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THE MAGAZINE FOR HOTEL EXECUTIVES/ JANUARY~FEBRUARY 2018 $20<br />
PLUS<br />
THE 2018<br />
FRANCHISE<br />
REPORT<br />
~<br />
WHAT'S IN<br />
A NAME?<br />
Why branding<br />
is key to hotel<br />
success<br />
SHAKING<br />
IT UP<br />
Examining<br />
industry<br />
disprutors<br />
CANADIAN PUBLICATION MAIL PRODUCT SALES AGREEMENT #40063470<br />
SAFE<br />
KEEPING<br />
Experts weigh<br />
in on hotel<br />
chic<br />
security<br />
ALT-ERNATIVE<br />
THE ALT HOTEL BRAND CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF SCALABLE STYLE<br />
hoteliermagazine.com
Wingate by Wyndham Loveland<br />
Johnstown, CO<br />
WE INVESTED IN<br />
WINGATE BECAUSE...<br />
Janice and Hamid Eslan—Four Stripe Investment Partners, LLP—choose<br />
Wyndham Hotel Group because of the advantages they get from partnering<br />
with the world’s largest hotel company.<br />
82% earn a 4+ TripAdvisor rating, and as many as<br />
44% win the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence¹<br />
Growth momentum with over 60 hotels in our<br />
pipeline of which nearly 90% is new construction²<br />
53 million Wyndham Rewards members and counting<br />
STRONG PARTNERSHIPS ARE THE KEY TO OUR SUCCESS.<br />
LEARN MORE AT WHGDEVELOPMENT.COM OR CALL 800-889-9710<br />
THIS IS NOT AN OFFER. CERTAIN PROVINCIAL LAWS REGULATE THE OFFER AND SALES OF FRANCHISES. AN OFFER WILL ONLY BE MADE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THOSE LAWS AND REGULATIONS, WHICH MAY REQUIRE WE PROVIDE<br />
YOU WITH A DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT, A COPY OF WHICH CAN BE OBTAINED BY CONTACTING WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP CANADA, ULC AT 22 SYLVAN WAY, PARSIPPANY, NJ 07054. IN CANADA, DAYS INN AND TRAVELODGE<br />
FRANCHISES ARE OFFERED BY A THIRD PARTY MASTER FRANCHISEE. ALL HOTELS ARE INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF CERTAIN HOTELS MANAGED OR OWNED BY AN AFFILIATE OF THE COMPANY.<br />
©2017 WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP CANADA, ULC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 1 BASED ON TRIPADVISOR DATA, AS OF OCTOBER 2017. 2 SOURCE: INTERNAL WINGATE BY WYNDHAM DATA.
Volume 30, Number 1 | January/February 2018<br />
Contents<br />
Features<br />
10 CELEBRATING EXCELLECE<br />
A pictorial wrap-up of the 2017 Pinnacle Awards<br />
12 AFFORDABLE CHIC<br />
The Alt Hotel brand celebrates a decade in Canada<br />
By Rebecca Harris<br />
21 WHAT'S IN A NAME?<br />
Why branding is so important for today's hotels<br />
By Amy Bostock<br />
27 THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
41 DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOUR<br />
A look at how innovation is shaking up the industry<br />
By Chris Powell<br />
45 WHEN SMALL IS BIG<br />
Why soft brands are gaining in popularity<br />
By Andrea Victory<br />
COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY VADIM DANIEL<br />
49 SAFE & SECURE<br />
A panel of experts disusses hotel-security practices<br />
56 LOCAL FLAVOUR<br />
Which F&B operations are serving up a taste of place?<br />
By Sarah Hood<br />
58 FUTURE FORWARD<br />
How articifical intelligence is finding its place in hotels<br />
By Robin Roberts<br />
58 THE SECRET IS IN THE DATA<br />
Why data collection is key to PMS success<br />
By J. Lynn Fraser<br />
Departments<br />
2 EDITOR’S PAGE<br />
3 CHECKING IN<br />
60 HOTELIER: Laurie Barkman<br />
Alt Winnipeg, Winnipeg<br />
ON THE COVER: (from left) Hugo Germain,<br />
director of Development, Group Germain;<br />
Julie Brisebois, GM, Alt Hotel Montreal<br />
Griffintown; Christiane Germain, co-president,<br />
Group Germain<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 1
EDITOR’S PAGE<br />
DREAMING BIG<br />
Welcome to a new year. With the<br />
arrival of 2018 comes the reality<br />
that the hotel world is expected<br />
to post a solid year. Occupancies are up,<br />
RevPAR continues to grow and Canada is<br />
billed as a top destination. But tempering<br />
the news is the reality that uncertainty has<br />
now become a part of our lives; political<br />
policies, geopolitical tensions and financial<br />
concerns are at an all-time high. In<br />
fact, in 2017, the Global Policy Uncertainty<br />
Index, which began in 1997, hit an all-time,<br />
20-year high.<br />
According to Booking.com — an e-commerce site that connects travellers<br />
with a wide choice of accommodations — several key trends promise<br />
to impact the industry globally this year.<br />
First off, the world of AI is fast approaching. Almost a third of travellers<br />
state they are comfortable letting a computer plan an upcoming trip based<br />
on data from their previous travel history; half (50 per cent) don’t mind if<br />
they deal with a real person or a computer as long as their questions are<br />
answered. More than six in 10 travellers (64 per cent) say they would like<br />
to ‘try before they buy’ with a virtual reality preview, while 50 per cent find<br />
that personalized suggestions for destinations and a to-do list encourages<br />
them to book trips.<br />
The coming year promises to be a year to dream big. Forty-five per cent<br />
of travellers have a travel bucket list and the majority, 82 per cent, aim to<br />
tick off more than just one destination this year. The trend for wellness<br />
getaways continues to intensify with almost double the number of people<br />
planning to take health and wellbeing trips in 2018 compared to 2017 (up<br />
from one in 10 in 2017 to nearly one in five in 2018).<br />
Other health-and-wellness-inspired activities high on the travel agenda<br />
in 2018 include visiting a spa or receiving beauty treatments (33 per cent),<br />
cycling (24 per cent), water-sport activities (22 per cent) and taking a full<br />
body detox holiday (17 per cent). Experiential travel continues to gain<br />
popularity, with 59 per cent of consumers saying they prioritize experiences<br />
over material items when on holiday.<br />
Today’s travellers are becoming savvier, and more economically minded.<br />
Many consumers base travelling decisions on finance-related matters, a<br />
trend expected to continue. Finally, given the growth of Airbnb, in 2018,<br />
rental homes are gaining traction — not just for travellers looking to stay<br />
in one, but also home owners who are thinking of inviting others to stay in<br />
their own homes. One in three travellers (33 per cent) say they’d prefer to<br />
stay in a holiday rental (a holiday home or apartment) over a hotel and one<br />
in five (21 per cent) would consider listing their home on a travel accommodation<br />
site.<br />
FOLLOW US:<br />
ROSANNA CAIRA<br />
Editor and Publisher<br />
rcaira@kostuchmedia.com<br />
ROSANNA CAIRA |<br />
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ADVISORY BOARD<br />
David McMillan, AXIS HOSPITALITY INTERNATIONAL; Bill<br />
Stone, CBRE HOTELS; David Larone, CBRE HOTELS; Anthony<br />
Cohen, CRESCENT HOTELS — GLOBAL EDGE INVESTMENTS;<br />
Charles Suddaby, CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD LTD. — HOSPI-<br />
TALITY & GAMING GROUP; Christiane Germain, GROUPE<br />
GERMAIN HOSPITALITE; Michael Haywood, THE HAYWOOD<br />
GROUP; Lyle Hall, HLT ADVISORY; Ryan Murray, THE PILLAR +<br />
POST HOTEL; Geoffrey Allan, PROJECT CAPITAL MANAGEMENT<br />
HOTELS; Stephen Renard, RENARD INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL-<br />
ITY & SEARCH CONSULTANTS; Anne Larcade, SEQUEL HOTELS<br />
& RESORTS<br />
HOTELIER is published eight times a year by Kostuch<br />
Media Ltd., 23 Lesmill Rd., Suite 101, Toronto, Ont., M3B 3P6,<br />
(416) 447-0888, Fax (416) 447-5333. All rights reserved.<br />
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For daily news and announcements: @hoteliermag on Twitter Hotelier magazine on Facebook and @hoteliermag on Instagram<br />
2 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICK WONG, LOCATION PROVIDED BY VIA CIBO
Checking In<br />
THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS FOR HOTEL EXECUTIVES FROM CANADA<br />
AND AROUND THE WORLD<br />
STATE OF THE INDUSTRY<br />
Canadian hotel industry comes together at the Western Canadian<br />
Lodging Conference<br />
BY ERIC ALISTER<br />
The biggest names in the<br />
Canadian hotel industry<br />
came together under one roof<br />
in November at the 2017 Western<br />
Canadian Lodging Conference at the<br />
Fairmont Waterfront Vancouver.<br />
HVS managing director and<br />
partner, Carrie Russell and CBRE<br />
Hotels VP, Scott Duff kicked off the<br />
day with an in-depth update on the<br />
2017 financial performance of hotels<br />
in Western Canada. The overall trend<br />
showed a strong B.C. and Manitoba<br />
and a slowly recovering Alberta, but a<br />
deeply troubled Saskatchewan, whose<br />
RevPAR dropped by nearly 5.9 per<br />
cent. As a nation, however, 2017 has<br />
proven to be a record-breaking year.<br />
For the first time, national RevPAR<br />
will exceed $100, poised to grow more<br />
than seven per cent by the end of<br />
the year, stated Russell. It marks the<br />
largest increase in the cycle and the<br />
eighth-consecutive year of growth.<br />
“The U.S. tone and policy is driving<br />
people into the Canadian market,”<br />
said Russell. “We’re seeing U.S. traffic<br />
up four per cent; European traffic is<br />
up by almost two per cent; and Asian<br />
traffic has increased by 7.8 per cent.<br />
In 2018, continued supply growth is<br />
expected, with a projected increase of<br />
one per cent in 2018.<br />
The afternoon’s first group of<br />
speakers, moderated by Brian Flood<br />
of Cushman & Wakefield Ltd.,<br />
continued the discussion of buying<br />
and selling properties with an emphasis<br />
on legal and brokerage matters.<br />
Jason Arbuck of Cassels Brock &<br />
Blackwell provided valuable tips on<br />
handling both ends of a deal. He<br />
cautioned buyers not to wait until the<br />
last minute to commission a lawyer.<br />
Most often, lawyers are called in for<br />
the final signing of documents, when<br />
it is too late if legal issues are found.<br />
“Clients will often call and say, ‘We<br />
just need to you to look this over.<br />
We’re signing today,’” said Arbuck.<br />
“They’re not looking for you to<br />
change anything at that point. But as<br />
a buyer, you want to think about what<br />
legal issues you may have. Often,<br />
there’s a small permitting or licensing<br />
issue that hasn’t really impacted<br />
operation but you know something is<br />
not quite right as the lawyers start to<br />
go through it and they’re going to ask<br />
you about that.”<br />
Billy Coles, president and CEO of<br />
BCP Construction and CCR Hospitality<br />
had strong words of advice for<br />
potential sellers. “When you’re going<br />
to sell a property, make sure you know<br />
your numbers,” he said. “Make them<br />
give you an offer, so that you don’t<br />
give a number that might be lower<br />
than what you want. But make sure<br />
you know what you’re willing to sell<br />
for. If the opportunity comes, press<br />
the button. Know what you want and<br />
do it. Don’t wait.”<br />
All panelists were also in agreement<br />
that executives should avoid<br />
transparency with staff during an<br />
acquisition process as it has almost<br />
always proven to be messy in their<br />
experience. You may feel compelled<br />
to involve your staff in the process<br />
because they’re part of the family and<br />
you care about them, said Milroy, but<br />
you have to practice great caution<br />
because it can backfire.<br />
The conference also featured<br />
sessions on investing, buying and<br />
selling, and the current economic and<br />
political atmosphere in Canada.<br />
PLAYING FAIR<br />
Susie Grynol, president of the Hotel<br />
Association of Canada, shared that she is<br />
working with the government of Canada<br />
to improve labour shortages and more will<br />
be announced about the initiative soon. “I<br />
want to encourage you to get involved,”<br />
she said. “Go to fairrules.ca and send a<br />
pre-populated letter to your MP.”<br />
TRAVEL STATS<br />
According to HVS managing director and<br />
partner, Carrie Russell, travel from Mexico<br />
is up 51 per cent “as Mexican travellers<br />
who want to take a vacation outside the<br />
country are not seeing the U.S. as a very<br />
welcoming place right now.”<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 3
TEAM TIME<br />
Susie Grynol,<br />
president of the Hotel<br />
Association of Canada<br />
The 2017 Travelodge<br />
Canada Brand Conference<br />
brought together<br />
approximately 150<br />
attendees for a two-day<br />
conference that<br />
focused on networking<br />
and outlining where<br />
Travelodge Canada<br />
plans to go in 2018.<br />
“All of us at<br />
Travelodge Canada<br />
were proud to present such a strong offering of keynote speakers and<br />
breakout sessions,” says vice-president, Operations, Trevor Hagel. “But<br />
even more important than that was getting the entire group together to<br />
build relationships, share ideas and learn from each other.” The conference<br />
opened with a panel discussion hosted by media personality Dave<br />
Kelly who interviewed key members of the Travelodge Canada brand<br />
team, followed by a keynote presentation by Susie Grynol, president of the<br />
Ottawa-based Hotel Association of Canada. Current results and plans<br />
for 2018 were discussed, including the growth of the brand, with more<br />
than 800 rooms added this year; a new uniform standard; and a new<br />
breakfast standard.<br />
COMING<br />
EVENTS<br />
Jan. 22-24: The American Lodging<br />
Investment Summit, JW Marriott & Microsoft<br />
Theatre, Los Angeles, Calif. Tel:<br />
714-540-9300; email: marketing@burba.<br />
com; website: alisconference.com<br />
Feb. 7-8: Hotel Association of Canada’s<br />
National Conference, Delta Hotels by<br />
Marriott Toronto Airport, Toronto. Tel:<br />
416-924-2002, ext. 229; email: yalilabarreda@bigpictureconferences.ca;<br />
website: hacconference.ca<br />
Feb. 20-22: Hospitality Newfoundland<br />
and Labrador’s Annual Conference and<br />
Trade Show, Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland,<br />
St. John’s. Tel: 800-563-0700;<br />
email: hnl@hnl.ca; website: hnl.ca/<br />
conference<br />
