you think the industry has
gotten better at taking care of its
people?
AS: We have always been better
than we have sometimes been given
credit for. These are hard jobs — I
talk about housekeepers often as
my biggest heroes. They are almost
always women; they are almost always
immigrants; they are often physically
small and are doing big, physical jobs.
Collectively, we are not at our best
when we stay in hotel rooms. We
leave our clothes on the floor and we
may not clean up after ourselves very
well and that leaves a burden for the
housekeepers. They are not becoming
millionaires through this work,
but if their work is appreciated and
they are paid fairly, so many of them
can transform their lives and their
families lives.
RC: What advice would you offer to
people considering a career in hospitality
in terms of what they should be doing
to achieve success in this industry?
AS: It’s the greatest business in the
world for a lot of reasons. The people
piece is one of the really attractive
parts of the business. In terms of
careers, seize the opportunities that
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are available to you; be curious about
your work; be curious about what is
happening in other departments; ask
people why we’re doing things the
way we’re doing them and try and
understand the business; and don’t
be fearful about coming out and
saying, well, can we do something
differently? You want to make sure
you continue to grow in your career,
obviously, but seize the opportunities
that are available.
RC: During last year’s election
campaign, you wrote an impassioned
letter to President Trump and put
forth your views on the importance of
keeping immigration as strong as it
has been. How do you think this
current administration is going to
impact the hotel business in the U.S.,
but also in Canada?
AS: My personal point of view is
relatively left on these issues, relatively
welcoming. People should globally
be able to pursue opportunities and
pursue a better life. In many respects,
the developed world has a role to play
in that, and a role that is compassionate
and respective of the resources
that we have. Having said that, when
you listen to the debate happening
in places like the U.K. and the U.S.,
people are broadly saying we don’t
understand how immigration works;
we don’t understand what the rules
are; we don’t know how many people
are permitted to come; we don’t know
how they are selected. There is no
consensus around how immigration
should be done. It is perfectly reasonable
for [Trump] and this administration
to say, okay, what are our rules
going to be on immigration? What
are the numbers we’re going to admit?
What is the process that we go about?
Until political leadership of both
parties in a two-party system — or
of a mixed government in a multiparty
system — starts to build a
consensus around ‘where should we
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go with immigration,’ we’re going to
have risk here because we’re going
to have strong disagreements where
we polarize things, and where there
is a risk that that conversation about
immigration actually does bleed over
into travel or into commerce. How
do you separate those issues, travel
and immigration, while the debate is
happening and how do you also try
and get to a place where the debate
can be resolved in some way, maybe
not permanently, obviously, because
this will continue to evolve, but
resolved in some way so that risk is
then behind us?
RC: Does Marriott have a role in terms
of trying to influence this dialogue?
AS: Yes. The role is to use the relationships
we have to articulate what we
think is the right outcome. Secondly,
it would be to martial the facts. We
will speak up more as the facts become
apparent. Hopefully, the facts can lead
to some influence on the outcome.
RC: Are you a little daunted by the fact
that you are now the leader of the
biggest hotel company in the world?
AS: I am daunted by the amount of
work we have to do. I don’t really
think about being [the] biggest
because I don’t think being [the]
biggest makes that much difference.
We’re the biggest, but we’re not that
big — we are seven or eight per cent
of the global lodging business. There
is nothing about our platform that
allows us to act as if biggest somehow
gives us unique privileges. It’s a highly
competitive business with really transparent
data.
RC: How would you define yourself as
a leader?
AS: Hopefully, open-minded and
curious first. The business is evolving
quickly and one of the risks for all of
us as leaders is you convince yourself
that the decisions you have made and
implemented must have been right,
and therefore you resist changing any
of them. Empowering, even to the
point of letting some things happen
which I may not think are exactly
right, [is also important]. The first
instinct has got to be to say, ‘okay, let’s
see how it works,’ as opposed to, ‘why
the hell did you do that?’ Because it
makes a difference in the way people
feel ownership about their work.
RC: What have you learned from
mistakes that you have made?
AS: We have made a few. You have
to have some mistakes or you are
not pushing it hard enough, but you
have also got to look at these and
say, okay, what did we do wrong?
We fell in love with our own
wisdom and thought, okay, we know
what this is. Hopefully it teaches
you over time. u
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SUSTAINABILITY
Going
Green
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES NOT ONLY
ASSUAGE GUESTS’ CONSCIENCES, THEY PROVE
PROFITABLE FOR HOTELS IN THE LONG TERM
BY JENNIFER FEBBRARO
ISTOCK.COM/PIXBOX77
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 19

According to Greenpeace
International,
the global average
temperature has
increased by one
degree Celsius since
pre-industrial times. For the hospitality
industry, climate change has potentially
disastrous effects and, as a result,
it’s not only trendy to develop sustainable,
green policies, but urgently
required in order to secure the future
of the industry.
Siobhan O’Neil, editor of the
digital magazine Green Hotelier — the
leading source for practical, inspirational,
and technical resources for
sustainability within the hotel industry
— says some clear trends have
emerged within the past five years.
“At first, hotels had to address what
we call ‘low-hanging fruit’ — that
which is the easiest and quickest to
address — [such as] switching to LED
bulbs, key cards that cut room power,
movement sensors in communalarea
restrooms, and so on,” explains
O’Neil. “But great efficiencies were
also created at the back of house by
improving the energy consumption of
appliances in laundries, kitchens and
building-management control systems,
TEAM EFFORT
Sustainability initiatives only work if staff at all levels
is involved
heat pumps and recovery systems.”
Despite these efforts, O’Neil
explains that hotels need to really
think ahead to meet targets established
at COP21 (the Paris climate
conference held in 2015), including
setting an internal price on carbon or
moving to science-based targets (see
sciencebasedtargets.org). This is not
only a positive move towards environmental
activism, it’s actually effecting
hotels’ ROI. “I’ve seen hotels reap big
rewards by creating efficiencies and
automated systems which maximize
the use of their heating and cooling,”
says O’Neil. “But, perhaps surprisingly,
there doesn’t seem to be much use
of renewable energies except through
the grid.”
Water is also a critical resource,
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20 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER
hoteliermagazine.com

BY SHARING THE
SUCCESSES OF
YOUR HOTEL'S
ENERGY-
CONSERVATION
GOALS WITH
STAFF, YOU
INVOLVE THEM
IN THE PROCESS
- JUSTIN KEATING
which puts the hospitality industry
in a precarious position, given
its abundant usage. According to
the UN, the demand for water will
outstrip supply by 40 per cent by
2030. For this reason, O’Neil insists
that token towel-and-linen programs
simply are not enough to impact the
impending water crisis. “Of course,
it’s imperative that guests' towels and
bedding are reused, but the truth is we
need to do more — and faster,” says
O’Neil. “Hotels are being slow to take
bigger strides on water, such as the
installation of grey-water systems and
rainwater harvesting.”
The question of water use is
especially relevant when looking at
hotels within their local and global
contexts. “In some countries, guests
use 10 times more water daily than
is usual for local people,” explains
O’Neil. She notes that hotels really
need to align with the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals. “Looking
ahead, we will see more reporting
on their sustainability actions which
support those UN goals. It’s got to
be a group effort within the industry
towards transparency and commitment
to change.”
Linda Hartwell, director of Marketing,
Communications and Business
Development at the Hotel Association
of Canada (HAC) and Green Key
Global, notes that going sustainable
isn’t just a social-justice thing to do,
but has real financial benefits. “Those
who participate in the Green Key
Eco-Rating Program see improvement
in their ROI,” says
Hartwell. “But it requires
aligning and investing
in the right systems
at the right time. All
departments within the
operation — from foodand-beverage
to heating
and cooling systems —
need to be on board to
save costs,” says Hartwell.
“Waste disposal alone can
be cut in half when hotels
opt to purchase something
as simple as cardboard and
aluminum bailers — and
recycling containers for each room.”
Justin Keating, general manager
of Quebec City’s award-winning
Hôtel du Vieux-Québec says being
eco-responsible has to be a commitment
on the part of all staff at the
hotel. “By sharing the successes of
your hotel’s energy-conservation goals
with staff, you involve them in the
process,” says Keating, who uses the
Quebec-based company Ecosynergie to
keep track of the hotel waste streams.
“We also give 20 per cent of our profits
to staff as an annual bonus.” In this
way, Keating makes the investment
tangible — hotel staff literally reap
the financial benefits of the effort
they put in and can feel like they are
contributing in a meaningful way to
environmental issues — whether they
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ChoiceHotelsDevelopment.ca

provide room care or create designer
drinks behind the bar.
Hôtel du Vieux-Québec is one-ofa-kind
when it comes to its sustainable
practices. An urban garden
and bee sanctuary sit atop the hotel
roof, replete with solar panels and a
wastewater heat-recuperation system.
“It may seem odd to include bees
in a hotel landscape, but not when
you reflect on the fact that bees
pollinate 70 per cent of our edible
foods,” gushes Keating. “So our urban
garden benefits, but also our staff, who
happen to love the organic honey.
Gardening and bee-keeping seem to
feed the soul of our hotel and the staff
that work there.”
Keating says that the beginning
stages of this sort of initiative begin
with public-education campaigns. “It’s
hard to refuse the innovations once
you know the benefits they will have
towards the hotel and its surrounding
IT'S HARD TO REFUSE THE
INNOVATIONS ONCE YOU KNOW THE
BENEFITS THEY WILL HAVE TO THE
HOTEL AND ITS SURROUNDING
COMMUNITY
JUSTIN KEATING, GM,
HÔTEL DU VIEUX-QUÉBEC
The Fairmont Hotel
The reviews are in and customers
love our mattresses!
“Nice hotel. GREAT BED”
Hotel is as you would expect from a big chain. Clean
well maintained and friendly. Nothing bad to report,
we enjoyed our stay. Bed was also super comfy.
- Customer Review of Courtyard Toronto, Downtown - Trip Advisor, October 2016
Contact your local Serta Hospitality Representative for more information
Ontario - contact Christine Pella at cpella@sertanational.com
Central & Western Canada - contact Graham Hall at ghall@sertanational.com
Eastern Canada - contact Yan Hurtubise at yhurtubise@serta.com
22 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