FOR MORE EVENTS,<br />
visit http://bit.ly/Hotelierevents
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CANADA BOUND<br />
IHG’s (InterContinental<br />
Hotels<br />
Group) new<br />
midscale brand,<br />
Avid Hotels,<br />
is officially<br />
available for<br />
licensing in<br />
Canada. The<br />
Avid Hotels brand is designed for travellers who<br />
want a hotel that offers them the basics, done<br />
exceptionally well and at a price point expected to<br />
be about 10 to 15-per-cent less than IHG’s Holiday<br />
Inn Express brand. Some key brand features will<br />
include a modern exterior design, featuring an<br />
open and airy retail-like entry, a canopy and stairwells<br />
used as an eye-catching, red architectural<br />
feature. On the inside, guests will find open public<br />
and work areas and communal spaces that allow<br />
guests to relax, work, connect or eat. The hotels<br />
will offer a focused, complimentary breakfast and<br />
marketplace options.<br />
CELEBRATING A CENTURY<br />
Following the Western Canada Lodging Conference (Nov. 21 to 22),<br />
top industry leaders joined together to celebrate the 100th anniversary<br />
of the British Columbia Hotel Association (BCHA) with a<br />
dinner at Vancouver’s Hawksworth restaurant. The event, organized<br />
by Jason Cheskes, president of Above The Line Solutions, welcomed a<br />
group of 50 hotel executives from B.C. and across Canada. Attendees<br />
enjoyed a meal planned and prepared by chef David Hawksworth and<br />
his team and raised a glass of champagne to celebrate the 100 years<br />
the BCHA has been working to support the lodging industry in B.C.<br />
“We are very proud of the achievements of BCHA and based on the<br />
outstanding success of the event Jason put together — in bringing<br />
together leaders of the industry — and the very positive feedback we<br />
received,” said James Chase, president and CEO, BCHA.<br />
From left to right: Rosanna Caira (KML), Paul Waddell (BLT), Bill Simpson (DHP), John Jung (BLT) and Vikram Vij (Co-Host)<br />
Congratulations to DRAKE HOTEL PROPERTIES<br />
2017 Pinnacle Award - Regional Company of the Year<br />
YOUR HOSPITALITY<br />
BUILDING PARTNER<br />
416.755.2505 x22<br />
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Photography by Kayla Rocca<br />
Drake Commisary, Toronto
GLOBALHOTELNETWORK.COM<br />
CONFERENCE<br />
FEBRUARY 7+8, 2018<br />
DELTA HOTELS BY MARRIOTT TORONTO AIRPORT & CONFERENCE CENTRE<br />
BACK BY<br />
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TONY CHAPMAN<br />
THE FUTURE IS NOW<br />
Moderates a lively panel of<br />
innovators discussing the<br />
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KEYNOTE!<br />
DAVID ALLISON<br />
MARKETING STRATEGIST<br />
David helps organizations<br />
define their target audiences<br />
based on what consumers need,<br />
want and expect out of life.<br />
“Valuegraphics” will change<br />
marketing, planning, design and<br />
culture for the hotel industry.<br />
SUSIE<br />
GRYNOL<br />
President, Hotel<br />
Association of<br />
Canada<br />
VITO<br />
CURALLI<br />
Executive Director,<br />
Hilton Worldwide<br />
NIK<br />
NANOS<br />
Founder &<br />
Chairman,<br />
Nanos Research<br />
CHRISTIANE<br />
GERMAIN<br />
Co-President,<br />
Group Germain<br />
Hôtels<br />
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PAULO<br />
Head of Industry,<br />
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HALLIWELL<br />
Account Manager,<br />
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Franchise Finance<br />
ERIC<br />
MALCOLMSON<br />
COO, Icon Legacy<br />
Hospitality<br />
LAURIE<br />
NITARDY<br />
VP, Revenue<br />
Management, Hyatt<br />
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NEIL<br />
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Director, Canadian<br />
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‘‘<br />
When our property<br />
flooded, Neil<br />
poured everything<br />
he had into<br />
helping us out.<br />
‘‘<br />
Rita Patel<br />
Red Roof Franchisee<br />
Ocala, FL<br />
Neil Scott, VP, Canada - Franchise Sales & Operations<br />
Genuine Relationships. Real Results.<br />
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SATISFACTION 2<br />
Rita Patel’s property was closed for 18 months due to flood<br />
damage. When reopening approached, “Neil, our Regional VP<br />
of Operations, and other Red Roof executives made sure our<br />
systems and staff were ready,” Rita explained. And now Canadian<br />
native Neil Scott is bringing his 22+ years of experience in<br />
hospitality and franchising with Red Roof to help entrepreneurs<br />
in Canada get in on the brand that created the Upscale<br />
Economy ® segment. Rita adds, “Neil isn’t a sales person. He’s<br />
a professional who honestly answers questions, guides you<br />
through the process and takes pride in helping others succeed.”<br />
To get started call Neil at 313.587.7917 or email nscott@redroof.com.<br />
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE UPSCALE ECONOMY MARKET PHONE 888.473.8861.<br />
1<br />
Clarbridge Social Metrix Bubble Ratings 2016. 2 2015 Franchisee Survey. This is not an offer to sell a franchise. No offer or sale of a franchise will be made without Red Roof’s candidate-screening process and the<br />
provision of a franchise disclosure document, if required by law in your jurisdiction.<br />
© 2018 Red Roof Inns
InBrief<br />
The 100-room Holiday Inn Express<br />
Vancouver Metrotown has been sold<br />
to an affiliate of Anthem Properties<br />
for an undisclosed amount. Colliers<br />
International Hotels acted as the<br />
exclusive advisor to Stanley Park<br />
Investments Ltd. and its affiliates in<br />
the sale of the property…Renovations<br />
have been completed at the Holiday<br />
Inn Express & Suites Airdrie-<br />
Calgary North, managed by Atlific<br />
Hotels. Designed by Marshall Tittemore<br />
Architects, the hotel’s public<br />
spaces and guestrooms have been<br />
transformed in a fresh and modern<br />
style…Marriott International’s<br />
loyalty program, Marriott Rewards,<br />
edged out Hyatt Hotels Corp.’s World<br />
of Hyatt to claim the top spot on J.D.<br />
Power’s 2017 Hotel Loyalty Program<br />
Satisfaction Study. Marriott Rewards<br />
earned a score of 806 on a 1,000-<br />
point scale…Group Germain Hotels<br />
has opened its newest property in<br />
Newfoundland. Located in downtown<br />
St. John’s, the property is the<br />
company’s second in the Atlantic<br />
Provinces under the Alt banner. The<br />
148-room hotel overlooks the harbour<br />
and features an outdoor patio, a<br />
fitness room and close to 4,000 sq.<br />
ft. of meeting space…Fairmont<br />
The Queen Elizabeth, MASSIVart<br />
Collection and Sid Lee Architecture<br />
have unveiled the hotel’s new<br />
123-piece permanent art collection.<br />
The collection features works by<br />
37 contemporary Canadian artists<br />
displayed on 21 floors. A multitude of<br />
disciplines — including sculptures,<br />
paintings, photography and drawings<br />
— are showcased in this collection…<br />
Choice Hotels Canada opened two<br />
hotels during the third quarter of<br />
2017, growing the total number of<br />
open properties in the system to 330.<br />
Quality Hotel et Centre de Congrès<br />
— a 113-room conversion in Saint-<br />
Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. — and the<br />
53-room Champlain Waterfront<br />
Hotel, an Ascend Hotel Collection in<br />
Orillia, Ont…Marriott International<br />
has teamed with two leading companies<br />
— Samsung and Legrand — to<br />
launch the Internet of Things (IoT)<br />
hotel room. The IoT Guestroom<br />
Lab — powered by Marriott’s Innovation<br />
Lab at the company’s corporate<br />
headquarters — explores concepts<br />
that have the potential to elevate the<br />
guest experience, create more efficient<br />
hotel-room design and construction<br />
and contribute to Marriott’s global<br />
sustainability efforts and goals...<br />
Marriott International has entered<br />
a multi-year partnership with Maple<br />
Leaf Sports and Entertainment<br />
(MLSE), making Marriott International<br />
the preferred hotel company<br />
for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Through<br />
this partnership, members of Marriott’s<br />
loyalty programs will be able to<br />
redeem points on Marriott Rewards<br />
Moments and SPG Moments for<br />
once-in-a-lifetime hockey-themed<br />
experiences with players and legends<br />
of the game…The city of Montreal<br />
has once again received certification<br />
from iCompli Sustainability according<br />
to ASTM-APEX (Accepted<br />
Practices Exchange) standards.<br />
Developed in partnership with Green<br />
Meetings and Events, the certification<br />
confirms the city’s position as an<br />
environmentally sustainable destination.<br />
The standards cover various<br />
aspects of event organization, including<br />
meeting venues, communications,<br />
audiovisual, transportation, accommodations,<br />
energy sources, onsite offices<br />
and exhibits.<br />
People<br />
Deb Elless — a senior Reservations<br />
agent at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver<br />
for 22 years — has been named<br />
Tourism Employee of the Year. The<br />
award was announced at the 2017<br />
Canadian Tourism Awards presented<br />
by the Travel Industry Association of<br />
Canada (TIAC) in Gatineau, Que…<br />
Chef Jonathan Gushue is set to join<br />
the culinary team at Fogo Island Inn,<br />
in N.L., in February, as the inn’s new<br />
executive chef. This new appointment<br />
marks Gushue’s return to his hotel<br />
roots, as well as his home province of<br />
Newfoundland<br />
and Labrador…<br />
Alex Kassatly is<br />
the new general<br />
manager of<br />
Le Germain<br />
Hotel Ottawa,<br />
which will<br />
Alex Kassatly open its doors<br />
in downtown<br />
Ottawa. The hotel will occupy a stateof-the-art<br />
mixed-use building that will<br />
be an integral part of the Ottawa Art<br />
Gallery expansion and Arts Court<br />
redevelopment. Kassatly has decades of<br />
experience, notably as general manager<br />
of Château Frontenac and Manoir<br />
Richelieu, in Quebec City… Kellyn<br />
Smith Kenny has been named SVP<br />
and CMO of Hilton, effective Jan.<br />
29, 2018. In her new role, Kenny will<br />
oversee the enterprise marketing strategy<br />
for the hospitality company and<br />
its portfolio of 14 brands. She will also<br />
lead a team delivering creative marketing<br />
programs focusing on building<br />
meaningful relationships with guests.<br />
Supply Side<br />
Hotel-technology provider Avvio<br />
has launched Allora — the world’s<br />
first booking engine powered by<br />
artificial intelligence (AI). Allora<br />
uses AI to learn from every online<br />
interaction and focuses on driving<br />
direct booking and guest loyalty by<br />
orchestrating better online interactions<br />
between hotels and guests. Built<br />
over 18 months, Allora uses learning<br />
models to analyze large volumes of<br />
data and identify which variations<br />
will yield the best booking-engine<br />
configuration…Chesher Equipment<br />
Ltd. has changed its company name<br />
to Food Service Solutions Inc…<br />
Best Western Hotels & Resorts<br />
announced a new partnership with<br />
Burlington, Ont.-based Hunter<br />
Amenities International. This<br />
partnership will see the company’s<br />
hotels feature an exclusive line of<br />
premier, environmentally friendly<br />
bath amenities starting July 2018.<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 9
1<br />
TIME<br />
to<br />
Shine<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TRINA TURL<br />
Close to 500 guests came together in December at Toronto’s<br />
Fairmont Royal York Hotel to kick off the holiday season and<br />
fête the winners of Kostuch Media Ltd.’s 29th-annual Pinnacle<br />
Awards. The iconic property sparkled with holiday cheer as<br />
emcees Rosanna Caira, KML’s editor and publisher, and chef<br />
Vikram Vij handed out the "Oscars" of the hospitality industry.<br />
14<br />
1. Carol Johnston, Parmalat Canada 2. Jennifer Trafford and Chris Delaney, Foodbuy<br />
Canada 3. Taj Kassam, Sandman Hotel Group 4. hospitality student volunteers 5.<br />
Rosanna Caira and Vikram Vij 8 6. Christophe Le Chatton, OMNI King Edward Hotel<br />
7. Johanne Bélanger, president & CEO, Tourism Toronto 8. Rosanna Caira 9. (back l-r)<br />
Bryan McCourt, McCain Foods Canada; Chris Delaney, Foodbuy Canada; Rosanna<br />
Caira, KML; Jennifer Trafford, Foodbuy Canada; Janet Zuccarini, Gusto 54; Bob Riesen,<br />
Sandman Hotel Group; Taj Kassam, Sandman Hotel Group; Bill Simpson, Drake Hotel<br />
Properties; Vikram Vij; Scott Morison, Browns Restaurant Group; Daniel Davidzon,<br />
Aroma Espresso Bar; chef Jason Bangerter; Donald Ziraldo; Christophe Le Chatton 10.<br />
John Jung of BLT Construction Services Inc. presents the Regional Company of the Year<br />
award to Bill Simpson of Drake Hotel Properties 11. Jim Fennell and the team from<br />
Saputo, this year's sparkling-wine reception sponsor 12. Heidi Welker, Freeman Audio<br />
Visual Canada 13. Christophe Le Chatton, Omni King Edward Hotel celebrates with his<br />
team 14. Taj Kassam and Bob Riesen of Sandman Hotel Group received the Company of<br />
the Year Award from sponsor Paul Brlic from Shaw 15. the KML staff<br />
15<br />
13<br />
12 11<br />
10 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
2<br />
9 6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
10<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 11
PROFILE<br />
(from left) Julie Brisebois, GM, Alt Hotel<br />
Montreal Griffintown; Christiane Germain,<br />
co-president of Group Germain; and Hugo<br />
Germain, director of Development, Group<br />
Germain<br />
12 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
the<br />
CANADIAN<br />
ALT-ERNATIVE<br />
With a focus on affordable chic, Alt Hotels has<br />
been going strong for 10 years<br />
BY REBECCA HARRIS | PHOTO BY VADIM DANIEL<br />
MORE THAN<br />
A DECADE AGO,<br />
Christiane Germain and her<br />
brother, Jean-Yves, had four<br />
successful boutique hotels under<br />
their belts. They were looking to<br />
expand Group Germain Hotels<br />
across the country, but they knew<br />
that upscale hotels are, well, hard<br />
to scale.