PARTNERS IN PROTECTION
Today's hotels are doing their part to raise
awareness of sustainable practices
community,” he says. When it comes
to plastic water bottles (think oceans
floating with tons of plastic), Keating
isn’t a fan. Their environmental
impact cannot be ignored. “Part of our
campaign is to educate not just staff,
but guests, about issues such as the
water crisis and the plastic-water-bottle
industry and its damaging effect,” says
Keating. Plastic bottles are not sold to
guests, as the hotel distributes reusable
glass bottles instead.
At AccorHotels, which manages
the Fairmont Resorts & Hotels
brand, sustainability is front-andcentre
of its brand promotion and
online platform with its Planet 21
program — a program which, according
to its website, “demonstrates the
Group’s ambitious goals for 2020,
based around four strategic priorities:
work with its employees, involve its
customers, innovate with its partners
and work with local communities.”
Global AccorHotels sustainable
director, Arnaud Herrmann,
stated “A year after our Planet 21
program was extended, our hotels
really rallied behind it in 2016.
This meant supporting initiatives at
the local level with efforts such as
banning the use of overfished seafood
in our restaurants or sourcing produce
from local communities.”
Herrmann says the new initiative

Today’s guest is environmentally savvy
and want their travel plans to toe a similar
line.
LEADING THE WAY
The Fairmont brand has long been a sustainability
leader in Canada
Here are a few eco-resorts that are
setting a new standard:
E’Terra — Nestled in Tobermory, Ont.,
a LEED-Gold-certified estate provides a
reclusive luxury hideaway with glorious
views of the Georgian Bay. There’s just
one caveat. You have to be really rich to
visit. And don’t bother looking it up online
— directions are only available to those
who have put money down.
Chic-Chocs Mountain Lodge — This
Quebec-based 18-room retreat immerses
guests in a mountain environment without
the trappings of technology. Rooms have
no televisions, phones, or alarm clocks.
If you must have internet, it is available,
but guests don’t come here to work, but
to “split-board” — a strange, primitive version
of skiing.
Trout Point Lodge — A finalist
in National Geographic Traveler’s
Geotourism Challenge, this luxury chateau
in Nova Scotia combines rustic
charm with recreational pastimes. Whalewatching,
sea kayaking, golf, and fishing
along the Tusket River make this retreat a
favourite spot for return guests.
Photo: ©Brandon Barré
“Acting Here” is a necessary one,
given the urgency of the global
climate crisis. It entails acting locally
while conceiving of the hotel itself
as a community of global citizens.
“Whether it’s to fight food waste,
promote agroforestry or further the
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energy transition, we applied a “testand-learn”
approach to hone our
policies,” says Herrmann. “Through
trial and error, we tried out new,
intelligent tools which have helped
us make faster progress towards
our objectives.” For example, one
AccorHotel campaign, “Plant for
the Planet,” diverts money saved
through efficient laundry operations
to reforestation projects with a
promise to plant 10 million trees by
the year 2021.
With its Green Partnership
program launched as early as 1990,
Fairmont has been ahead of the
curve with regard to environmental
issues in the hospitality industry.
Now coined the Fairmont Sustainability
Partnership, community
partnerships have led to the reduction
in energy use and waste
disposal. Water conservation has
also become a key feature of the
program. Just last year, Fairmont
met its goal to reduce its CO2
carbon footprint by 20 per cent
through the World Wildlife Fund’s
Climate-Savers program.
Fairmont has even partnered
with Burt’s Bees co-founder Burt
Shavitz in a unique program called
“Wild for Bees” — a program
that builds ‘bee hotels’ across the
country. So far there are only 16
pollinator habitats that have been
created with the help of Vancouver
organization Hives for Humanity,
however, they are catering to
a particular type of bee. “It’s not
the honey bee,” says Michael King,
manager of Safety and Loss Prevention
(and bees) at the Fairmont
Waterfront Hotel. “The bee hotels
really cater to the solitary pollinator
bees — the ones that keep our
fruits and vegetables
in existence.”
Who knew that creating an
eco-friendly hotel would literally be
the bees knees? u
ISTOCK.COM/LENAWURM
24 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
TaiPanLighting_TS.indd 1
2017-05-26 1:49 PM

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© 2017 TELUS Corporation.

ONTARIO HOTELS
yours to discover
Stately and historic hotels have set the standard for
luxury and class in Ontario’s hotel scene
BY CHRIS POWELL
LAP OF LUXURY
The Omni King Edward in Toronto; the
Fairmont Royal York in Toronto; the
Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa;
Walper Hotel in Kitchener, Ont.
26 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

OH CANADA
ONTARIO is home
to more than 2,800 hotels, yet only
a select few can boast of playing host
to captains of industry and heads of
state, not to mention a group of lovable
mop-tops from Liverpool.
Several properties have played a key
role in the history and evolution of the
province’s hotel industry. Some remain
the beating heart of their community,
others helped create a new standard for
luxury, while still others have risen to
the status of national historic site. Here
are five properties that help define the
industry in Ontario.
Fit for a King
The Omni King Edward on King St.
was considered Toronto’s first luxury
hotel when it opened on May 11, 1903,
a well-appointed “palace hotel” to rival
the likes of New York’s Waldorf or
Quebec’s Château Frontenac.
George Gooderham — a prominent
Toronto businessman whose grandfather,
William, had co-founded the
city’s Gooderham & Worts whisky
distillery in the 1830s — commissioned
the hotel. He viewed it as key to
maintaining the vitality of city’s former
downtown core, which was shifting
westward to Bay and Queen streets
following the 1899 construction of what
is now Old City Hall.
The 301-room property was originally
going to be named the Palace Hotel in
honour of Queen Victoria, but its name
was changed to that of her son, King
Edward VII, following the monarch’s
death in 1901.
Along with its well-appointed
rooms, the King Edward is renowned
for its afternoon tea, as well as Sunday
brunch in the newly renovated Sovereign
Ballroom. The brunch is hailed
for its seafood selection, and other
signature items such as Beef Wellington
with foie gras.
Numerous key figures from the worlds
of literature, entertainment and politics
have stayed at the hotel during its
114-year history, ranging from Mark
Twain and Ernest Hemingway, to Elvis
Presley and The Beatles. The latter’s
1964 stay created mayhem, with scores
of teenagers — along with Toronto
mayor Phil Givens — reportedly prowling
the hallways in an attempt to meet
their idols.
Acquired by Omni Hotels & Resorts
in 2015, the property has undergone
nearly $60 million in renovations in
recent years, including a revamp of its
guestrooms and upgrades to its Vanity
Fair and Windsor ballrooms.
Perhaps the most significant,
however, is the $6.5 million restoration
of the hotel’s legendary Crystal
Ballroom, which had sat empty — save
for the occasional video shoot — for
more than three decades before being
re-opened in April 2017 to considerable
fanfare.
The 17th floor ballroom first opened
in 1922, and quickly became a gathering
place for the city’s cultural elite.
It would also host some of the world’s
great orchestras, including those led by
legendary figures such as Count Basie,
Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman.
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 27

INDUSTRY ICONS
Armed with an education in architecture,
ISADORE SHARP was in his early 20s
when he constructed his first Four Seasons
hotel — a modest 125-room motor inn
on a down-at-heel section of Jarvis St.
in Toronto. It was a decidedly incongruous
location for a hotel chain that would
become synonymous with luxury. Even
then, however, the hotel possessed what
would become an enduring hallmark — an
unwavering focus on superior customer
service. Today, the 85-year-old hotelier
serves as chairman of a global empire
that includes 105 hotels in 43 countries,
and was made an Officer of the Order of
Canada in 1993.
TASTE OF ROYALTY
The lobby at Toronto's Fairmont Royal York
(above); The Royal York rises above the Toronto
skyline
MICHAEL BECKLEY spent 50 years in
the hotel industry, but it is his 15 years with
Marriott Hotels in Canada that cemented
his legacy as one of Canada’s greatest
hoteliers. Beckley joined Marriott in 2001,
when the company had just 17 units in
Canada. When he left the company in
2015, it boasted 145 units spanning 30
brands. While Beckley pledged to retire
upon leaving Marriott, he has served as
director of CBRE Hotels since early 2016.
General manager Christophe Le
Chatton says the refurbished room
had booked $1 million worth of
business even before its re-opening.
“It will probably be the signature
ballroom in Toronto,” he says of the
space, which is characterized by high
ceilings and a series of magnificent
glass chandeliers.
“I’ve spoken to some of my predecessors,
and every single one hoped to be
able to see this ballroom come back to
life,” adds Le Chatton. “When I came
here it was part of my agenda to not
only [restore] this hotel to one of the
top luxury hotels in the city from a
service and a guest-experience standpoint,
but also become part of leading
those renovations.”
Royal
Accommodations
While the King Edward is regarded as
Toronto’s first luxury hotel, it would
see the rise of its first serious challenger
a quarter-century later. More than
40 million guests, including princes,
presidents and pop stars, have passed
through the Fairmont Royal York
since it opened on June 11, 1929.
The hotel’s original owner, Canadian
Pacific Railway (CPR), built the
hotel on the site of the former Queen’s
Hotel, which had been operating since
1862 and was regarded as a grand
hotel in its own right. The Royal York
was briefly the tallest building in the
British Commonwealth, surpassed
by the Canadian Bank of Commerce
tower in 1931.
The Royal York would become
synonymous with what it describes as
“gracious hospitality,” with touches
such as hand-painted ceilings, crystal
After making his first money in real estate,
Easton’s Group of Hotels president and
CEO STEVE GUPTA opened his first hotel
in Port Hope, Ont. in 1988. The hotelier has
expanded the business to include hotels
operating under the Marriott, Hilton and
InterContinental Hotels Group banners
in the GTA, Kingston and Montreal. Gupta
has described his purchase of the former
RCMP building on Toronto’s Dundas St.
E. — which was converted into the luxury
Grand Hotel and Suites in 1999 — as one of
his most savvy investments.
chandeliers and wall hangings all
contributing to an air of refinement
that remains today.
But the hotel’s rise to prominence is
perhaps best embodied by the Imperial
Room, which hosted performances by
titans of 20th-century entertainment,
including Tony Bennett, Ray Charles
and James Brown, during its heyday.
“We have colleagues who have been
with us for 35 to 40 years and they
remember when it used to be the go-to
place [in the city],” says Jacqueline
28 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

Tyler, the Royal York’s Marketing and
Communications manager. One possibly
apocryphal story has Bob Dylan
being turned away by the maître d’
because he was lacking the proper
attire. “They had standards, you
know,” laughs Tyler.
The Royal York was also the first
Fairmont property to offer guests the
Fairmont Gold experience (subsequently
rolled out in the majority of
the upscale chain’s properties around
the world in the early 1990s). The
Program is described as creating a
“hotel within a hotel.” The experience
provides guests with access to
the Fairmont Gold Lounge, as well
as enhanced concierge service, an
honour bar and evening canapés.
The hotel also has the distinction
of being the official place of residence
for Queen Elizabeth II when she visits
Toronto. She stays in the Royal Suite,
a 2,470-sq.-ft., two-bedroom suite on
the 16th floor, which features a full
dining room and a large living area —
all serviced by a private elevator.
Heart of the
Community
A little more than 100 kilometres west
of Toronto, Kitchener’s Walper Hotel
remains firmly entrenched in the city’s
social scene more than a century after
it first opened its doors.
“The city effectively evolved around
the Walper Hotel,” says general
manager Domini Baldasaro. “In its
initial iteration, it was an inn and
trading post that became a stopping
point for guests coming through the
area on horseback.
Abel Walper (1833-1904) built the
92-room boutique hotel bearing his
The Walper Hotel
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Fairmont Chateau Laurier
name in 1893. It replaced the Varnum
Inn, which had stood on the site since
1820, until it was destroyed by fire.
The original hotel took up four
floors, with a fifth floor and the
Walper’s signature event space, the
Crystal Ballroom, added in the 1920s.
The ballroom, which can accommodate
up to 224 people, boasts a
13-ft.-high ceiling and original crown
moulding. “It’s a beautifully preserved
space that has an absolutely classic feel
to it,” says Baldasaro.
The Walper re-opened to guests
in September 2016 following a
$10-million renovation that required
nearly 18 months to complete and
involved key areas such as HVAC,
electrical and plumbing, as well as
cosmetic upgrades.
The hotel is popular with business
clientele drawn by Kitchener’s tech
community, and is also a popular
choice for weddings and destination
travellers attracted by the region’s
emerging restaurant scene.
Famous guests include Louis
Armstrong (who is said to have
played for crowds from a second-floor
balcony), as well as Eleanor Roosevelt,
Pierre Burton and several Prime
Ministers, including Pierre Trudeau,
and, most recently, his son Justin.
Baldasaro describes the Walper’s
guestrooms as a “total departure”
from those of its competitors, with
hardwood floors in every room,
complemented by furnishings
intended to look like they belong in a
guest’s house or condominium.
Each room also features a whimsical
splash of colour, such as a red
bathroom door or a bright blue chair.
“We really tried to create a great mashup
between historic elements and the
contemporary pieces we knew our
guests wanted to see,” he says.
The hotel also works closely with
local suppliers, with rooms featuring
handcrafted soap from Cambridge’s
Buck Naked Soap Company and
coffee from Kitchener-based roaster,
Smile Tiger Coffee Roasters. The
latter offers fully biodegradable coffee
systems that replace the pod-based
systems common in modern hotels.
“We know that hotels are huge
contributors to landfill waste, and we
wanted to be part of reducing that”
says Baldasaro.
A CAPITAL IDEA
Often called “the third chamber of
parliament” because of its proximity
to Parliament Hill and the politicians
frequently found roaming its
hallways, Ottawa’s Fairmont Chateau
Laurier was constructed for $2
million (approximately $48.6 million
in today’s dollars) between 1909
and 1912.
Charles Melville Hays, the
American-born general manager of
the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway of
Canada, commissioned the hotel in
1907. Hays would perish on the Titanic
on April 15, 1912, just days before
the hotel’s scheduled opening on April
26. Due to the tragedy, the hotel was
formally opened by its namesake, Sir
Wilfred Laurier, during a subdued
ceremony on June 12.
The 426-room hotel — which was
designated a national historic site in
1981 — was built in the Chateauesque
style, a revival of the French Renaissance
style characterized by its elaborate
towers and steeply-pitched roofs.
No expense was spared on the hotel,
which counts white Italian marble,
light buff Indiana limestone and copper
among its building materials. “We are
a castle within a city, and who doesn’t
want to stay in a castle in Canada’s
capital city?” says Deneen Perrin, the
hotel’s director of Public Relations.
The Chateau Laurier also boasts a
prime location, situated just steps from
Parliament Hill and the city’s famed
ByWard Market, as well as the Rideau
Canal and Rideau Locks. “You can
be enamoured by everything Ottawa
has to offer without having to drive
anywhere,” says Perrin.
River Views
While not all of Ontario’s “historic”
properties date back to the agrarian
era of britches and hoes, it remains a
source of inspiration. In Niagara-onthe-Lake,
The Queen’s Landing —
which opened in 1990 — was purposebuilt
to evoke the look and feel of a
Victorian-era property.
The 140-room hotel does, however,
sit on the site of what was once the
Old Niagara Harbour and Dock
Company, a shipping company formed
30 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

in 1831 that would go on to employ a
workforce of 400 at its height.
Despite its recent vintage, the
Queen’s Landing boasts a decidedly
Victorian aesthetic. Its exterior
walls feature aged bricks imported
from Germany, while the exterior
columns, a sweeping grand staircase
and panoramic windows were carefully
selected to evoke a grand Georgian
mansion on the Niagara River.
The hotel has taken full advantage
of its proximity to the river, with the
guestroom wings constructed in a “T”
formation to allow for the maximum
number of rooms with a view.
The Queen's Landing
During a recent renovation, Vintage
Hotels decided to create two large
guest suites by knocking down walls
between two rooms. “We did this in
answer to requests from our guests
for larger guestrooms with a luxurious
feel, all with the best views of the
Niagara River,” says general manager
Lily Kszan.
The hotel has also maintained
ties with its past, with the original
Dockmaster Building (constructed
in 1835) housing four private suites.
“Although updated and beautified over
the years, the building is a national
historic site and is a significant part of
Canadian history,” explains Kszan.
Queen’s Landing is a popular
wedding venue, with couples
clamouring to hold what Kszan
describes as “fairy-tale weddings” on
the property. It hosts more than 90
special events a year, with bookings
taking place years in advance. “It
is a real privilege to be a ‘Queen’s
Landing Bride,’” says Kszan. u
Can the quality of your guest
Wi-Fi actually attract guests?
Did you know that since 2013, annual
J.D. Power surveys have shown that Wi-Fi
is the #1 amenity guests look for when
booking a hotel stay? It’s hardly surprising.
According to Catalyst.ca 1 , more than threequarters
of Canadians owned a smartphone
in 2016, and according to the CBC 2 ,
wireless data usage was up 15% the year
before. And if guests aren’t happy with
your Wi-Fi, they won’t come back.
In fact, Hotel Business Review 3 found that
80% of guests won’t return after a bad
technology experience.
Great Wi-Fi makes a big
difference.
TELUS Hospitality Wi-Fi is delivered
over the blazing fast TELUS PureFibre
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And 24/7 TELUS technical support for
your guests is included, which means your
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connectivity issues guests may have.
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2: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/crtc-telecom-report-1.3290603
3. http://hotelexecutive.com/business_review/3046/hotel-wi-fi -balancingbudget-bandwidth
4. Where available 5. BCHA InnFocus, Summer 2016.