“We were quite aware it would not<br />
have been possible to build many Le<br />
Germain hotels in all the cities,” says<br />
Christiane, who serves as co-president<br />
of Group Germain. “A city like<br />
Vancouver can take a Le Germain,<br />
but for a city like Saskatoon, the<br />
financials wouldn’t work.”<br />
So, they came up with a new<br />
concept they could take coast to coast<br />
— Alt Hotels, a modern, Europeanstyle,<br />
mid-market hotel brand. Created<br />
on the premise of “no-frills chic,”<br />
Alt Hotels would have a contemporary<br />
design and the warm approach<br />
to hospitality that Group Germain<br />
Hotels was known for, but without the<br />
bells and whistles of a luxury property.<br />
“People recognized that our attention<br />
to details and service was our<br />
strength, but we felt there was an<br />
opportunity to simplify the product,”<br />
says Hugo Germain, Jean-Yves<br />
Germain’s son, who started at the<br />
family company in 2006 as project<br />
manager and has been director of<br />
Development since 2008. “It was<br />
going to be the same attention to<br />
details, the same caring staff, the<br />
same technology. It was just going to<br />
be simplified.”<br />
That meant no room service, valet<br />
parking or amenities such as bathrobes<br />
in the guestrooms. The guestrooms<br />
themselves would also be smaller —<br />
around 225 sq. ft. compared to 375-to-<br />
400 sq. ft. at Le Germain. But, there<br />
would be a big emphasis on ambiance,<br />
design and comfort — from natural<br />
light to spa-inspired bathrooms and<br />
ergonomic workspaces — at an affordable<br />
price. “Our message was, ‘this is<br />
going to be an alternative to everything<br />
you can find in the [mid-range]<br />
segment, says Hugo.<br />
In September 2007, the first Alt<br />
Hotel opened its doors at Quartier<br />
Dix30, a commercial lifestyle centre in<br />
Brossard, Que., with shopping, restaurants<br />
and office space. In 2008, Alt<br />
Hotels opened its second location: a<br />
conversion of Hôtel Germain Des Prés<br />
in Quebec City. That year, Alt Hotels<br />
was awarded “Best Innovative Concept<br />
in Mid-scale Brands at the ninthannual<br />
Worldwide Hospitality Awards<br />
in Paris. And, Group Germain Hotels<br />
hasn’t looked back since.<br />
Alt Hotels, which recently celebrated<br />
its 10th anniversary, now has eight<br />
properties, stretching from Calgary<br />
to St. John’s, with two more slated<br />
to open in 2018. “It’s exciting and it<br />
makes me very proud,” says Christiane,<br />
reflecting on the brand’s decade<br />
of success and future possibilities.<br />
“The people [on our team] are quite<br />
excited about the growth and they’re<br />
having fun doing this. It’s a great<br />
source of motivation and inspiration<br />
for our entire team.”<br />
The plan for expanding Alt<br />
Hotels nationally was laid out in<br />
the early days. While Hugo worked<br />
on the development side, his father<br />
spearheaded the search for equity.<br />
“We wanted to establish a growth<br />
strategy across the country and get<br />
sufficient equity, so every time we<br />
had an opportunity to put in an Alt,<br />
we didn’t have to start from scratch<br />
to find a partner and the necessary<br />
money to do the project,” says Hugo.<br />
In 2010, the company raised $35<br />
million for its investment fund to get<br />
the ball rolling on expansion in key<br />
urban locations and near airports. The<br />
following year, Alt Hotels announced<br />
an additional $45-million investment<br />
from private and institutional investors.<br />
At the time, four other Alt Hotels were<br />
under development — at Toronto’s<br />
Pearson International Airport (opened<br />
in 2012), Stanfield International<br />
Airport in Halifax (opened in 2013),<br />
in Montreal’s Griffintown (opened<br />
in 2014) and in downtown Winnipeg<br />
(opened in 2015).<br />
An additional $80-million investment<br />
was announced in 2014. Two<br />
years later, Alt Hotels opened a<br />
148-room hotel in Ottawa’s business<br />
district. In October 2017, the brand’s<br />
newest location opened in St. John’s.<br />
“Most of the time, we locate Alt<br />
Hotels in areas where it’s slightly<br />
more difficult and more expensive to<br />
build since we like to be in key urban<br />
locations,” says Hugo. “Sometimes, in<br />
an airport context, it makes it a little<br />
bit easier. But, when you come into a<br />
downtown [location] — like we did<br />
in Ottawa, Winnipeg or Montreal<br />
— site conditions are tougher.” In<br />
those markets, the hotel is part of a<br />
mixed-use development. “We sit on<br />
top of an office building or we’re in<br />
the same building as a condo project,<br />
14 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
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and that’s a way for us to make<br />
things work.”<br />
Being green is another important<br />
consideration for Alt Hotels. The<br />
properties have a number of environmental<br />
measures in place, including<br />
heating and cooling with geothermal<br />
systems, heat recovery, large-scale<br />
thermal low-emissivity windows and<br />
energy-efficient lighting. “It’s good to<br />
be eco-friendly and our guests expect<br />
it, but there is an economic benefit to<br />
doing initiatives like this,” says Hugo.<br />
“So, in projects we did after [Quartier<br />
Dix30], we always tried to incorporate<br />
the same type of building technology.”<br />
Alt Hotels’ novel pricing strategy<br />
also sets it apart. At each Alt<br />
property, guests are charged a flatrate<br />
fee all year long (prices vary by<br />
city, from $149 to $179). “The key<br />
aspect of that strategy was to remove<br />
customer pain,” says Hugo. “There’s<br />
no worse feeling than realizing that<br />
when you’re checking in to a hotel,<br />
the guy next to you is paying $30 less<br />
than you. We felt this was unfair and<br />
that having a stable pricing strategy<br />
removes the customer pain.”<br />
While Hugo says the strategy<br />
has worked well, Alt Hotels is now<br />
moving towards a maximum guaranteed<br />
price. “There are some markets<br />
in the country, for example, Toronto<br />
Pearson, where the inventory is<br />
massive and there is intense competition<br />
for price in off-peak periods,”<br />
says Hugo. “The key with our<br />
approach is to be predictable for our<br />
guests — no surprises.”<br />
Julie Brisebois, general manager<br />
of the 154-room Alt Hotel Montreal<br />
Griffintown, says there haven’t been<br />
any big changes to the Alt Hotels<br />
brand over the years — just small<br />
improvements. “The essence of who<br />
we are and what we wanted Alt to be<br />
is still the same,” says Brisebois, who<br />
has been with the Alt brand from the<br />
beginning, starting off as Guest-Service<br />
manager at the first Alt property. “But,<br />
we listened to our guests and modified<br />
little things over time.”<br />
For example, guests at the hotel in<br />
Griffintown said they would appreciate<br />
a small fridge in the room, so last<br />
year, the property put them in 30 of its<br />
rooms. Guestrooms across the chain<br />
now have Keurig machines, whereas<br />
there was no coffee in the rooms<br />
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when Alt first debuted.<br />
While listening to guests is important<br />
for the brand, Brisebois believes<br />
the secret to the Alt brand’s success<br />
is having great staff. “You can have a<br />
beautiful hotel…but the people who<br />
work in it really give it the personality<br />
and life, and that’s why [guests]<br />
come back,” says Brisebois, who<br />
describes Alt Hotels’ approach to<br />
hospitality as laidback, caring<br />
and professional.<br />
Christiane says whether guests<br />
are staying at a Germain property or<br />
an Alt, design and well-thought-out<br />
environments are important to them<br />
— as is great location. “We’re very<br />
lucky because, in some of the places<br />
we’re located, we’re very close to<br />
where the locals live,” she says. “And,<br />
more and more, people are looking<br />
for that environment. They’re much<br />
more interested in living like a local.”<br />
In terms of new developments,<br />
Group Germain Hotels is opening a<br />
second property at Quartier Dix30,<br />
under its new Alt+ banner, in March<br />
2018. The 168-room, $35-million hotel<br />
will occupy the top nine floors of a<br />
15-storey mixed-use building currently<br />
under construction. “We call it Alt+<br />
because it’s a kind of hybrid between<br />
Le Germain and Alt,” says Hugo.<br />
“The room is bigger — about 320 sq.<br />
ft. — and there are more services, so<br />
it’s more of a four-star property.”<br />
Alt+ caters to guests who are<br />
likely going to stay more than<br />
one night. “We’re putting in some<br />
additional amenities for somebody<br />
who is spending two or three<br />
nights,” says Hugo. “We’re putting<br />
in a fridge and a microwave, and<br />
we’ve created a bit more space where<br />
guests can store more things. There<br />
is also more of a lounge area in the<br />
room where guests can relax.”<br />
In addition to the first Alt+, two Alt<br />
Hotels are slated to open in Western<br />
Canada in 2018 — one at a new development<br />
at River Landing in Saskatoon,<br />
and one in Calgary’s East Village. In<br />
the long term, Hugo says he’d like to<br />
expand further into Western Canada<br />
— including Edmonton and Vancouver<br />
— as well as expand Alt Hotels’<br />
footprint in Toronto.<br />
Looking back on Alt Hotels’<br />
decade of success, Hugo says he’s<br />
proud of how Alt Hotels created a<br />
Canadian brand and built a Canadian<br />
presence from scratch. “We’re<br />
unique and we were able to convince<br />
people to invest with us, to stay with<br />
us and to trust us,” he says. “That’s<br />
what makes me the most proud…and<br />
the best is yet to come.” u
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2015-08-25 10:31 AM
For hotels operating in today’s competitive<br />
climate, understanding the power of<br />
branding has never been more important<br />
Standing<br />
out from<br />
the Crowd<br />
ISTOCK.COM/ENVIROMATIC<br />
Offering a clearly<br />
defined brand<br />
promise and delivering<br />
a great guest<br />
experience drives<br />
customer loyalty<br />
and value for owners. But, says Heather<br />
Balsley, SVP, Americas Brands &<br />
Marketing InterContinental Hotels<br />
Group (IHG), it’s also important<br />
when building scale. “Having a<br />
network of hotels with a consistent<br />
level of service leads to more growth,”<br />
she says. “On the strength of this<br />
scale, branded hotels can also offer<br />
guests added benefits. Harnessing the<br />
power of channels and a vast distribution<br />
network, coupled with a successful<br />
revenue-delivery enterprise and a<br />
portfolio of preferred brands is part of<br />
building [a] winning strategy for longterm<br />
growth.”<br />
According to Robert<br />
Pratt, president of Vancouverbased<br />
ONE Lodging, brands<br />
have had to step up their efforts to<br />
encourage consumers to book directly<br />
with brand channels in order to<br />
combat aggressive marketing efforts<br />
by the OTAs (online travel agencies).<br />
“Be it fancy new ad campaigns, robust<br />
loyalty programs or targeted digital<br />
marketing, brands have had to fight<br />
back to regain consumer preference of<br />
their brand versus that of the OTAs.”<br />
He says strong growth and largescale<br />
mergers within the hotelbranding<br />
world in recent years have<br />
resulted in large brand families with<br />
much higher leverage and buying<br />
power. “This new and critical mass<br />
has given large brands the ability to<br />
BY AMY BOSTOCK<br />
eliminate last-room availability<br />
and price-parity terms with OTAs,<br />
which now allow yielding of these<br />
channels. This means franchisees are<br />
not required to accept as many OTA<br />
reservations during periods of higher<br />
demand, which lowers their cost of<br />
reservations. In addition, more scale<br />
has given brands the ability to negotiate<br />
lower commissions with OTAs<br />
which further helps franchisees to<br />
rein in costs.” Brands are now able to<br />
offer lower pricing to loyalty program<br />
members on brand.com, he adds.<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 21
COME FLY AWAY: Accent Inns<br />
and Hotel Zed have transformed<br />
their elevators to hot-air-balloon<br />
rides with 360-degree wraps<br />
In 2016, IHG launched Your Rate by<br />
IHG Rewards Club, a program offering<br />
its loyalty members access to exclusive,<br />
preferential rates when they book via<br />
IHG’s direct channels. The result has<br />
been growth in member enrolment and<br />
direct bookings. “OTAs are an important<br />
sales channel for hotels, which are<br />
always looking for ways to encourage<br />
incremental business from their OTA<br />
partners,” says Balsley. “At the same<br />
time, hotels are looking at ways to<br />
drive a greater proportion of bookings<br />
through direct channels, whether<br />
through web, mobile or voice/phone<br />
channels. This usually goes hand<br />
in hand with a hotel brand’s loyalty<br />
program, to drive loyalty and the best<br />
rate available by booking direct.”<br />
As an independently owned brand,<br />
Trina Notman, VP Sales & Marketing<br />
at Accent Inns & Hotel Zed, says<br />
it becomes even more important to<br />
build a brand the customer wants to<br />
be a part of in order to hold your own<br />
against the OTAs. “We need to keep<br />
delivering on our brand promises and<br />
make the entire experience something<br />
a little bit different so people want to<br />
come to us directly,” she says.<br />
AVOIDING BRAND FATIGUE<br />
Canada’s hotel industry is booming.<br />
According to recent numbers from<br />
CBRE Hotels, continued supply<br />
growth is expected, with a projected<br />
increase from half of a per cent in 2017<br />
to one per cent in 2018. But with so<br />
many hotels to choose from, how do<br />
operators avoid brand fatigue and<br />
remain relevant? Balsley says it’s about<br />
staying focused on innovation, remaining<br />
true to your customer and knowing<br />
how to flex and adapt to guest demand<br />
and needs. “Sometimes that means<br />
evolving current brands and launching<br />
new ones,” she says.<br />
For example, IHG’s heritage brand,<br />
Holiday Inn, which is more than 60<br />
years old, launched new H4 room<br />
design, which takes an updated,<br />
modern approach to the guestroom<br />
while adding features such as a<br />
“Welcome Nook” — a place for guests<br />
to hang their coat, drop their keys and<br />
shoes — and added USB ports to plug<br />
in their devices.<br />
It’s also important to look at opportunities<br />
in the market, she says. “Extensive<br />
research and consumer insights led<br />
us to develop a new brand, Avid Hotels,<br />
in September 2017, to fill a gap in the<br />
mid-scale travel market.” In December,<br />
IHG announced that this brand was<br />
franchise-ready for Canada and recently<br />
broke ground on its first property in<br />
the U.S., which is expected to open in<br />
third quarter of 2018.<br />
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In its business of operating selectservice<br />
hotels, the brands ONE<br />
Lodging works with have stayed<br />