TRENDS
CONNECTING
BY DENISE DEVEAU
THE DOTS
Whatever the tech plan, it’s all about the connections
ISTOCK.COM/STEVANOVICIGOR
Technology can be
found in virtually
every aspect of
today’s hotel operations.
From selfservice
kiosks and
in-room sensors to kitchen appliances
and door locks, chains and independents
alike are seeking innovative
ways to streamline operations, reduce
costs and, most importantly, enhance
and customize the guest experience.
Much is hidden behind the scenes
in cloud-based services for back-end
functions, such as reservation systems,
customer-relationship management
and energy-usage monitoring. Then
there are the customer-facing technologies
that are adding wow factor to
the guest experience, such as mobile
check-in, in-room streaming, interactive
display panels; the list goes on.
But there is one underlying trend
that plays a role in just about every
innovation out there and it’s one that
hoteliers are constantly having to
invest in with each passing year —
connectivity. Whether talking Wi-Fi
or mobile, the ability to connect the
technology dots is becoming the
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 33

MEETING TECHNOLOGIES
Seamless connectivity is a make-or-break
proposition for any corporate event. That’s
why Marriott has come up with a way to
apply technology to make sure its meeting
and convention team always scores a
perfect 10.
Called Wi-Fi Simplified, it simplifies the
process of Wi-Fi planning and booking for
events. “It’s an industry-leading approach
on how we present meeting internet
options for customers,” says Laura Pallotta.
“Each team member is aware of exactly
how to identify customer needs, which
technology is best, the pricing, and then
pulling it through.”
To date, 17 hotels in Canada have adopted
the Wi-Fi Simplified approach, Pallotta
reports. “It’s really about the front end supporting
back-end needs.”
Marriott has also applied mobile innovation
to streamlining the customer experience
during events. Its customer-facing Meeting
Services App has become an indispensable
tool for meeting planners, she says.
The app connects planners to the hotel
team in real time, 24/7 and is available
in 20 different languages. The customer
receives a custom link three days prior to
their event. They can then ask for changes
in room temperature or amenities, order
essentials, place shipping orders and any
other on-site request through the mobile
app. As Pallotta notes, “Planners can manage
their event without leaving their seats.”
lynchpin in any hotel-tech strategy.
Whatever the plan, Gary Patrick,
CEO of Hotel Internet Services in
Clearwater, Fla., says hotels must
be on top of their networks at all
times. “Hotels have to make sure
that whatever they do, connectivity
is always on and their network is as
robust as it can be to handle traffic. It
has become a top guest demand.”
Warren Markwart, president, MK2
Hospitality in Toronto, confirms that
Wi-Fi continues to be the single biggest
aggravation for hotel guests. “If a
guest walks into a room and there is a
dirty bathtub and bad Wi-Fi, they will
complain about the Wi-Fi first. It is the
number-1 guest complaint today.”
Another key buzzword dominating
the connectivity conversations is IoT
(Internet of Things). “There’s a lot
of talk about people starting to build
this into technology, including HVAC
systems, door locks, lighting, alarm
clocks, thermostats, vending machines,
mini bars, kitchen appliances and
beacons for tracking hotel guest
activity. Anything with an IP address
can be monitored and maintained,”
Patrick explains.
Then, of course, there is the mobile
factor. Digital engagement via mobile
is becoming a must-have in hotel
operations, Markwart says. “Digital
customer engagement is about the way
hoteliers talk to their customers and
how the customer talks to them.”
He cites studies that show between
50 and 60 per cent of all same-day
reservations in the leisure category
are made on smartphones. “It’s one
of the areas that is the most explosive
in terms of what is happening in
hotels right now. Requesting towels,
late checkout, connecting with room
service — all of these can be done
[with mobile devices].”
Sunray Group in Toronto is
banking on digital engagement with
its new GuestLink service — a tabletbased
system being rolled out in the
company’s guestrooms. The interactive
devices can be programmed to broadcast
information on daily specials, late
checkout, daily news, local attractions,
and menus. Guests can place tablet-totablet
video calls within the property,
or make requests to departments
without having to speak to someone.
“That will make things pretty efficient
for us and our guests,” says Kenny
Gibson, president.
As Sunray looks to its tech future,
KEEPING CONNECTED
In-room connectivity is becoming the lynchpin in any
hotel-tech strategy
Gibson says one of the biggest
technology areas has been in and
around check-in and check-out
processes. “Over time, there has been
a movement to do away with room
keys and replace them with the guest’s
mobile device.”
Marriott was one of the first to introduce
mobile-check-in and room-ready
alerts in 2014, says Laura Pallotta,
regional VP of Sales & Marketing at
Marriott International in Mississauga.
It is continuing to add features to its
branded mobile app platform, such as
room-upgrade or late-check-in requests.
“In a recent re-launch, we also
34 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

expanded the Mobile Key function,
so members can check in using their
mobile device and go straight to their
room using [their device] to open
the door.”
The in-room experience is another
area where hoteliers are putting
emphasis on innovative technologies.
A big trend is replicating the seamless
at-home entertainment experience,
Markwart says. “Guests want to walk
into a room and function like they do
at home. They want the pictures and
sounds to be the same,” Markwart says.
However, it’s not quite as affordable
as the mobile app scenario, he
cautions. “You need smart TVs and the
right connectivity. That often requires
a large capital expenditure.”
Hugo Germain, director of Development
at Group Germain Hotels, says
two of its newest Alt properties in St.
John’s and Calgary, will include the
latest iteration of in-room connected
panels that allow guests to perform
multiple functions — from controlling
entertainment systems to in-room
temperature, lighting and blinds — from
their bedside. The intent, Germain says,
is to simplify the guest experience.
While it may sound mundane, easy
access to connection points in guestrooms
is a critical factor for guests
these days, whether it’s a control
panel, USB ports or standard outlets,
Germain says. “We are making sure
these are above tabletop level and next
to each side of the bed so it is always
convenient for guests,” he adds.
While the furor of activity revolves
around connectivity on all fronts,
there is the question of what the
next wave will be. Markwart has
his own “future think” list. On it is
some “small stuff” such as new charging
needs for devices and self-service
systems that will dispense wine with a
swipe of a room card. “The iPhone 8,
for example will generate demand for
different connectors.”
Already on the scene, but growing
fast, are interactive wall panels that
are evolving into powerful marketing
and information-delivery tools. “There
HYDRTHR15-HOTELIER QRTRPG AD FNL 062415.pdf 1 15-06-24 1:09 PM
is some fascinating stuff going on in
lobbies and convention floors,” he says.
Then there is the stuff of science
fiction, such as robotics for routine
room-service functions, Markwart
notes. Even virtual reality is on the
radar, but that will take some time
before it can be applied in a way that
makes sense, he believes.
Not all tech innovation is about
saving money, he says. “It’s about
how they can use it to enhance and
improve guest service.” u
C
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CM
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hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 35

OPERATIONS
THE
MEANING
OF CLEAN
Guests' desire for simple, clean,
green and well-lit spaces are
impacting housekeeping operations
BY ANDREW COPPOLINO
ISTOCK.COM/CHET_W
36 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER
hoteliermagazine.com

Despite the hightech
world that
swirls around
us, simplicity is
comforting. This
is a fundamental
truth in the hotel
industry. “People want simple things,”
says Joseph Clohessy, general manager
of the Calgary Marriott Downtown.
“They want their room to be clean
because this is where they recharge.”
Ernest Hemingway called it a
“clean, well-lighted place” to spend
time in. From an aesthetic point of
view, the trend is toward uncluttered
hotel rooms with clear, smooth
surfaces. With this aesthetic, it is more
important than ever that rooms be
tidy and spotlessly clean.
When it comes to hotel housekeeping,
the first aspect to consider
is who will do the cleaning. According
to Jani-King Canada’s national
general manager, Robert McNamara,
outsourcing of housekeeping services
has not been as popular here as it is in
the United States and Europe.
“It’s been harder to penetrate the
market here,” McNamara says. “Most
hoteliers feel they have to protect that
side of the business. They’re cautious
about giving up responsibility and
working with a partner. They don’t
mind outsourcing the restaurant and
grounds work but are more protective
of housekeeping.”
But Paul Gingras, executive
housekeeper at Toronto Park Hyatt,
disagrees, estimating 90 per cent of
hotels in urban areas have outsourced
their laundry needs. With the logistics
involved and maintenance costs,
he says it just makes sense. Philippa
Akyeampong, director of Rooms at
Westin Harbour Castle — a Torontobased
hotel that outsources its laundry
— agrees with this assessment, adding
she sees an increasing number of
hotels taking this route.
“It’s more cost-effective because you
don’t have the big labour expense. It’s
also more efficient and there’s more
accountability,” says Akyeampong.
McNamara says higher minimum
wage and overall labour costs, along
with the cost of finding, training and
retaining staff can make in-house
services a significant cost. Out-sourcing,
he says, shifts that expense from
a variable to a fixed cost. Regardless,
sometimes the numbers still
work — as does the history, according
to Clohessy at Calgary Marriott
Downtown, which was renovated
two years ago. Its laundry has been
done in-house for 42 years; he says
it's invested in the process to make
it as efficient as possible, including
equipment modifications and environmental
steps which have resulted in
increased sustainability.
“We’ve run the scenarios and it is
still, at this time, more efficient to
have that operation within the hotel,”
Clohessy explains.
GREEN AND BRIGHT
The new trends are the old trends —
and it doesn’t matter to the customer
if there’s in-house or outsourced operations.
Issues that were once primary
— meeting and exceeding customer
expectations in cleanliness and using
green products — are still demanded
today, according to McNamara. “If we
get to [decide] what products to use
to clean rooms, we will select green,”
he says. If not, they fall into line with
what the hotel wants.
In Calgary, Clohessy says a new
program was started in January that
gave guests reward points for declining
a housekeeping visit. “We’ve seen
great success and it creates an environmental
awareness. It comes down to
training guest services to make sure
they explain the program correctly
to customers.” There are, of course,
“degrees” of green, and sometimes this
is driven by the customer expectations
of the geographic location. Such is the
case for Castle Mountain Chalets, an
Alberta-based AHLA’s 2016 Housekeeping
Awards winner that has been
operating since 1939.
“We do our laundry in-house as
we are only 25 rental units,” says
general manager Laurie L. Wallace.
“We conserve water because we are
located in Banff National Park and
use eco-friendly products where and
when we can.”
“We’re green, too,” Gingras points
NEW TECH ON DECK
The “Internet-of-Things” is shaping all facets of
the hotel industry, from door-entry systems that
talk to HVAC units to hand-held devices that link
room attendants and property-management
systems, which are creating a network of communications
and data that permits greater efficiencies
and, consequently, cost savings.
“HotSOS is beginning to take off,” says
Philippa Akyeampong, director of Rooms
at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.
Amadeus Hospitality’s HotSOS (Hotel Service
Optimization System) platform manages
service for guest requests, while tracking
occupancy and room maintenance. “Only a
few hotels in the city have it,” Akyeampong
explains, “but more are gearing towards it. It
can help with room readiness and give managers
more time because it does give back in
labour and productivity.”
Paul Gingras, executive housekeeper at Park
Hyatt Toronto, uses the system as well. “It’s
basically like a BlackBerry or iPhone,” he says.
“Room assignments are done by computer. The
rooms, occupied or empty, are prioritized and
given a point system depending on VIP arrival
or guest requests.” That information, which can
even be translated to the several languages, is
sent directly to room attendants so that a 300-
point room gets cleaned before a 100-point
room. Rather than a series of phone calls indicating
vacant rooms, the system communicates
directly with the room attendant responsible.
“Engineering requests such as those for burnedout
light bulbs can also be made with the system,”
Gingras says.
Robotic vacuums are another tech item topping
Gingras’s wish list, if he could get a good
product to do the job. “I think eventually this will
happen. Room attendants [will be able to] have
the [robot] vacuum cleaning the room while they
clean the washroom. That can save time.”
At the downtown Calgary Marriott, GM
Joseph Clohessy says it is looking into a system
similar to HotSOS. “During renovations,” he
says, “we introduced occupancy technology in
which the lock talks to the thermostat and can
also tell us when the guest has left the room.”
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) cardreader
technology for door locks enhances
both guest convenience and improves operational
efficiency for the hotel. Thermostats have
motion-detection technology to determine guestroom
occupancy and offer programmability that
can result in energy
savings with no
impact on guest
comfort. “It helps
deploy resources
efficiently and
precisely,”
Clohessy says.
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 37

out but agrees that geography can
play a role. While a card indicates
to his Hyatt guests the option of not
having towels washed daily, he says
they are not always popular. “You’d
be surprised how many guests don’t
make the request. Maybe they are
saying that they are paying good
money and want their linen changed.
I was in Vancouver for 18 years and
maybe they think differently. It’s
much greener [out] west.”
Regardless, efficiencies can come
into play in the quest for green.
According to Akyeampong, the staff
at Westin Harbour Castle does more
with less; where there were once four
or five different cleaning solutions,
there may now be only two. “We
have fewer solutions that can do
more jobs,” she explains. “It’s good for
the environment and for the safety of
the room attendants.”
One green aspect that carries
across virtually all sectors, but
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allergy sensitivities, which have
become first-tier concerns. According
to Gingras, guests routinely request
fragrance-free linen that has also
been cleaned without bleach, due
to environmental awareness. “It’s
not like the old days. It’s often no
scent and no powder. People are very
sensitive to that,” he says, adding
that adapting to what the market
demands is at the heart of the industry.
As Akyeampong points out, the
ubiquity of the issue has actually
made it easier to accommodate guests
because there are more product
choices available.
Closely allied to shining cleanliness,
Akyeampong sees design trends
moving away from darker colours
and towards brighter palettes.
With more white decor in rooms
and better lighting, she says that
makes cleanliness an even more
difficult standard to meet. “We’re
moving into a design that highlights
everything in the room, which also
highlights the cleanliness.”
Clohessy agrees, noting bathrooms
are becoming brighter, with mirrors
featuring built-in lights. “We’ve learned
lessons from our customers about good
lighting in the bathroom area.”
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE
To get things looking spotless under
the bright lights, water is a key
commodity. Most people pay twice
for water — once to have it piped
to homes or businesses and a second
time when it is taken away as waste.
A single dripping tap and leaky
toilet can amount to eight litres of
water wasted each day — and with
it considerable cost. Multiply that
by several hundred hotel rooms —
not factoring in other water use
— and the numbers climb quickly.
Commonly, hotel guests are incentivized
to not take room servicing as
a green choice, Akyeampong says.
“That reduces water consumption,”
adding if 200 rooms a day were to
make the choice in a week, that’s
1,000 rooms and again the numbers
start to add up.
Training can make a difference
too, she adds, and room attendants
are the frontline staff who can
control water use. A lot of water is
wasted when room attendants enter
a room and turn on the sink and
bathtub faucets and then go and
collect the garbage and perform other
duties. “We’ve changed the process,”
Akyeampong says. “Attendants apply
the cleaning solutions and don’t turn
on the water until they come back
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into the bathroom and turn one
faucet on a time and use medium as
compared to scorching hot water.”
Seven years ago, the Calgary
Marriott Downtown installed a
64-sq.-ft. water-recycling system
by Georgia-based AquaRecycle.
Clohessy says it has proven to be very
efficient for laundry-water recycling.
Closed loop wash-water recycling
means reduced incoming water usage
of approximately 80 per cent, a reduction
of heating of up to 50 per cent
and reduced sewer discharge of 95 per
cent. Figures provided by AquaRecycle’s
website suggest a two-year ROI.
At New Brunswick’s Algonquin
Resort, washing machines have a
special rinse cycle to conserve water.
“We don’t use any product in our
washing that has a fragrance and
everything is balanced to a neutral
pH,” says Heather King, executive
housekeeper at Algonquin Resort.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
The latest and greatest in technology,
water reduction, in-house efficiencies
and design trends are well and
good, but the basics of laundry and
housekeeping operations in hotels
small or large have never really
changed. Guest expectations —
perhaps especially where cleaning
is concerned — continue to go
up, McNamara says. “They want
more,” he says. “Everyone judges
the experience based on how clean
it was. If it’s not clean, it’s not going
to get a high score.”
With two decades in the industry,
Akyeampong has also seen
more being demanded by customers
than ever. “If you don’t take care
of the bathrooms and the beds
properly, it ruins your loyalty,” she
says. However, she notes she has
seen a slight change in this regard.
“If anything, it’s become more
important now. In the past, people
were less critical.”
That said, the core aspects of
housekeeping operations haven’t
changed over the years — you
have to get the basics right,
agrees Clohessy. “There needs
to be a great arrival experience
for guests and followed up by
top-notch cleanliness in the room.
Once they walk into that room
and turn on those bright bathroom
lights, it has to be spotless.
That’s fundamental.” u
ISTOCK.COM/KZENON
42 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