relevant and have avoided brand<br />
fatigue by staying true to their brand<br />
promise, says Pratt. “By doing so,<br />
guests know what to expect each and<br />
every time they visit one of our hotels.<br />
We’ve seen over the past year, all<br />
the major hotel brands evolving and<br />
continually looking for new ways to<br />
connect with existing and potential<br />
guests; however, much of that attention<br />
has been focused on the digital<br />
space, with outmaneuvering the<br />
OTAs, and what can often be lost is<br />
the human interaction being delivered<br />
at the hotel.”<br />
Notman and her team avoid brand<br />
fatigue by constantly adding to the<br />
brand’s story. “We did an amazing<br />
rebrand about five years ago where<br />
we infused a lot of playful humour at<br />
customer touchpoints at our properties<br />
and online,” she says. “For example,<br />
we just transformed all of our drab,<br />
boring elevators into hot-air-balloon<br />
rides over the destination you’re in,<br />
with 360-degree deco-wraps so you feel<br />
like you’re stepping into the basket of a<br />
hot-air balloon and going over Vancouver,<br />
Kamloops or Kanora.”<br />
Accent also added hopscotch<br />
games to the breezeways at all of<br />
their motel properties. “You can’t<br />
just pat yourselves on the back and<br />
take a seat because you’re never<br />
done,” warns Notman.<br />
BUYING THE BRAND<br />
In an era of asset-light hotel companies,<br />
Balsley says the value is heavily<br />
focused on brands and the strength of<br />
those brands when it comes to mergers<br />
and acquisitions. “For IHG, we have a<br />
compelling, well-established and longterm<br />
winning strategy for high-quality<br />
growth. Our strategy is predicated<br />
on building a portfolio of preferred<br />
brands, growing and leveraging scale,<br />
investing in technology and delivering<br />
a world-class loyalty program. We<br />
are always looking at opportunities,<br />
but they must fit clearly with our assetlight,<br />
brand-heavy strategy.”<br />
Ian McAuley, president of American<br />
Hotel Income Properties, which<br />
acquires/owns the hotels that ONE<br />
Lodging subsequently manages, says<br />
his company’s top acquisition criteria<br />
for evaluating new portfolios or<br />
hotel properties is the assets must<br />
carry a premium brand. “Consistent<br />
with our investment strategy, we’d be<br />
very unlikely to look at non-branded<br />
portfolios, even if all other metrics<br />
were the same.”<br />
He says branding has become more<br />
and more important as competition and<br />
supply has increased. “Ten to 20 years<br />
ago, a hotel’s most important marketing<br />
tool was its 1-800 number; now every<br />
independent and branded property is<br />
available through multiple channels<br />
online. Layer on OTAs, disruptors<br />
such as Airbnb and alternative-accommodation<br />
providers and imitators and<br />
consumers now have more flexibility in<br />
their purchasing options.”<br />
So why do consumers buy brands?<br />
“Because of the equity and confidence<br />
brands have developed to capture<br />
consumer confidence,” says Pratt.<br />
“It’s a brand’s distribution and loyalty<br />
programs that give owners and operators<br />
a distinct competitive advantage.<br />
Notman says branding is more<br />
important than ever. “There are so<br />
many brands out there and so many<br />
options for guests — especially with<br />
OTAs — to find your competitors. You<br />
have to give them a reason to stay with<br />
you and give them a brand experience<br />
that makes them want to come back<br />
because you can easily lose them to the<br />
next listing on Expedia.ca.”<br />
But buying a brand isn’t enough.<br />
Establishing and maintaining brand<br />
standards is also critical to success.<br />
“Brands make big investments in<br />
marketing to help guests understand<br />
what they can expect when they<br />
arrive at a particularly branded hotel,”<br />
says Pratt. “Guests expect every hotel<br />
to fulfill the brand promise and meet<br />
or exceed their expectations each<br />
and every time. Strong and clear<br />
brand standards help operators to<br />
deliver a consistent brand promise for<br />
every guest.”<br />
Balsley also emphasis the importance<br />
of monitoring feedback when it<br />
comes to brand standards. “We work<br />
in lockstep with our owners through<br />
the IHG Owners’ Association in<br />
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developing and implementing brand<br />
standards. We’re very transparent<br />
about the brand guidelines from<br />
the beginning and what it takes to<br />
stay compliant throughout the PIP<br />
(property-improvement plan) process.<br />
We also monitor owner feedback<br />
through owner-satisfaction surveys<br />
and use it to refine our measures, so<br />
we are constantly fine-tuning and<br />
evolving our standards to ensure we<br />
are delivering the best value to our<br />
guests and our owners.”<br />
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK<br />
Canada has unique challenges<br />
and opportunities when it comes<br />
to introducing new hotel brands.<br />
“Compared to the U.S., Canada has<br />
a smaller population spread across a<br />
large area and there can be language<br />
barriers with the need to communicate<br />
messages in both French and<br />
English,” says Balsey. “That said, there<br />
are several opportunities. Canada<br />
remains a top destination for travellers<br />
from the U.S. and abroad and has<br />
seen steady growth in occupancy and<br />
RevPAR. It’s a top-10 market for IHG<br />
and has experienced high growth<br />
recently. IHG’s presence in Canada<br />
has been growing two times faster<br />
than the industry average in the<br />
region with 12 new Canadian properties<br />
opening in 2018 and 31 additional<br />
hotels in the pipeline.”<br />
“With the proliferation of numerous<br />
brands, sub-brands and soft<br />
brands consumers can have difficulty<br />
distinguishing brands and understanding<br />
the finer differences between<br />
them,” adds Pratt. “New brands can<br />
be challenged to establish clear and<br />
unique positioning in Canada as a<br />
new market particularly if there is<br />
a low level of awareness within this<br />
market. Without distinct points of<br />
difference, they are just another<br />
brand in a sea of many brands.”<br />
Getting baseline awareness for<br />
a new brand is a challenge, says<br />
Notman, especially on smaller<br />
budgets. “When you look at the<br />
purchase funnel, awareness is at<br />
the top and then it comes down to<br />
consideration and then purchase. If<br />
you don’t have awareness, you can’t<br />
just skip to step two or three — you<br />
need to fill that funnel and get that<br />
baseline awareness and it’s difficult<br />
if you’re on a smaller budget. Is there<br />
room for more brands: I’d love to say<br />
no, but yes. There’s tons of interest<br />
in Canada as a travel destination and<br />
more people are coming here than<br />
ever before, but I don’t know that we<br />
have the infrastructure to support it.”<br />
Marketing departments play a<br />
crucial role in the branding process<br />
and are key to building that awareness.<br />
“Marketing departments have to<br />
be nimble and innovative; even deeprooted<br />
brands have to be willing to<br />
be adaptive the changing needs and<br />
desires of consumers,” says Balsley.<br />
“To remain competitive, we know we<br />
have to stay committed to our brand<br />
proposition and offer a differentiating<br />
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value for our owners and our guests,<br />
so marketing is a huge focus for IHG.<br />
We are always exploring new and<br />
targeted ways to reach consumers that<br />
is very focused on ROI.”<br />
“There is more onus on the brands<br />
to create key initiatives franchisees<br />
can take advantage of because most<br />
operators are running fewer and<br />
fewer campaigns on their own,” says<br />
Pratt. “Most brands give franchisees<br />
plenty of flexibility for participation to<br />
encourage operators to work with the<br />
brands rather than creating individualized<br />
programs on their own. Brands<br />
are making it far easier for franchisees<br />
to participate in [marketing]<br />
campaigns by offering different levels<br />
of buy-in that suit every operator.”<br />
TECH IS TOPS<br />
Technology has become a fundamental<br />
part of the branding process<br />
and impacts every aspect of the guest<br />
experience. From mobile apps to<br />
reservation systems to guest Internet,<br />
hotel companies are constantly<br />
having to keep abreast of changes in<br />
technology and upgrade systems to<br />
stay current and continue to offer a<br />
high level of service. “At IHG, we’ve<br />
placed a major emphasis on technology<br />
and investing in key areas that<br />
will drive our business. Two major<br />
initiatives are IHG Connect, our<br />
state-of-the-art guest Internet and<br />
Wi-Fi platform, and our new cloudbased<br />
guest-reservation system (GRS),<br />
which we started rolling out at the<br />
end of 2017 across our estate and<br />
expect to fully deploy by early 2019.”<br />
But, says Pratt, sometimes it’s difficult<br />
to determine the difference between<br />
technology that adds real value for<br />
guests or is just cool. “Nonetheless,<br />
brands are working hard to create<br />
points of difference through technology<br />
while keeping up with competing<br />
brand technologies. Hilton, for<br />
instance, has already implemented<br />
keyless mobile check-in and recently<br />
announced the beta launch of its<br />
“Connected Room’, a high-tech guestroom<br />
that enables guests to personalize<br />
and control every aspect of their<br />
stay from their mobile device. While<br />
appealing to the business traveller,<br />
what remains to be seen will be whether<br />
greater integration of technology<br />
will loosen the connectively between<br />
guests and hotels’ hospitality teams or<br />
strengthen it.”<br />
Notman says new technology<br />
brings new opportunities. “You can<br />
now be represented across platforms<br />
that didn’t exist 12 years ago,” she<br />
says. “But not only are you representing<br />
yourself, you’re participating and<br />
interacting with your customers in<br />
real time. Then there’s opportunities<br />
at the operational level — apps that<br />
get you engaged with your brand.”<br />
The downside, she says, is keeping<br />
up with the lightning-fast rate of<br />
change in the technology world. “If<br />
you really want to be engaging with<br />
your customers to the maximum, it’s a<br />
lot to keep up with.” u<br />
As one of Canada’s largest hotel franchisors, we really know how to franchise well.<br />
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OVER<br />
<br />
LOCATIONS<br />
ACROSSCANADA<br />
TRAVELODGE CANADA<br />
FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT<br />
1.800.646.2435<br />
development@travelodge.ca<br />
travelodge.ca/development
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
THE 2018<br />
FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
AC HOTELS<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- first AC Hotel opened in 1998<br />
- no properties in Canada; 115<br />
outside of Canada<br />
- one property in the pipeline for<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$75,000 or<br />
US$500/room, whichever is greater<br />
- royalty fee 5.5% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 2.5% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
ALOFT HOTELS<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- three properties in Canada; 134<br />
outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$60,000, plus<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
$450 per key in excess of 150 keys<br />
- SPG 4.9% of qualified charges<br />
- license fee 5.5% GRS<br />
- program fee 4% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- site review and analysis<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
ASCEND HOTEL COLLECTION<br />
CHOICE HOTELS CANADA INC.<br />
5015 Spectrum Way, Ste. 400<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 0E4<br />
905-206-7316<br />
choicehotels.ca<br />
Managing director: Brian Leon<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in Canada in 2008<br />
- 14 properties in Canada; 191<br />
outside of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $30,000<br />
- advertising fee 1.25%<br />
- royalty fee 4%<br />
- reservation fee 1.25%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- first Autograph property opened<br />
in 2010<br />
- two properties in Canada; 128<br />
outside of Canada<br />
- four properties in the pipeline<br />
for Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial application fee US$75,000<br />
or US$300 per room, whichever<br />
is greater<br />
- royalty fee 5% of GRS<br />
- marketing fee 1.5% of GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
BAYMONT INN & SUITES<br />
WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP<br />
22 Sylvan Way<br />
Parsippany, NJ 07054<br />
888-223-4680<br />
EVP and Chief Development Officer:<br />
Chip Ohlsson<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1974<br />
- two properties in Canada (both<br />
franchised); 456 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee: the greater of<br />
$26,000 or $260 per guest room<br />
- total investment $88,508 to<br />
$6,659,388<br />
- marketing fee 3.5% of GRR:<br />
consists of marketing contribution<br />
of 2% of GRR and basic<br />
reservation fee of 1.5%<br />
of GRR<br />
- royalty fee 5% of GRR<br />
Services<br />
- architectural services/design<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- conventions and area meetings<br />
- development & design<br />
- field support<br />
- financial assistance<br />
- group tour material<br />
- group savings<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- quality assurance audits<br />
- quality control<br />
- reservation systems<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
- technical services<br />
- worldwide sales<br />
BEST WESTERN<br />
HOTELS & RESORTS<br />
6557 Mississauga Rd., Unit D<br />
Meadowvale Ct. 1<br />
Mississauga, ON L5N 1A6<br />
905-816-4787<br />
bestwestern.com<br />
President: David Kong<br />
VP, Owner Relations: Michael Morton<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 27
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1946<br />
in Long Beach, Calif.<br />
- 200 properties in Canada; 3,455<br />
outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $49,000 minimum,<br />
plus $200/room for properties<br />
with more than 50 rooms<br />
- marketing fee $12.55/room/month<br />
- royalty fee $1.49/room/day based<br />
on 100-room hotel<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- other<br />
- purchasing<br />
- revenue management<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
CAMBRIA SUITES<br />
CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL<br />
1 Choice Hotels Cir., Ste. 400<br />
Rockville, MD 20850<br />
800-547-0007<br />
choicehotelsfranchise.com<br />
President & CEO, Choice Hotels<br />
International: Pat Pacious<br />
VP, Franchise Development:<br />
Mark Shalala<br />
History, Plans<br />
- founded in 2007<br />
- no properties in Canada; 31 outside<br />
of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $60,000<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
- system distribution fee 4% GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
CANADAS BEST VALUE INN<br />
RED LION HOTELS CORPORATION<br />
21550 Market St., Ste. 350<br />
Denver, CO 80202<br />
866-437-4878 ext. 143<br />
franchise.RLHCo.com<br />
President & CEO: Greg Mount<br />
EVP, President of Global<br />
Development: Roger Bloss<br />
History, Plans<br />
- 28 properties in Canada (all franchised);<br />
837 Americas Best Value<br />
Inn properties outside Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee and application<br />
fee $15,000 for up to 50 rooms; 51+<br />
rooms: $150 per room<br />
(one-time fee)<br />
- marketing fee $17/room/month<br />
($680 monthly minimum)<br />
- monthly fees: first 50 rooms<br />
$23.50/room/month; 51 to 75<br />
rooms $19.50/room/month; 76+<br />
rooms $18.50/room/month ($940<br />
monthly minimum)<br />
Services<br />
- advertising<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
avid quarter page ad 4.pdf 1 2017-11-21 4:48 PM<br />
CANDLEWOOD SUITES<br />
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS<br />
GROUP (IHG)<br />
2 Robert Speck Pkwy. Ste. 600<br />
Mississauga, ON L4Z 1H8<br />
416-675-6644<br />
candlewoodsuites.com<br />
Regional Director, Midscale Franchise<br />
Sales & Development, Canada:<br />
Stuart Laurie<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1995<br />
- three franchised properties in<br />
Canada; 371 outside of Canada<br />
- plans to add two properties in<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- total investment $7,807,040 to<br />
$10,716,900<br />
- royalty fee 5% GSR<br />
- marketing fee 2.5% GSR (combined<br />
reservations and marketing fee)<br />
- application fee $500 per guestroom<br />
($50,000 minimum)<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- other<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
CLARION<br />
CHOICE HOTELS CANADA INC.<br />
5015 Spectrum Way, Ste. 400<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 0E4<br />
905-206-7316<br />
choicehotels.ca<br />
Managing director: Brian Leon<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1987 in Canada<br />
- nine properties in Canada; 295<br />
outside of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $35,000<br />
- advertising fee 1.25%<br />
- royalty fee 2.5%<br />
- reservation fee 1.25%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
COAST HOTELS<br />
APA HOTEL GROUP<br />
1090 W. Georgia St., Ste. 900<br />
Vancouver, BC V6E 3V7<br />
604-682-7982<br />
coasthotels.com<br />
Senior executive director,<br />
Development & Revenue Strategy:<br />
Mark Hope<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1972 in Gold River/<br />
Tahasis, B.C.<br />
- 30 properties in Canada; 10 outside<br />
of Canada (30 franchised)<br />
- continued expansion planned in<br />
Western Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $100 per room,<br />
$10,000 minimum<br />
- advertising fee 2%<br />
- distribution fee 1.5%<br />
- royalty fee 2%<br />
- other fees 0.75%<br />
A new investment opportunity<br />
that’s ‘just right’<br />
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development.ihg.com<br />
development@ihg.com<br />
*IHG® Rewards Club not applicable to Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants; to be included at a future date.
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
COMFORT<br />
CHOICE HOTELS CANADA INC.<br />
5015 Spectrum Way, Ste. 400<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 0E4<br />
905-206-7316<br />
choicehotels.ca<br />
Managing director: Brian Leon<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1998 in Canada<br />
- 147 properties in Canada; 1,570<br />
outside of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $40,000<br />
- advertising fee1.3%<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
- reservation fee 1.75%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
COMFORT SUITES<br />
CHOICE HOTELS CANADA INC.<br />
5015 Spectrum Way, Ste. 400<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 0E4<br />
905-206-7316<br />
choicehotels.ca<br />
Managing director: Brian Leon<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1998 in Canada<br />
- five properties in Canada; 588<br />
outside of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $50,000<br />
- advertising fee1.3%<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
- reservation fee 1.75%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
COUNTRY INN & SUITES<br />
BY CARLSON<br />
CARLSON REZIDOR HOTEL GROUP<br />
701 Carlson Pkwy., Ste. 200<br />
Minnetonka, MN 55305<br />
763-212-3475<br />
countryinn.com<br />
Senior VP, Operations: Aly El-Bassuni<br />
Chief Development Officer:<br />
Terry Sanders<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1986 in<br />
Minneapolis, Minn.<br />
- seven properties in Canada; 481<br />
outside of Canada (476 are<br />
franchised)<br />
- plans to open a new property in<br />
Belleville, Ont.<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$50,000<br />
- total cost US$6,431,784 to<br />
$7,7567,902<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
- advertising fee 2.5%<br />
- distribution fee 1.5%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1983<br />
- 29 properties in Canada; 1,098<br />
outside of Canada<br />
- 11 properties in the pipeline<br />
for Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$75,000 or<br />
US$500/room, whichever is greater<br />
- royalty fee 6% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 2% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
CROWNE PLAZA HOTELS<br />
& RESORTS<br />
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS<br />
GROUP (IHG)<br />
2 Robert Speck Pkwy., Ste. 600<br />
Mississauga, ON L4Z 1H8<br />
416-675-6644<br />
crowneplaza.com<br />
Regional director, Midscale<br />
Franchise Sales & Development,<br />
Canada: Stuart Laurie<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1983<br />
- seven franchised properties in<br />
Canada; 405 outside of Canada<br />
- plans to add one property in<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- total investment $28,442,050 to<br />
$52,545,045<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
- marketing fee 3% GRR<br />
- application fee $500/guestroom,<br />
$75,000 minimum<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- other<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
DAYS INNS, HOTELS & SUITES<br />
DAYS INNS - CANADA<br />
REALSTAR HOTEL SERVICES CORP.,<br />
DIVISION OF REALSTAR HOSPITALITY<br />
(WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP)<br />
77 Bloor St. W., Ste. 2000<br />
Toronto, ON M5S 1M2<br />
416-966-8387<br />
daysinn.ca<br />
President and COO: Irwin Prince<br />
History, Plans<br />
- Days Hotel was established in<br />
1998; Days Inn was established<br />
in 1992<br />
- 110-plus franchised properties<br />
in Canada; 1,770-plus outside of<br />
Canada<br />
- plans to add eight properties in<br />
Canada<br />
Stay<br />
Meet<br />
Your home away from home<br />
Franchising available Grow with us.<br />
Properties throughout Southern Ontario<br />
1-888-564-6194 | franchise@montecarloinns.com<br />
montecarloinns.com<br />
Dine
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee minimum<br />
$45,000<br />
- royalty fee 6.5%<br />
- reservations fee 2.3%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- global reservations<br />
- national sales network<br />
- operational support<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site review and analysis<br />
- staff training<br />
- tradeshow representation<br />
DELTA HOTELS AND RESORTS<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- acquired Delta Hotels and Resorts<br />
in 2015<br />
- 37 properties in Canada; 10 outside<br />
of Canada<br />
- three properties in the pipeline for<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial application fee US$75,000,<br />
plus US$300 per guestroom for<br />
each guestroom in excess of<br />
250 guestrooms<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRS<br />
- program Services fee 3.5% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
DOUBLETREE BY HILTON<br />
HILTON<br />
7930 Jones Branch Dr.<br />
McLean, VA 22102<br />
703-883-1000<br />
hiltonworldwide.com/development<br />
President & CEO:<br />
Christopher Nassetta<br />
Senior director, Development,<br />
Canada: Jeff Cury<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1989<br />
- 11 properties in Canada (all<br />
franchised); 311 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$75,000 for<br />
the first 250 rooms, plus US$400<br />
per additional room<br />
- royalty fee 5% monthly GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
ECONO LODGE<br />
CHOICE HOTELS CANADA INC.<br />
5015 Spectrum Way, Ste. 400<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 0E4<br />
905-206-7316<br />
choicehotels.ca<br />
Managing director: Brian Leon<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1993 in Canada<br />
- 50 properties in Canada; 912<br />
outside of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $25,000<br />
- advertising fee 1.3%<br />
- distribution fee 4%<br />
- reservation fee 1.75%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
ELEMENT HOTELS<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- three properties in Canada, 19<br />
outside of Canada<br />
- two properties in the pipeline for<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$60,000,<br />
plus US$450 per key in excess of<br />
150 keys<br />
- SPG 4.9% of qualified charges<br />
- license fee 5.5% GRS<br />
- program fee 4% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
EMBASSY SUITES BY HILTON<br />
HILTON<br />
7930 Jones Branch Dr.<br />
McLean, VA 22102<br />
703-883-1000<br />
hiltonworldwide.com/development<br />
President & CEO:<br />
Christopher Nassetta<br />
Senior director, Development,<br />
Canada: Jeff Cury<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1983<br />
- two properties in Canada<br />
(franchised); 238 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$75,000 for<br />
the first 250 rooms, plus US$400<br />
per additional room<br />
- royalty fee 3.5% year one; 4.5%<br />
year two; 5.5% year three and<br />
thereafter (monthly GRR)<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
EXECUTIVE HOTELS<br />
& RESORTS<br />
1080 Howe St., 8th Floor<br />
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2T1<br />
604-642-5250<br />
executivehotels.net<br />
President: Salim Sayani<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1986 in Vancouver<br />
- 13 properties in Canada; three<br />
outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- available upon request<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
FAIRFIELD INN & SUITES<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established 1987<br />
- 21 properties in Canada; 875<br />
outside of Canada<br />
- seven properties in the pipeline<br />
for Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee: US$50,000<br />
or US$400 per room, whichever is<br />
greater*<br />
- royalty fee 5.5% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 2.5% GRS<br />
*Subject to Canadian Development<br />
Incentive Program<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- 31 properties in Canada; 211<br />
outside of Canada<br />
- eight properties in the pipeline<br />
for Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee: US$60,000<br />
plus US$450 per key in excess of<br />
150 keys<br />
- SPG 4.9% of qualified charges<br />
- licence fee 5.5% GRS<br />
- program fee 4% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
30 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HAMPTON/HIS BY HILTON<br />
HILTON<br />
7930 Jones Branch Dr.<br />
McLean, VA 22102<br />
703-883-1000<br />
hiltonworldwide.com/development<br />
President & CEO:<br />
Christopher Nassetta<br />
Senior director, Development,<br />
Canada: Jeff Cury<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1983<br />
- 55 properties in Canada (52 franchised);<br />
2,269 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee: US$75,000 for<br />
the first 150 rooms, plus US$400<br />
per additional room<br />
- royalty fee 6% monthly GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
M6_FranAds_Hotelier.pdf 1 2015-12-18 8:28 AM<br />
HAWTHORN SUITES<br />
BY WYNDHAM<br />
WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP<br />
22 Sylvan Way<br />
Parsippany, NJ 07054<br />
888-223-4680<br />
hawthornsuites.com<br />
President & CEO: Geoff Ballotti<br />
Chief Development Officer:<br />
Chip Ohlsson<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1983<br />
- 110 properties outside of Canada<br />
- opening in Canada in 2018<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $43,000 of $400,<br />
plus $2,500 application fee<br />
- marketing fee 2.5% GRR<br />
- royalty fee 5.5% GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- architectural services<br />
- central purchasing<br />
- conventions and area meetings<br />
- design<br />
- development & design<br />
- financial assistance available<br />
- field support<br />
- group savings<br />
- group tour material<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- quality control<br />
- reservation systems<br />
- staff training<br />
- technical services<br />
- worldwide sales<br />
HILTON GARDEN INN<br />
HILTON<br />
7930 Jones Branch Dr.<br />
McLean, VA 22102<br />
703-883-1000<br />
hiltonworldwide.com/development<br />
President & CEO:<br />
Christopher Nassetta<br />
Senior director, Development,<br />
Canada: Jeff Cury<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1996<br />
- 22 properties in Canada (all<br />
franchised); 741 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee: US$75,000 for<br />
the first 150 rooms, plus US$400<br />
per additional room<br />
- royalty fee 5.5% monthly GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HILTON HOTELS & RESORTS<br />
HILTON<br />
7930 Jones Branch Dr.<br />
McLean, VA 22102<br />
703-883-1000<br />
hiltonworldwide.com/development<br />
President & CEO: Christopher<br />
Nassetta<br />
Senior director, Development,<br />
Canada: Jeff Cury<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1919 in Texas<br />
- 13 properties in Canada (nine<br />
franchised); 561 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee: US$75,000 for<br />
the first 250 rooms, plus US$400<br />
per additional room<br />
- royalty fee 5% monthly GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS<br />
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS<br />
GROUP (IHG)<br />
2 Robert Speck Pkwy., Ste. 600<br />
Mississauga, ON L4Z 1H8<br />
416-675-6644<br />
holidayinnexpress.com<br />
Regional Director, Midscale<br />
Franchise Sales & Development,<br />
Canada: Stuart Laurie<br />
INVEST IN THE<br />
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With step by step reno assistance, franchising<br />
with Motel 6 is as easy as picking up the phone.<br />
New build and conversion incentives<br />
416.966.8387 | motel6@realstarhospitality.com
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1991<br />
- 97 franchised properties in Canada;<br />
2,475 outside of Canada<br />
- plans to add 24 units in Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- total investment $7,544,298 to<br />
$10,569,425<br />
- royalty fee 6% GRR<br />
- marketing fee 3% GRR<br />
- application fee $500 per guest<br />
room, $50,000 minimum<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- other<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HOLIDAY INN HOTELS<br />