DESIGN & DECOR
DRIVEN
design
BY
Hotels are using design elements to draw in guests
BY JESSICA MAIORANO
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 43

DESIGNED FOR LIFE (clockwise from above)
Bathroom at The Westin Bear Mountain; lobby of
the Delta Toronto; Delta's new bathroom design;
suite at The Westin Bear Mountain
Today’s hotels are more
design-driven than
ever before, thanks in
part to the influence
of millennial guests. In
the past, the difference
between three- and five-star hotels
usually came down to cleanliness, but
in today’s market, hotels are using
design features to draw guests in. In
this new modus operandi, furnishings,
floorings and lighting are now
some of the key components that
hotel designers are factoring in when
putting together a room.
CALL OF THE WILD
Situated on Canada’s West Coast,
there has always been a natural
aesthetic to The Westin Bear
Mountain. The 156-room property
in picturesque Victoria, B.C. recently
renovated the majority of its guestrooms
in order to remain up-to-date
with current trends.
From its slate floors, real wood trim
and neutral hues, Adele Pransky from
Chil Interior Design took her design
inspiration from the surrounding
property and existing natural materials.
Incorporating organic elements
with a colour palette of rich neutral
and caramel tones, Pranksy was able
to create a synergy between old and
new by working with existing materials
as much as possible. She selected
highly durable fabrics and finishes
and created robust custom furniture
items, including real wood tables.
The biggest challenge, she says, was
sourcing quality items that matched
all the other elements of the room.
“As designers, we are always looking
for new and dynamic ways to skillfully
balance pattern, texture and colour
to create unique and memorable hotel
experiences for guests,” she says.
From an operator standpoint, guest
engagement was closely tied into the
design process at The Westin Bear
Mountain. “Design is paramount to an
DESIGN IS PARAMOUNT TO AN EXPERIENCE;
THERE IS NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT…BUT
TO ME IT’S REALLY HOW YOU CONNECT
WITH YOUR GUESTS PERSONALLY
DENISE PALMER, GENERAL MANAGER, THE WESTIN BEAR MOUNTAIN
44 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

AS DESIGNERS,
WE ARE ALWAYS
LOOKING FOR NEW
AND DYNAMIC WAYS
TO SKILLFULLY
BALANCE
PATTERN, TEXTURE
AND COLOUR TO
CREATE UNIQUE
AND MEMORABLE
HOTEL EXPERIENCES
FOR GUESTS
experience; there is no question about
that…But to me it’s really how you
connect with your guests personally,”
says general manager Denise Palmer.
SUSTAINABLE BY DESIGN
Designed to LEED Gold certification
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the standard for guest comfort, building
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hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 45

SHEDDING NEW LIGHT
In some cases, minor changes can make all
the difference to a hotel’s image. When the
Wingate by Wyndham Calgary Airport needed
an update, Latif Jamani, president of Calgary
Lighting Products, decided to highlight what
was already there and showcase its landscape.
“They have beautiful 30- to 40-foot fir trees on
their property. They shelter their hotel, but we
talked about creating more visibility.”
Recognizing the hotel needed a design
change that would garner increased attention,
Jamani used simple lighting techniques to
bring recognition back to this hotel. For example,
LED 135w outdoor floodlights — which
function in all types of weather, have a strong
output and a wide beam angle — were used to
offer guests a sense of safety upon arrival.
He says hotels are choosing lights that
save energy and fixtures that are easy to
maintain and repair — all the while keeping
up with current design trends. Since 2001,
Jamani says, “The shift has been towards
reducing energy consumption and being
sustainable in terms of consumer aspects of
the hotel.” Hotels are favouring lights that
save energy, such as LEDs, and using lamps
to brighten spaces. This creates easy and
customizable lighting options that appeal to
hotel guests.
Little Giants – professional approach
to processing large volumes of laundry
A ROOM FOR ALL REASONS Furniture and fixtures at Montreal's Hotel St Paul has been customdesigned
for the space, from the lobby to the guest suites
ophy is built around the guest’s appreciation
of “the best of less” — this
means smart, fluid design that delights
and surprises along the guest journey,
whether they’re travelling for business
or leisure,” says Leslie Ma, Delta’s head
of Marketing & Communications. In
2015, the hotel’s efforts were recognized
with an Urban Design Award of
Excellence as well as UrbanToronto’s
Building of the Year title in 2014.
Delta’s new guestroom design,
ModeRoom, is inspired by the
Canadian landscape and boasts a fresh
and modern colour palette focused on
maximizing natural light. Combining
nature and modern tastes, Delta
Toronto’s rooms also feature the
SmartDesk — a fully wired, multipurpose
area providing guests with a
clutter-free workspace. When designing
the property, Ma found the key
challenge to selecting design elements
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46 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

was “identifying the essentials and
distinguishing [these] from the other
things that don’t add value.”
The hotel, which opened in February
2015, placed art procurement at
the top of the to-do list, featuring
works by accomplished Canadian
artists including Anda Kubis,
Aleksandra Rdest, Jennifer McGregor,
Rob Southcott, Adrian Forrow, Glenn
Michael, Hyun Chul Kim, Rob Baytor
and Teresa Aversa.
BOUTIQUE CHIC
At Hotel St Paul in Montreal, trendy is
part of the boutique property’s DNA.
“Hotel St Paul was the first boutique
hotel in Canada,” says Chantal
Rambout, director of Operations of
Iber Immobilier and GM of Hotel
St Paul. “[Everything] was custom
designed and crafted specifically for
the hotel. They are one of a kind.”
In 2015, renovations carried out
by Montreal-based Borrallo Interiors,
were intended to “dress up the hotel
with luxurious and daring colours.”
Using oversized furniture and brass
and bronze elements, the design team
strove to evoke a nostalgic quality.
Inspired by fashion textiles, rich and
bold colours play a prominent role in
the decor, including silks, moirees and
velvets in eggplant, beet root, fuchsia
and complementary greens.
The biggest challenge for Rambout
when selecting these items was
“presenting and communicating our
aesthetic in a Canadian context.”
During the initial design process, the
Hotel St Paul team knew it wanted
to “create an incredible visual experience,
a truly feel-at-home atmosphere
and an architectural feel that was
aesthetically high-end and sophisticated
— a design that outlived trends
and seasonality.” u
[EVERYTHING]
WAS CUSTOM
DESIGNED AND
CRAFTED
SPECIFICALLY
FOR THE
HOTEL. THEY
ARE ONE OF
A KIND.
- CHANTAL RAMBOUT,
HOTEL ST PAUL
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hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 47
K-Bro_TS.indd 1
2016-06-29 9:25 AM

Kostuch MedIa’s
MADE IN
CANADA
BIG, BOLD, AND BOUNTIFUL
A YEAR-LONG PHOTO CONTEST
TO HELP CELEBRATE
CANADA’S 150TH BIRTHDAY
To coincide with Canada’s 150th birthday, KML readers are invited to tap into their
creative side by entering the “Made-in-Canada” photo contest. Throughout 2017,
readers can snap pictures of various iconic products, ingredients, menu dishes as
well as hotels and resorts that reflect a Canadian sensibility and provide a visual
perspective on what this country is all about.
Each month a judging panel comprised of the F&H and Hotelier editorial teams,
photographers, contest sponsors, editorial board members and graphic designers
will choose a total of 10 photos that reflect strong composition, exposure and focus
while adhering to a Canadian theme. By the end of 2017, the magazines will have a
collection of 150 images from which to choose 10 “Grand Winners,” whose submissions
will be featured in the December issue of both F&H and Hotelier magazine.
Enter the Made in Canada contest for a chance to win one of 10 trips to
Canadian iconic hotel destinations.
Winners will be announced and fêted at the 2017 December Pinnacle
Awards Luncheon.
UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO:
#KMLMadeinCanada
or email jporter@kostuchmedia.com
Submit pictures in the
following categories:
• Food: appetizers (soups, salads); entrées,
proteins,veggies, fruits, desserts
• Drinks, cocktails, wines, beers
• Ingredients: spices, herbs, maple
syrup, et cetera
• Iconic restaurants, iconic hotels and
resorts, attractions
• Hotel Rooms, lobby spaces,
guestrooms, suites, bars
• Personalities: chefs, hoteliers,
farmers/ producers/suppliers.
For Contest Rules and
Regulations visit
hoteliermagazine.com/
madeincanada
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®

EQUIPMENT
COMFORT
AND JOY
Experts weigh in on how to improve HVAC for
efficiency and guest comfort
BY SHERENE CHEN-SEE
ISTOCK.COM/SB-BORG
Walk into the Double-
Tree by Hilton in
London, Ont. and
you’ll see a contemporary
lobby with clean lines and
muted shades, stunning light fixtures,
and similarly modern suites, all of
which were made possible by a recent
$10-million renovation. Likewise, the
Holiday Inn Ottawa recently underwent
a $9 million renovation, and it
has new cozy look meant to attract
families and make them feel at home.
Among these upgrades is something
you might not immediately notice —
the new heating, ventilation and air
conditioning (HVAC) system, chosen
for guest comfort, reliability and
energy efficiency.
There are numerous types of HVAC
systems available on the market today,
including the traditional packaged
terminal air conditioner (PTAC), a
type of self-contained heating and air
conditioning system commonly found
in hotels and motels, and the vertical
terminal air conditioner (VTAC),
which can be installed inside a small
closet instead of protruding from
under the window the way a PTAC
does. Newer types of HVAC are
constantly being developed to address
energy efficiency, make a smaller
impact on the environment, and
improve guest comfort.
There are numerous HVAC
manufacturers and suppliers on the
market servicing hotels, including
NRG Equipment, Carrier Enterprise,
and Enercare Commercial Services.
Each offers a wide range of items
to address energy efficiency, room
automation, guest comfort and other
concerns.
WHY UPGRADE?
Sometimes, as with the Double
Tree London and Holiday Inn
Ottawa, hotels upgrade the HVAC
as part of a renovation. Other
times, they improve inefficiencies or
respond to customer complaints if
the rooms are not up to date.
“Hotel operators have to update
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 49

their equipment to maintain their
expenses,” says Jacqueline Manitaros,
vice-president, Business Development
and Marketing at NRG Energy Inc.
“An inefficient PTAC could be costing
them money. In addition, as an operator,
should you have a full house, you
want all rooms to be in operation.”
“Guest comfort, reliability and
energy efficiency are the primary
drivers,” says Scott Beneteau, general
manager at Enercare. “Through social
media and numerous travel-rating
websites, guests often comment if the
room temperature and air quality do
not meet their expectations. Upgrading
to new technologies and implementing
a common-sense building-controls
system addresses all three of those
drivers. Properly conditioned air delivered
reliably will ensure repeat business
and positive reviews, which will
ultimately drive maximum occupancy.”
ENERGY-EFFICIENCY
DEVELOPMENTS
Felix Seiler, chief Operating officer of
Holloway Lodging Corporation, which
owns both the DoubleTree by Hilton in
London and Holiday Inn Ottawa, along
with numerous others ranging from
60 to 350 rooms, says “many of the
smaller hotels operate with PTAC and
VTAC units and we also replace those
with quieter and more energy-efficient
systems with remote thermostats.”
“When choosing HVAC, we look for
a decrease in power consumption, more
efficiency on both cooling and heating,
and newer technologies for electronics
and automation,” explains Seiler. “We
also install motion sensors and heat
sensors in rooms to ensure the system
only runs when the room is occupied.”
“When installing new HVAC
systems in large hotels, we always
obtain an engineering opinion to
ensure we get the right sized and
engineered system,” he adds.
Currently, NRG offers new PTACs
that are designed to be direct replacements
for PTACs that were manufactured
30 to 40 years ago. “Our Perfect
Comfort model will be a direct replacement,
so the hotel owner receives a
new unit with a higher energy efficiency
ratio (EER), new components and a
quieter sound,” says Manitaros. “There
is also an option to allow these PTAC
units to work on an energy-management
system (EMS) to save additional
energy costs.”
“We ensure our equipment is
manufactured with top-of-the-line
internal components, including gasketing
material to create an air-tight seal
and ensure the PTACs are not always
running,” she adds.
“Increasingly, variable refrigerant flow
(VRF) systems are becoming a popular
choice with hotels because of the ease
of retrofit and the energy efficiency [they
offer],” says Beneteau. “These systems
consume less electricity than a conventional
heat/cool system and require less
maintenance over their life.”
Douglas Mackemer, director of Parts,
Supplies and Specialized Equipment
at Carrier Enterprise, agrees with
Beneteau about the energy efficiency
of VRF, adding “We are seeing
property conversions, renovations and
new builds utilizing this technology.
Key features are the removal of large
condenser farms outside, [which are]
taking up ground level and roof level
HVAC PRIMER
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
• New systems have higher energy
efficiency ratio
• Newer components and tighter seals
increase energy efficiency
• Variable refrigerant flow systems allow
ease of retrofit and are energy efficient
• Variable frequency drives turn exhaust
fans on and off as needed
• Energy-management systems evaluate
equipment performance and repair poor
performing equipment
• Motion sensors and heat sensors
ensure heating/cooling is on only when
room is occupied
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
• Environmentally friendly refrigerant gas
has no ozone impact
GUEST COMFORT
• Quiet
• Reliable
• Remote control
SPECIAL SCENARIOS
• Small hotels require compact units
• Underground parking requires special
controls to manage costs
• Old hotels should be air cooled not
water cooled
real estate, and elimination of separate
boilers and cooling towers.”
VRF also allows simultaneous
heating and cooling for individual
rooms, he explains.
New refrigerant systems also offer
environmentally friendly refrigerant
gas. “Older systems use ‘R22-type’
refrigerant which is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon
(HCFC). HCFCs are known
to deplete the ozone layer, among other
things,” says Beneteau. “New systems
use 410A, which is said to have no
ozone impact.”
In addition, “technologies such as
variable-frequency drives are used
to stage fan speeds for high and low
usage, and carbon-monoxide sensors to
control the on/off operation of exhaust
fans can dramatically reduce energy
costs,” says Beneteau.
In addition to more energy efficient
systems and technologies, Enercare
offers programs to help customers
understand the energy consumed by
their hydronic and HVAC systems.
ISTOCK.COM/WASANTISTOCK
50 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

“Our Validation Inspection and Equipment
Walk-through (VIEW) program
provides a detailed assessment of a
building’s mechanical system,” says
Beneteau. “We will identify low-cost,
high-impact energy savings options.”
THE AUTOMATED ROOM
Enercare is investing in a number
of state-of-the-art technologies for
common and in-suite areas to help
improve guest comfort.
“Many operators are surprised at
how affordable sensor and control
equipment can be,” says Beneteau.
“The key is how the data from sensors
and the building automation system
(BAS) is managed. Enercare’s solution
is to utilize existing BAS equipment
to keep the cost down, provide
low-cost equipment where it makes
sense, and provide a managed service
that drives actionable intelligence
rather than simply send reports or
email alerts.”
“Especially impactful is the ability
to provide directed maintenance
where technologies allow for rapid
diagnostic and repair of major
mechanical equipment, saving energy
and extending the useful life of costly
equipment,” continues Beneteau.
Other options that appeal to
hoteliers include remote-control
equipment, automatic identification of
poor performing equipment, and alerts
and alarms when the equipment is not
operating properly, says Mackemer.
Mackemer is keen to explain
Carrier’s energy-management system,
Founten, which interfaces with the
hotel’s property-management system.
“Founten can be deployed without the
expense of dedicated servers or special
cabling,” he explains. “It creates its
own redundant self-healing wireless
mesh network of communications and
provides an evaluation of the performance
of equipment operating on the
property to target poor performing
equipment first.”
“The hotelier can know of an
issue [often] before a guest does,”
says Mackemer.
THE RIGHT FIT
There are numerous options available
for different hotels. For example,
small hotels that have limited space
may benefit from installing a more
compact unit, such as NRG’s 16x26
PTAC model, which operates with
24-volt thermostat capability.
Properties with underground
parking tend to consume more energy
as a result of the need to circulate
large volumes of air, and controls can
help manage these costs.
Older hotels benefit from upgrading
their cooling system from water
cooled to air cooled, which wastes
less water and are much cheaper to
maintain.
“Each hotel is unique and the first
step is to understand what equipment
you have in your building including
age, state of repair and what controls
systems are available to utilize,”
explains Beneteau. “Once you know
what you have, you can explore
technology upgrades that offer the
biggest payback.” u
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JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 51

MADE IN
this month’s Winner
@misss_esss
Toronto at night
It’s Canada’s birthday, and to celebrate we’ve launched the Made in Canada photo contest.
Hotelier readers are invited to tap into their creative side by entering photos that reflect a
typically Canadian theme focusing on quintessential Canadian hotels and landmarks. A judging
panel, comprised of the Hotelier editorial and design team, photographers, and contest sponsors
choose our six Instagram photo winners each month. We’re proud to showcase this month’s
finalists and top-winning entry, who wins a $100 Shoppers Drug Mart gift card. At the 2017
Pinnacle Awards, held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel on December 1, we will be presenting 12
Grand-prize Winners with a collection of “Experience Canada” prizes.
Visit hoteliermagazine.com/madeincanada for the complete prize list.
THIS MONTH’S CONTEST FINALISTS
@carrgaas
Lunch at
Scarbourgh Bluffs
cedargrovelodge
Muskoka Cottage
@cedargrovelodge
Sunset from Cedar
Grove Lodge dining
room
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52 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