& RESORTS<br />
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS<br />
GROUP (IHG)<br />
2 Robert Speck Pkwy. Ste. 600<br />
Mississauga, ON L4Z 1H8<br />
416-675-6644<br />
holidayinn.com<br />
Regional Director, Midscale<br />
Franchise Sales & Development,<br />
Canada: Stuart Laurie<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1952<br />
- 59 franchised properties in Canada;<br />
1,137 outside of Canada<br />
- plans to add four properties in<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- total investment $13,368,160 to<br />
$18,248,995<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
- marketing fee 3% GRR<br />
- application fee $500 per guestroom,<br />
$50,000 minimum<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- other<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HOME2 SUITES BY HILTON<br />
HILTON<br />
7930 Jones Branch Dr.<br />
McLean, VA 22102<br />
703-883-1000<br />
hiltonworldwide.com/development<br />
President & CEO:<br />
Christopher Nassetta<br />
Senior director, Development,<br />
Canada: Jeff Cury<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 2009<br />
- three properties in<br />
Canada (all franchised);<br />
188 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- US$75,000 flat franchise fee<br />
- royalty fee 5% monthly GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HOMEWOOD SUITES<br />
BY HILTON<br />
HILTON<br />
7930 Jones Branch Dr.<br />
McLean, VA 22102<br />
703-883-1000<br />
hiltonworldwide.com/development<br />
President & CEO:<br />
Christopher Nassetta<br />
Senior director, Development,<br />
Canada: Jeff Cury<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1988<br />
- 18 properties in Canada (18 franchised);<br />
429 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$75,000 for<br />
the first 150 rooms, plus US$400<br />
per additional room<br />
- royalty fee 3.5% year one; 4.5%<br />
year two; 5.5% year three<br />
and thereafter monthly GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HOTEL INDIGO<br />
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS<br />
GROUP (IHG)<br />
2 Robert Speck Pkwy. Ste. 600<br />
Mississauga, ON L4Z 1H8<br />
416-675-6644<br />
hotelindigo.com<br />
Regional Director, Midscale<br />
Franchise Sales & Development,<br />
Canada: Stuart Laurie<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 2004<br />
- no franchised properties in Canada;<br />
80 outside of Canada<br />
- no plans for growth in Canada at<br />
this time<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- total investment $15,957,558 to<br />
$35,696,440<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
- marketing fee 3.5% GRR (combined<br />
marketing, reservation and<br />
training fee)<br />
- application fee $500/guestroom,<br />
$60,000 minimum<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- other<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HOTEL RL<br />
RED LION HOTELS CORPORATION<br />
21550 Market St., Ste. 350<br />
Denver, CO 80202<br />
866-437-4878, ext. 143<br />
franchise.RLHCo.com<br />
President & CEO: Greg Mount<br />
Chief Development Officer, Upscale<br />
Brands: Paul Sacco<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 2014<br />
in Spokane, Wash.<br />
- seven properties outside Canada<br />
- expansion planned for Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- see franchise-disclosure<br />
documents<br />
Services<br />
- advertising<br />
- design<br />
- site location<br />
- supplies<br />
HOWARD JOHNSON<br />
WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP<br />
22 Sylvan Way<br />
Parsippany, NJ 07054<br />
888-223-4680<br />
hojo.com<br />
Executive vice-president and Chief<br />
Development Officer: Chip Ohlsson<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1954<br />
- 36 properties in Canada (all<br />
franchised); 320 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee: the greater of<br />
$35,000 or $350 per room<br />
- total investment $2,048 to<br />
$9,199,770<br />
- marketing fee 4% GRR (includes<br />
marketing and room-sales charge)<br />
- royalty fee 4.5% GRR<br />
Services<br />
- architectural services/design<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- conventions and area meetings<br />
- development & design<br />
- field support<br />
- financial assistance<br />
- group tour material<br />
- group savings<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- quality assurance audits<br />
- quality control<br />
- reservation systems<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
- technical services<br />
- worldwide sales<br />
HYATT CENTRIC<br />
HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION<br />
150 North Riverside Plaza<br />
Chicago, IL 60606<br />
312-750-1234<br />
hyatt.com<br />
Vice-president, Real Estate and<br />
Development (Canada): Scott Richer<br />
32 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 2015<br />
- no properties in Canada; 18 outside<br />
of Canada (franchised and<br />
managed)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$100,000<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
- centralized services chain allocation<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HYATT HOUSE<br />
HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION<br />
150 North Riverside Plaza<br />
Chicago, IL 60606<br />
312-750-1234<br />
hyatt.com<br />
Vice-president, Real Estate and<br />
Development (Canada): Scott Richer<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 2012<br />
- no properties in Canada; 86 outside<br />
of Canada (franchised and managed)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee: US$75,000<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
- marketing and reservation fee 3.5%<br />
of GRR<br />
- brand-management services<br />
(optional) 2% of total revenue<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HYATT PLACE<br />
HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION<br />
150 North Riverside Plaza<br />
Chicago, IL 60606<br />
312-750-1234<br />
hyatt.com<br />
Vice-president, Real Estate and<br />
Development (Canada): Scott Richer<br />
History, Plans<br />
- Established in 2006<br />
- two franchised properties in<br />
Canada; 292 outside of Canada<br />
(franchised and managed)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$75,000<br />
- royalty fee 5% of GRR<br />
- marketing and reservation fee<br />
3.5% GRR<br />
- brand-management services<br />
(optional) 2% of total revenue<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
HYATT REGENCY<br />
HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION<br />
150 North Riverside Plaza<br />
Chicago, IL 60606<br />
312-750-1234<br />
hyatt.com<br />
Vice-president, Real Estate and<br />
Development (Canada): Scott Richer<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1967<br />
- four properties in Canada; 181<br />
outside of Canada (franchised<br />
and managed)<br />
- initial franchise fee US$100,000<br />
- royalty fees 6% of GRR + 3%<br />
F&B Rev<br />
- centralized services chain allocation<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
INTERCONTINENTAL<br />
HOTELS & RESORTS<br />
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS<br />
GROUP (IHG)<br />
2 Robert Speck Pkwy., Ste. 600<br />
Mississauga, ON L4Z 1H8<br />
416-675-6644<br />
intercontinental.com<br />
Regional director, Midscale<br />
Franchise Sales & Development,<br />
Canada: Stuart Laurie<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1946<br />
- three properties in Canada (all<br />
managed); 185 outside of Canada<br />
- no plans for growth in Canada at<br />
this time<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- total investment $67,248,940 to<br />
$98,485,600<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
- marketing fee 3% GRR<br />
- application fee $500/guestroom,<br />
$75,000 minimum<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- other<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
KNIGHTS INN<br />
WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP<br />
22 Sylvan Way<br />
Parsippany, NJ 07054<br />
888-223-4680<br />
knightsinn.com<br />
Executive vice-president and Chief<br />
Development Officer: Chip Ohlsson<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1972<br />
- 31 properties in Canada (all<br />
franchised); 336 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $6,000 per<br />
room<br />
- total investment $65,904 to<br />
$1,744,090<br />
- reservation fee $4 per room<br />
booked through the central reservation<br />
system. Includes the chain<br />
and its loyalty program’s toll-free<br />
telephone numbers and websites<br />
- royalty fee for chain facilities<br />
with 50 or fewer guestrooms, the<br />
combined fee is $25 guestroom/<br />
month (flat rate). For 50-plus<br />
guestrooms, the franchisee may<br />
choose at the time of signing the<br />
franchise agreement the flat rate<br />
or 5% of GRR.<br />
Services<br />
- architectural services/design<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- conventions and area meetings<br />
- development & design<br />
- field support<br />
- financial assistance<br />
- group tour material<br />
- group savings<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- quality assurance audits<br />
- quality control<br />
- reservation systems<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
- technical services<br />
- worldwide sales<br />
LA QUINTA INNS & SUITES<br />
LA QUINTA FRANCHISING LLC<br />
909 Hidden Ridge, Ste. 600<br />
Irving, TX 75038<br />
214-492-6600<br />
laquintafranchise.com<br />
SVP, Franchise Development:<br />
David Wilner<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1968 in<br />
San Antonio, Texas<br />
- two franchised properties in<br />
Canada; 891 outside of Canada<br />
(567 franchised)<br />
- plans to expand in the U.S.,<br />
Canada, Mexico and Latin America<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$55,000<br />
- advertising fee 2.5%<br />
- royalty fee 4.5%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
LE MERIDIEN HOTELS<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- one property in Canada; 109<br />
outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial application fee US$85,000,<br />
plus $300 per guestroom in excess<br />
of 200 guestrooms<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 1% GRS<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 33
TM<br />
TM<br />
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
LUXURY COLLECTION<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- no properties in Canada; 102<br />
outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial application fee US$85,000<br />
plus US$300 per guestroom<br />
in excess of 200 guestrooms<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 1% GRS (capped at<br />
US$450,000 per year)<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
MAINSTAY SUITES<br />
CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL<br />
1 Choice Hotels Circle, Ste. 400<br />
Rockville, MD 20850<br />
800-547-0007<br />
choicehotelsfranchise.com<br />
President & CEO, Choice Hotels<br />
International: Pat Pacious<br />
History, Plans<br />
- founded in 1996<br />
- two properties in Canada; 59 outside<br />
of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $30,000<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
- system distribution fee 2.5% GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
MARRIOTT HOTELS<br />
(INCLUDING JW MARRIOTT)<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1957<br />
- 18 properties in Canada (one JW<br />
and 17 MH); 619 outside of Canada<br />
(79 JW and 558 MH)<br />
- two properties in the pipeline for<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial application fee US$85,000,<br />
plus US$300 per guestroom<br />
in excess of 275 guestrooms<br />
- royalty fee 6% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 1% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
MICROTEL INN & SUITES<br />
BY WYNDHAM<br />
MASTERBUILT HOTELS LTD.<br />
(WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP)<br />
1060 7th St. S.W., Ste. 200<br />
Calgary, AB T2R 0C4<br />
403-543-8800<br />
masterbuilthotels.com<br />
Executive Chairman: Marc Staniloff<br />
President: Eric Watson<br />
History, Plans<br />
- 15 properties in Canada (five<br />
franchised)<br />
- properties under construction in<br />
Ladysmith, B.C., Aurora, Ont., Mont<br />
Tremblant, Que. and Vald’or, Que.;<br />
more than 20 in developmentplanning<br />
stages<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $40,000<br />
- advertising fee 2%<br />
- royalty fee 6%<br />
- loyalty/rewards program fee 2%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
Monte Carlo Inns<br />
Your home away from home<br />
MONTE CARLO INNS<br />
MONTE CARLO HOTEL MOTEL<br />
INNTERNATIONAL<br />
7045 Edwards Blvd.<br />
Mississauga, ON L5T 2H8<br />
888-564-6194<br />
montecarloinns.com<br />
VP of Operations: Justin Meffe<br />
VP, Franchise Development:<br />
Danny Pedone<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1984<br />
- eight properties in Canada (all<br />
franchised)<br />
- looking to expand in southern<br />
Ontario<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $30,000 or<br />
$400/room<br />
- advertising fee 2%<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
MOTEL 6<br />
REALSTAR HOSPITALITY CORP.,<br />
DIVISION OF REALSTAR HOSPITALITY<br />
(G6 HOSPITALITY LLC)<br />
77 Bloor St. W., Ste. 2000<br />
Toronto, ON M5S 1M2<br />
416-923-8387<br />
motel6.com<br />
President and COO: Irwin Prince<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1962, franchising in<br />
Canada began in 2003<br />
- 25-plus franchised properties<br />
in Canada; 1,365-plus outside<br />
of Canada<br />
- plans to add six properties in<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $40,000<br />
- advertising and marketing fee 1.5%<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
- reservations fee 2%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- global reservations<br />
- operational support<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site review and analysis<br />
- staff training<br />
NOVOTEL<br />
ACCORHOTELS<br />
North America and Caribbean Region<br />
155 Wellington St. W., Ste. 3300<br />
Toronto, ON M5V 0C3<br />
416-874-2600<br />
accorhotels.group.com<br />
COO North & Central America:<br />
Kevin Frid<br />
History, Plans<br />
- first Novotel hotel in Canada<br />
opened in 1985 in Mississauga, Ont.<br />
- seven Novotel properties in<br />
Canada; 485 worldwide<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $500/room,<br />
$50,000 min.<br />
- advertising fee 2%<br />
- distribution fee 2%<br />
- royalty fee 4%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
34 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
PARK INN BY RADISSON<br />
CARLSON REZIDOR HOTEL GROUP<br />
701 Carlson Pkwy., Ste. 200<br />
Minnetonka, MN 55305<br />
763-212-3475<br />
parkinn.com<br />
Senior vice-president, Operations:<br />
Aly El-Bassuni<br />
Chief Development Officer:<br />
Terry Sanders<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1986<br />
in Minneapolis, Minn.<br />
- three properties in Canada; 148<br />
outside of Canada (67 franchised)<br />
- plans to open new properties at<br />
Calgary International Airport and in<br />
Brampton, Ont. in 2018<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$35,000<br />
- total cost US$1,648,470 to<br />
$4,766,550<br />
- royalty fee 4.5%<br />