ANNOUNCING THE
WOMEN IN TOURISM AND
HOSPITALITY CONFERENCE
2017
Powered by Hotelier magazine
and Sequel Hotels & Resorts
ROSANNA
CAIRA
Editor & Publisher
Kostuch Media
Ltd.
ANNE
LARCADE
President & CEO
Sequel Hotels
& Resorts
DATE: SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 • LOCATION: PARK HYATT TORONTO
ADVISORY BOARD
MINAZ ABJI
Executive Asset
Management
Vice-president
Host Hotels &
Resorts
JOHANNE
BELANGER
President & CEO
Tourism Toronto
DON CLEARY,
President
Marriott Hotels
of Canada
STATIA ELLIOT
Director
School of Hospitality,
Food & Tourism
Management
University of Guelph
MARIE PIER
GERMAIN
General Manager
Alt Hotel,
Montreal
REETU GUPTA
COO
The Gupta Group
& Easton’s Group
of Hotels
AVA
JANIKOWSKI
Chase International
Consultants in
Design Inc.
YOLA
MARSHALL
Director of
Commercial Delivery
IHG
For more information visit hoteliermagazine.com/women-tourism-hospitality
BE PREPARED TO BE INSPIRED
An inspirational, high-energy day celebrating women's leadership skills, while presenting new
ideas, insights, career opportunities and hybrid workshops — all designed to accelerate your
career and improve your professional development, while networking with like-minded leaders.
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But we also produce signature events
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HITEC PREVIEW
HITEC TORONTO PRODUCT PREVIEW
The world’s largest hospitality technology show, held June 26 to 29 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre,
brings together the hottest tech from around the world. Here are a few of our favourite offerings:
LOCKED-ON
The New VingCard Essence
is a revolutionary doorlocking
technology. New
features, such as Mobile
Access compatibility and
wireless-online capabilities,
are streamlining guest experiences,
allowing them to skip
front-desk lines and access
rooms via a secure digital
key on their personal smart
phones or watches.
Assa Abloy
PREDICTIVE MEASURES
Dormakaba moves lock
maintenance from preventative
to predictive. The
networked electronic door
locks play a critical role in the
expansion of artificial intelligence
into hotel operations.
Dormakaba’s Saflok Messenger
LENS online network collects
data from its electronic door
locks to optimize operations,
maximize guest safety and
ensure proactive service —
providing operators information
about each lock’s performance.
Dormakaba
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
KNOW Housekeeping is
fully customizable, multilingual,
cloud-based and can be
seamlessly interfaced with
most PMS systems. KNOW
Housekeeping streamlines
daily housekeeping activities
resulting in double-digit
improvements in staff
productivity, higher guest
satisfaction and reduction of
the hotel’s carbon footprint.
It receives data from and
updates the PMS, real time,
and is complemented by
Android and iOS apps.
Knowcross
IN THE LOOP
Novility’s team of specialists
design and develop interactive
learning tools that
ensure a sound, unbiased and
structured feedback loop.
The result: improvement in
operational productivity and
manpower skill. The integrated
cloud-based platform
also provides managers with
access to strategic insights,
analysis of employee training
performance and online
reputation intelligence.
Novility
RIGHT TABLET
FOR THE JOB
Oracle Hospitality's Oracle
MICROS Tablet 720 was
designed for the hospitality
market. It features a
lightweight, slim 7-inch
design and extended battery
life. With integrated Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth connectivity,
magnetic stripe reader,
optional barcode scanner
and RFID reader, the Oracle
MICROS Tablet 720 enables
increased efficiency and
productivity, enhanced
operations and improved
cost control.
Oracle Hospitality
UPPER MANAGEMENT
TracNcare serves as a central
portal for hotel operations by
helping properties manage
assets, housekeeping, tasks,
guest requests and maintenance.
With the majority of
the industry manually managing
their properties’ assets or
using antiquated operational
management systems, IQware
set out to design a robust and
easy-to-use operations management
platform poised to
help hoteliers.
IQware
ENHANCING THE JOURNEY
Maestro PMS offers hotels,
resorts and multi-property
groups the flexibility of 20+
integrated modules, backed by
unparalleled support, enhancing
the guest journey with
mobile engagement tools and
a personalized experience. It's
a scalable solution, perfect for
a single boutique property or
multi-property group.
Maestro
GAME ON
InfoGenesis Flex delivers
unprecedented reliability and
performance over the previous
generation’s mobile POS
devices. It’s the industry’s
first drop-splash-and shockresistant
POS tablet offering
longer battery life and broader
temperature tolerances to
meet varying needs across
the global gaming and hospitality
industries. This tablet
is ideal for use in challenging
environments: poolside,
convention areas, kiosks and
beverage carts.
Agilysys
hoteliermagazine.com
JUNE 2017 HOTELIER 55

HOTELIER
CULTIVATING
LOYALTY
As owner of the White Oaks Resort in
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ameer Wakil achieves
success by staying ahead of the game
BY ROSANNA CAIRA
Ameer Wakil always imagined he’d one
day work in finance. But as fate would
have it, the hospitality world beckoned
instead. As the youngest son of George Wakil,
former owner and founder of the Four-Diamond
White Oaks Resort & Spa, Ameer was exposed
to hotels at an early age, working as a busboy
and waiter at the iconic Prince of Wales hotel
while attending high school and university.
“It was hard work and I enjoyed the physically
demanding, relentless effort [needed]
to ensure you kept busy, worked hard to stay
ahead of the game and did the best job you could.”
Thirty years later, the White Oaks has afforded him
the only job he’s ever known.
QUICK QUIPS: “What sets the hotel apart is
our committed team working
Personal Status: Married to wife
towards one common goal — to
Robyn and father to three grown
children — Jamil, Keera and Kloey treat each guest as though the
Education: BA from the success of the business depends
University of Western Ontario on that individual alone. That’s
and an Honorary Degree in the foundation that continues to
Hospitality Management from make White Oaks shine.”
Niagara College
Overseeing a team of 550
Reasons for Success: “My mom associates with 220 rooms,
and dad. They instilled in me Wakil says his biggest challenge
so many great qualities I never
is “Keeping our rhythm in a
knew I had.”
fast-paced and ever-changing
environment.” He believes every
guest touchpoint can be a make-or-break experience
— an opportunity to win or lose the repeat business
that drives bottom-line performance.
For Wakil, success can only be achieved by a strong
customer-service ethos dictated by a high level of
employee engagement. “My personal vision is to
treat each team member as though the success of the
business depends on that individual alone. Our values
and priorities of what is important when interacting
with guests are always paramount.”
The humble hotelier and CEO leads by example,
never satisfied with anything less than perfection.
“Try and try again until you get it right,” he says. To
deal with the stress inherent in a 24/7 industry, he
relies on family life as the best escape, along with an
active, well-balanced lifestyle. “There’s no challenge
we cannot overcome — mind over matter.”
Earlier this spring, the Ontario Hostelry Institute
presented Wakil with a Gold Award for Hotelier of
the Year. Not surprisingly, his days are packed, but he’s
always looking to do more. “We like to contribute back
in any way possible.” Most recently, his team started the
“Save-the-Bees” initiative, housing three large beehives
onsite, in which the team personally foster the care
and nurturing of the bee process. “We also participate
in a “Clean-the-World” initiative and have done so for
several years now, providing discarded amenities to
benefit countries in need.” The White Oaks also boasts
an electric car-charging station available to guests.
Not content to rest on the hotel’s laurels, the property
is undergoing renovations with plans to open a new
restaurant. “You have to continue to demonstrate your
strength by reinventing, cultivating and inspiring.
You must provide a memorable experience that goes
beyond just the physical building.” u
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON DWYER
56 JUNE 2017 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com

ASSA ABLOY Hospitality
Lead,
don’t follow.
Mobile Access VingCard Locks Elsafe Safes
Your property security is no place to fall behind. That’s why ASSA ABLOY Hospitality has been leading
the industry in security technology innovation for over 40 years, since introducing the world’s first
electronic lock. Today, millions of guests around the world are secured by our advanced solutions,
including VingCard locks, Elsafe in-room safes, mobile access and integrated software platforms that
put security out front and keep it out front. Stay ahead of your market with ASSA ABLOY Hospitality.
Visit us at HITEC Toronto
June 26-29, Booth #1101
Learn more today assaabloyhospitality.com

Imagine a POS solution that can give you
real insight behind the orders you take.
It’s time to expect more out of your POS than just simple ordering.
Access to business intelligence on POS orders and performance can
help improve guest service and increase guest spending. Agilysys is
excited to announce that our award winning InfoGenesis ® POS solution
now includes enhanced business analytics powered by rGuest ® Analyze.
ATTENDING HITEC 2017?
SEE AGILYSYS IN ACTION AT BOOTH #1417
877-369-6208
sales@agilysys.com
www.agilysys.com
TRANSFORMING HOSPITALITY BY BUILDING
LASTING CONNECTIONS
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