- advertising fee 2%<br />
- distribution fee 1.25%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
QUALITY<br />
CHOICE HOTELS CANADA INC.<br />
5015 Spectrum Way, Ste. 400<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 0E4<br />
905-206-7316<br />
choicehotels.ca<br />
Managing director: Brian Leon<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1955 in Canada<br />
- 94 properties in Canada; 1,852 outside<br />
of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $35,000<br />
- advertising fee 1.3%<br />
- royalty fee 4%<br />
- reservation fee 1.75%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
RADISSON<br />
CARLSON REZIDOR HOTEL GROUP<br />
701 Carlson Pkwy., Ste. 200<br />
Minnetonka, MN 55305<br />
763-212-3475<br />
radisson.com<br />
Senior vice-president, Operations:<br />
Aly El-Bassuni<br />
Chief Development Officer:<br />
Terry Sanders<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1962<br />
in Minneapolis, Minn.<br />
- 15 properties in Canada; 150 outside<br />
of Canada (145 franchised)<br />
- plans to open a new property in<br />
Fredericton, N.B. in 2018<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$75,000<br />
- total cost US$3,155,400 to<br />
$9,869,900<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
- advertising fee 2%<br />
- distribution fee 2%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
RADISSON BLU<br />
CARLSON REZIDOR HOTEL GROUP<br />
701 Carlson Pkwy., Ste. 200<br />
Minnetonka, MN 55305<br />
763-212-3475<br />
radissonblu.com<br />
Senior vice-president, Operations:<br />
Aly El-Bassuni<br />
Chief Development Officer:<br />
Terry Sanders<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1994<br />
in Minneapolis, Minn.<br />
- no properties in Canada; 310 outside<br />
of Canada (91 franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$100,000<br />
- total cost US$11,000,700 to<br />
$15,985,200<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
- advertising fee 2%<br />
- distribution fee 2%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
RADISSON RED<br />
CARLSON REZIDOR HOTEL GROUP<br />
701 Carlson Pkwy., Ste. 200<br />
MS 8254<br />
Minnetonka, MN 55305<br />
763-212-3475<br />
radissonred.com<br />
Senior vice-president, Operations:<br />
Aly El-Bassuni<br />
Chief Development Officer:<br />
Terry Sanders<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 2014 in<br />
Minneapolis, Minn.<br />
- no properties in Canada; four outside<br />
of Canada (three franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$75,000<br />
- total cost US$16,174,000 to<br />
$24,120,500<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
- advertising fee 2%<br />
- distribution fee 2%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
RAMADA<br />
WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP<br />
22 Sylvan Way<br />
Parsippany, NJ 07054<br />
888-223-4680<br />
ramada.com<br />
Executive vice-president, and Chief<br />
Development Officer: Chip Ohlsson<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1954<br />
- 81 properties in Canada (all franchised);<br />
767 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $35,000 or $350<br />
per room<br />
- total investment $82,480 to<br />
$8,589,727<br />
- advertising fee 4% GRR (4% of<br />
gross room revenues consists<br />
of marketing contribution of 2%<br />
of gross room revenues and basic<br />
reservation fee of 2% of gross<br />
room revenues)<br />
- royalty fee 4.5% GRR<br />
Services<br />
- architectural services/design<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- conventions and area meetings<br />
- development & design<br />
- field support<br />
- financial assistance<br />
- group tour material<br />
- group savings<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- quality assurance audits<br />
- quality control<br />
- reservation systems<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
- technical services<br />
- worldwide sales<br />
RED LION HOTEL<br />
RED LION HOTELS CORPORATION<br />
21550 Market St., Ste. 350<br />
Denver, CO 80202<br />
866-437-4878 ext. 143<br />
franchise.RLHCo.com<br />
President & CEO: Greg Mount<br />
Chief Development Officer, Upscale<br />
Brands: Paul Sacco<br />
History, Plans<br />
- 39 properties outside Canada<br />
- expansion planned for Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- see franchise-disclosure<br />
documents<br />
Services<br />
- advertising<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 35
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
RED LION INN & SUITES<br />
RED LION HOTELS CORPORATION<br />
21550 Market St., Ste. 350<br />
Denver, CO 80202<br />
866-437-4878 ext. 143<br />
franchise.RLHCo.com<br />
President & CEO: Greg Mount<br />
Chief Development Officer, Upscale<br />
Brands: Paul Sacco<br />
History, Plans<br />
- one property in Canada; 33<br />
properties outside Canada<br />
- expansion planned for Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- see franchise-disclosure<br />
documents<br />
Services<br />
- advertising<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
RED ROOF INN<br />
RED ROOF FRANCHISING, LLC<br />
The Red Roof Building<br />
605 South Front St.<br />
Columbus, OH 43215<br />
614-744-2600<br />
redrooffranchising.com<br />
President: Andrew C. Alexander<br />
Chief Development Officer: Phil Hugh<br />
VP, Canadian Sales and Operations:<br />
Neil Scott<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1973<br />
in Columbus, Ohio<br />
- no properties in Canada; 524 outside<br />
of Canada (398 franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $30,000<br />
- royalty fee 4.5%<br />
- distribution fee combined with<br />
advertising and marketing at 4%<br />
GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
RENAISSANCE HOTELS<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- acquired Renaissance<br />
Hotels in 1997<br />
- two properties in Canada; 165<br />
outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial application fee US$75,000<br />
plus US$300 per guestroom in<br />
excess of 250 guestrooms<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 1.5% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
RESIDENCE INN BY MARRIOTT<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- Marriott acquired Residence Inn in<br />
1987<br />
- 22 properties in Canada; 721<br />
outside of Canada<br />
- five properties in the pipeline for<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$75,000<br />
or US$500 per suite, whichever<br />
is greater<br />
- royalty fee 6% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 2.5% GRS<br />
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1-844-44MATRIX | E-Mail: info@matrixhospitality.ca<br />
To learn more, contact Elizabath Kowalski<br />
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36 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
RODEWAY INN<br />
CHOICE HOTELS CANADA INC.<br />
5015 Spectrum Way, Ste. 400<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 0E4<br />
905-206-7316<br />
choicehotels.ca<br />
Managing director: Brian Leon<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1996 in Canada<br />
- four properties in Canada; 599 outside<br />
of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $15,000<br />
- advertising fee $10/room/month<br />
- royalty fee $30/room/month,<br />
minimum $20,000<br />
- reservation fee $10/room/month<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
SHERATON HOTELS<br />
& RESORTS<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- 18 properties in Canada (15 franchised);<br />
426 outside of Canada<br />
- one property in the pipeline for<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial application fee US$85,000,<br />
plus US$300 per guestroom in<br />
excess of 200 guestrooms<br />
- royalty fee 6% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 1% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
SLEEP INN<br />
CHOICE HOTELS CANADA INC.<br />
5015 Spectrum Way, Ste. 400<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 0E4<br />
905-206-7316<br />
choicehotels.ca<br />
Managing director: Brian Leon<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1989 in Canada<br />
- three properties in Canada; 398<br />
outside of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $35,000<br />
- advertising fee 1.3%<br />
- royalty fee 4%<br />
- reservation fee 1.75%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
SPRINGHILL SUITES<br />
BY MARRIOTT<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established 1998<br />
- two properties in Canada; 380 outside<br />
of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$50,000<br />
or US$400 per room, whichever is<br />
greater*<br />
- royalty fee 5.5% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 2.5% GRS<br />
*Subject to Canadian Development<br />
Incentive Program<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
π<br />
OVER 5,000<br />
MATERIAL HANDLING<br />
PRODUCTS IN STOCK<br />
ORDER BY 6 PM FOR<br />
SAME DAY SHIPPING<br />
COMPLETE CATALOG<br />
1-800-295-5510<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 37
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
STAYBRIDGE SUITES<br />
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS<br />
GROUP (IHG)<br />
2 Robert Speck Pkwy., Ste. 600<br />
Mississauga, ON L4Z 1H8<br />
416-675-6644<br />
staybridgesuites.com<br />
Regional Director, Midscale<br />
Franchise Sales & Development,<br />
Canada: Stuart Laurie<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1997<br />
- eight franchised properties in<br />
Canada; 242 outside of Canada<br />
- plans to add six properties in<br />
Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- application fee $500 per guesroom,<br />
$50,000 minimum<br />
- total investment $9,200,465 to<br />
$12,661,400<br />
- royalty fee 5% GSR<br />
- marketing fee 2.5% GSR (combined<br />
reservations and training fee)<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- other<br />
- site selection<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
STUDIO 6<br />
REALSTAR HOSPITALITY CORP.,<br />
DIVISION OF REALSTAR HOSPITALITY<br />
(G6 HOSPITALITY LLC)<br />
77 Bloor St. W., Ste. 2000<br />
Toronto, ON M5S 1M2<br />
416-923-8387<br />
staystudio6.com<br />
President and COO: Irwin Prince<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1999<br />
- two franchised properties in<br />
Canada; 100-plus outside of Canada<br />
- plans to add two properties<br />
in Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $40,000<br />
- advertising and marketing fee 1.5%<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
- reservations fee 2%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- global reservations<br />
- operational support<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site review and analysis<br />
- staff training<br />
SUBURBAN EXTENDED<br />
STAY HOTEL<br />
CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL<br />
1 Choice Hotels Cir., Ste. 400<br />
Rockville, MD 20850<br />
800-547-0007<br />
choicehotelsfranchise.com<br />
President & CEO, Choice Hotels<br />
International: Pat Pacious<br />
History, Plans<br />
- founded in 2005<br />
- three properties in Canada; 62 outside<br />
of Canada (all franchised)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $30,000<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
- system distribution fee 2.5% GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
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THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
SUPER 8 HOTELS<br />
SUPERIOR LODGING DEVELOPMENT<br />
S8 CORP.<br />
(WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP)<br />
1060 7th St. S.W., Ste. 200<br />
Calgary, AB T2R 0C4<br />
403-543-8800<br />
superiorlodgingcorp.com<br />
President & CEO: Marc Staniloff<br />
VP Franchising & Development:<br />
Nigel Lucas<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1975<br />
- 123 properties in Canada<br />
- plans to add six locations in 2018<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $21,000<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
- advertising fee 3%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
SURESTAY HOTEL GROUP<br />
6201 N. 24th Pkwy.<br />
Phoenix, AZ 85016<br />
800-637-5955<br />
surestaydevelopers.com<br />
President: David Kong,<br />
Treasurer: Mark Straszynski,<br />
Secretary: Lawrence Cuculic<br />
History, Plans<br />
- Arizona corporation formed in<br />
August 2016<br />
- a subsidiary of Best Western<br />
Hotels & Resorts<br />
- no properties in Canada<br />
- three brands under the SureStay<br />
umbrella – SureStay, SureStay<br />
Plus Hotel and SureStay Signature<br />
Collection<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- Initial fee $35,000<br />
- Royalty fee 3% of GRR<br />
- Marketing and Sales fee 5% of GRR<br />
Services<br />
- staff training<br />
- operations Support<br />
- reservations system &<br />
eCommerce support<br />
- national marketing support<br />
- sales support<br />
THRIFTLODGE<br />
SUPERIOR LODGING DEVELOPMENT<br />
TL CORPORATION<br />
(BRAND OWNER)<br />
1060 7th St. S.W., Ste. 200<br />
Calgary, Alta. T2R 0C4<br />
800-646-2435<br />
travelodge.ca<br />
President: Marc Staniloff<br />
VP, Operations: Trevor Hagel<br />
VP Franchising & Development:<br />
Nigel Lucas<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1945 in the U.S.;<br />
Canadian operations established in<br />
1992 in Alberta<br />
- 10 franchised properties in Canada<br />
- plans to increase the brand<br />
portfolio by more than 30 per cent<br />
net growth, with a concentration on<br />
secondary and tertiary markets<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $20,000 to<br />
$25,000<br />
- royalty fee 4%<br />
- advertising fee 2%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- annual conference<br />
- loyalty program<br />
- opening and training support<br />
- purchasing<br />
- quality assurance<br />
- staff training<br />
TOWNEPLACE SUITES<br />
BY MARRIOTT<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1997<br />
- 11 properties in Canada; 318<br />
outside of Canada<br />
- 10 properties in the pipeline<br />
for Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial application fee US$50,000<br />
or US$400 per room, whichever is<br />
greater<br />
- royalty fee 5.5% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
TRAVELODGE<br />
SUPERIOR LODGING DEVELOPMENT<br />
TL CORPORATION<br />
(BRAND OWNER)<br />
1060 7th St. S.W., Ste. 200<br />
Calgary, AB T2R 0C4<br />
800-646-2435<br />
travelodge.ca<br />
President: Marc Staniloff<br />
VP, Operations: Trevor Hagel<br />
VP Franchising & Development:<br />
Nigel Lucas<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1945 in the U.S.;<br />
Canadian operations established in<br />
1992 in Alberta<br />
- 85 franchised properties in Canada<br />
- plans to increase brand portfolio by<br />
more than 15 per cent net growth,<br />
with a concentration on secondary<br />
and tertiary markets<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $20,000 to<br />
$35,000<br />
- royalty fee 5%<br />
- advertising fee 3.50%<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- annual conference<br />
- loyalty program<br />
- opening and training support<br />
- partnership synergies<br />
- purchasing<br />
- quality assurance<br />
- staff training<br />
TRIBUTE HOTELS<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- one property in Canada; 26 outside<br />
of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $50,000, plus<br />
$200 per key in excess of 250 rooms<br />
- SPG 4.9% of qualified charges<br />
- licence fee 5% GRS<br />
- program fee 3.5% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
(THE) UNBOUND COLLECTION<br />
BY HYATT<br />
HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION<br />
150 North Riverside Plaza<br />
Chicago, IL 60606<br />
312-750-1234<br />
hyatt.com<br />
Vice-president, Real Estate and<br />
Development (Canada): Scott Richer<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 2016<br />
- one property in Canada; six outside<br />
of Canada (franchised and<br />
managed)<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee US$100,000<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
- program fee 1.5% GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- site location<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 39
THE 2018 FRANCHISE REPORT<br />
WESTIN HOTELS & RESORTS<br />
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.<br />
2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100<br />
Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4<br />
905-366-5208<br />
marriottdevelopment.com<br />
AVPs, Lodging Development, Canada:<br />
Manlio Marescotti and Ryan McRae<br />
History, Plans<br />
- 15 properties in Canada; 205<br />
outside of Canada<br />
- two properties in the pipeline<br />
in Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial application fee: US$85,000,<br />
plus US$300 per guestroom in<br />
excess of 200 guestrooms<br />
- license fee 7% GRS<br />
- marketing fee 1.325% GRS<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- design<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
WINGATE BY WYNDHAM<br />
WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP<br />
22 Sylvan Way<br />
Parsippany, NJ 07054<br />
888-223-4680<br />
wingate.com<br />
Executive vice-president and Chief<br />
Development Officer: Chip Ohlsson<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1996<br />
- seven properties in Canada (all<br />
franchised); 146 outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee the greater of<br />
$36,000 or $360 per room<br />
- total investment $176,097 to<br />
$10,141,618<br />
- advertising fee 2.5% GRR<br />
- royalty fee 6% GRR<br />
Services<br />
- architectural services/design<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- conventions and area meetings<br />
- development & design<br />
- field support<br />
- financial assistance<br />
- group tour material<br />
- group savings<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- quality assurance audits<br />
- quality control<br />
- reservation systems<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
- technical services<br />
- worldwide sales<br />
WYNDHAM GARDEN<br />
WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP<br />
22 Sylvan Way<br />
Parsippany, NJ 07054<br />
888-223-4680<br />
wyndham.com<br />
Executive vice-president and Chief<br />
Development Officer: Chip Ohlsson<br />
History, Plans<br />
- first Wyndham Garden opened in<br />
2012 (Wyn Garden Niagara Falls<br />
Fallsview)<br />
- three properties in Canada; 110<br />
outside of Canada<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- Initial franchise fee of $350 per<br />
guestroom in the system, with<br />
a minimum initial franchise fee of<br />
$35,000 for a Wyndham Hotel, on<br />
the day that you sign the franchise<br />
agreement<br />
- total investment $176.097 to<br />
$10,141,618<br />
- advertising fee 2.5% GRR<br />
- royalty fee 6% GRR<br />
Services<br />
- architectural services/design<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- conventions and area meetings<br />
- development & design<br />
- field support<br />
- financial assistance<br />
- group tour material<br />
- group savings<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- quality assurance audits<br />
- quality control<br />
- reservation systems<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
- technical services<br />
- worldwide sales<br />
WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS<br />
WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP<br />
22 Sylvan Way<br />
Parsippany, NJ 07054<br />
888-223-4680<br />
wyndhamhotels.com<br />
President & CEO: Geoff Ballotti<br />
Chief Development Officer:<br />
Chip Ohlsson<br />
History, Plans<br />
- established in 1981<br />
- 106 properties<br />
outside of Canada<br />
- opening in Canada in 2018<br />
Franchise Costs<br />
- initial franchise fee $50,000 or<br />
$500/per room, plus application<br />
fee of $10,000<br />
- marketing fee 3% GRR<br />
- royalty fee 5% GRR<br />
Services<br />
- advertising/marketing<br />
- architectural services/design<br />
- central purchasing<br />
- conventions and area meetings<br />
- development & design<br />
- field support<br />
- financial assistance<br />
- group savings<br />
- group tour material<br />
- lease negotiation<br />
- management<br />
- purchasing<br />
- quality assurance audits<br />
- quality control<br />
- reservation systems<br />
- staff training<br />
- supplies<br />
- technical services<br />
- worldwide sales<br />
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YOUR<br />
COMPANY<br />
LISTED?<br />
CONTACT<br />
US TO BE<br />
INCLUDED IN<br />
NEXT YEAR'S<br />
FRANCHISE<br />
REPORT<br />
tvenetis@kostuchmedia.com<br />
416-447-0888, ext. 229<br />
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40 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
TRENDS<br />
The<br />
Disruptors<br />
ISTOCK.COM/PHIVE2015<br />
A new wave of start-ups and retail brands is<br />
transforming the hotel industry<br />
STORY BY CHRIS POWELL<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 41
CANADA’S hotel<br />
industry is as robust as ever, with<br />
growth in everything from property<br />
development to ADR and RevPAR.<br />
Behind the scenes, however, new<br />
technologies and emerging brands<br />
are beginning to subtly — and in<br />
some cases, not so subtly — reshape<br />
the industry.<br />
According to Q3 data from global<br />
hotel-research firm STR, occupancy<br />
for the Canadian hotel industry<br />
was up 1.8 per cent to 78.7 per cent<br />
compared to the corresponding previous<br />
year, while the ADR rose 5.7 per<br />
cent to $174.44 and RevPAR increased<br />
7.6 per cent to $137.35. The occupancy<br />
rate, meanwhile, was the highest for a<br />
Q3 in Canada since 1999.<br />
At the same time, a November<br />
report from New Hampshire-based<br />
Lodging Econometrics states Canada<br />
currently has 228 projects totalling<br />
30,875 rooms in the construction<br />
pipeline — an 11 per cent increase<br />
over the previous year.<br />
Yet a growing number of “disruptors,”<br />
ranging from aggressive technology<br />
platforms such as Airbnb, to<br />
new brands and even construction<br />
techniques, are also changing the face<br />
of the industry, leading to a wave of<br />
innovation as established chains react<br />
to the threat posed by these upstarts<br />
by introducing radically different<br />
concepts. Accor Hotels, for example,<br />
has launched a millennial-focused<br />
offering in its economy portfolio<br />
called Jo & Joe, which featues an<br />
open-house concept and is described<br />
as a blend of hotel, hostel and privaterental<br />
formats. The company hopes<br />
to have the concept operating in 50<br />
markets by 2020.<br />
DRIVING FORCES<br />
Jan Freitag, senior vice-president,<br />
Lodging Insights with STR in Hendersonville,<br />
Tenn., says the industry is<br />
being reshaped by two increasingly<br />
MODULAR<br />
CONSTRUCTION<br />
Modular construction is another trend<br />
shaking up the hotel industry. Though<br />
widely practiced in other regions, this<br />
style of hotel construction is just beginning<br />
to make its mark in the North American<br />
hotel market.<br />
In 2017, Marriott International, Inc.<br />
announced a comprehensive expansion of<br />
its initiative to drive adoption of modular<br />
construction of hotels in North America,<br />
which included a goal of signing 50 hotel<br />
deals that incorporate prefabricated guestrooms<br />
or bathrooms for the year.<br />
Also in 2017, InterContinental Hotels<br />
Group (IHG) opened its first modular-build<br />
structure in Canada. The 119-room Holiday<br />
Inn Express & Suites Gatineau – Ottawa<br />
hotel in Gatineau, Que. was developed<br />
by Quebec-based manufacturer, RCM<br />
Modulaire.<br />
Realstar Hospitality is another company<br />
that has dabbled in modular construction. In<br />
2015, the Toronto-based company built the<br />
60-room Days Inn Sioux Lookout in northern<br />
Ontario using pre-fab rooms made from surplus<br />
steel shipping containers.<br />
42 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
ISTOCK.COM/RELIF [SERVICE INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY]; JEREMIE MAZENQ [HAPPY HOUSE]<br />
prevalent trends: the rise of alternative<br />
accommodation providers such<br />
as Airbnb and a spate of new entrants<br />
from the consumer-goods space.<br />
The latter includes a growing list<br />
of companies ranging from furniture<br />
retailer West Elm to fashion brand<br />
Karl Lagerfeld and watch company<br />
Shinola. While it might seem like a<br />
new phenomenon, Freitag says that<br />
these brands are simply following the<br />
path created by fashion brands in the<br />
early part of the millennium.<br />
Marriott International’s division,<br />
the Luxury Group, for example,<br />
partnered with jeweller and luxurygoods<br />
maker Bulgari to launch the<br />
Bulgari Hotels & Resorts brand in<br />
2001 (it currently includes hotels in<br />
Milan, London, Bali, Tokyo, Beijing<br />
and Dubai, with Shanghai set to open<br />
this year and Moscow in 2020), while<br />
the Palazzo Versace Gold Coast, a<br />
five-star fashion hotel, opened in<br />
Australia in 2000.<br />
“This is not new, but what you’re<br />
seeing now is more consumer brands<br />
[entering the hotel space],” says Freitag.<br />
“I would call it a niche because<br />
it hinges not on the brand, but the<br />
owner. A lot of these brands are not<br />
actually building the hotels, they are<br />
lending their name.”<br />
But, while consumers may at first<br />
be attracted to these hotels by the<br />
name on the marquee, Freitag says<br />
it important they partner with the<br />
appropriate behind-the-scenes people<br />
to ensure their future success. “If you<br />
drive by the hotel, you only know the<br />
brand,” says Freitag. “You don’t know<br />
who runs it, but you would hope they<br />
hire experienced hotel-management<br />
companies; you don’t know who owns<br />
it, but you would hope it’s an experienced<br />
owner who understands how<br />
to construct and operate a property.<br />
You can take a lot of the uncertainty<br />
out by using established ownership<br />
and management teams. The question<br />
then is, how strong is the brand pull?”<br />
Some companies, such as West<br />
Elm, believe the pull is significant.<br />
West Elm announced late in 2016<br />
that it plans to open hotels in<br />
Detroit, Minneapolis, Savannah,<br />
GA., Indianapolis, Oakland and<br />
Portland, Ore. this year, promising<br />
a “delightfully eclectic” design and<br />
“authentic independent spirit.”<br />
West Elm is among a growing<br />
number of retail brands experimenting<br />
in the hotel space, joining the likes<br />
of bedding-and-bath brand Parachute<br />
and Restoration Hardware, which is<br />
developing a 14-room property in New<br />
York’s Meatpacking District.<br />
Hoteliers are also being forced to<br />
address the threat of Airbnb, which<br />
is expanding its footprint around the<br />
world and siphoning away revenue<br />
from established chains.<br />
According to a report from the<br />
Ottawa-based Hotel Association<br />
of Canada (HAC), the 10-year-old<br />
company derives 80 per cent of its<br />
Canadian revenue from hosts who<br />
rent out entire-home units where the<br />
owner is not present.<br />
Freitag says alternative accommodation<br />
is, in reality, an old concept<br />
modernized for a new era. What’s<br />
different, he says, is Airbnb has<br />
successfully aggregated individually<br />
owned accommodations onto a single,<br />
easy-to-use platform. “We can say two<br />
things with authority: it’s<br />
Jo & Joe Abaca<br />
Happy House<br />
going to be here tomorrow<br />
and the number of<br />
units on its apps is going<br />
to increase.”<br />
According to the HAC<br />
report, one-third of all<br />
Airbnb units were rented<br />
out for more than 90<br />
days during the one-year<br />
period between April<br />
2016 and March 2017,<br />
generating $395 million<br />
in revenue.<br />
DESPITE THE<br />
GROWTH IN THE<br />
POPULARITY<br />
OF AIRBNB,<br />
IT WON'T<br />
REPLACE THE<br />
TRADITIONAL<br />
HOTEL<br />
- FRASER MACDONALD,<br />
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL<br />
HOTELS<br />
There have been some recent victories<br />
for the hotel industry, however. In<br />
November, Vancouver passed regulation<br />
regulating short-term rentals by<br />
allowing rentals only in an owner’s<br />
principal residence and forbidding the<br />
rental of commercial or investment<br />
properties or second homes on a shortterm<br />
basis.<br />
Freitag believes this is just the beginning<br />
of the municipal crackdowns on<br />
Airbnb. “Within the next five years<br />
they’re just going to be another accommodation<br />
provider,” he says.<br />
“If I was Expedia or Priceline, I<br />
would be very worried, because the<br />
Airbnbs of the world are disrupting my<br />
business model with a very easy-to-use<br />
app; they seem to have the millennial<br />
customer wrapped up; and the<br />
commission structure is a lot cheaper<br />
for a hotel to go on Airbnb than traditional<br />
online travel agencies [OTAs],”<br />
says Freitag.<br />
“Despite the growth in popularity of<br />
Airbnb, it won’t replace the traditional<br />
hotel — it’s targeted to a traveller<br />
looking for a specific local experience.<br />
We’ve never seen a stronger climate in<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 43
HOTEL PERFORMANCE & TRANSACTION ACTIVITY<br />
Ω Hotel-operating performance has been robust and Canada remains one of the best<br />
destinations for global investment.<br />
Ω Cross-border capital has dominated the Canadian hotel-transaction market in 2016 and<br />
2017, with more than $3.9 billion in acquisitions, primarily by Asian capital sources.<br />
Ω Last year was forecast to be the third-largest volume year on record after 2007 and<br />
2016 with approximately $3.25 billion in lodging transactions. This is well above the<br />
10-year average of $1.9 billion per year.<br />
Source: Fraser Macdonald , senior analyst, Hotels, Colliers International Hotels<br />
the hotel sector overall,” says<br />
Fraser Macdonald , senior analyst,<br />
Hotels, Colliers International Hotels.<br />
“Most major cities in Canada are<br />
looking at regulating or have regulated<br />
Airbnb/home sharing in some way —<br />
whether for safety, taxation, or impact<br />
on residential-rental supply — most<br />
recently Vancouver and Toronto.<br />
FIGHTING BACK<br />
But disruptors are also helping hotels<br />
fight back against emerging threats to<br />
their business. A new Chrome plug-in<br />
called Gopher, for example, is aimed at<br />
helping major chains claw back some<br />
of the direct bookings — as well as<br />
the lofty commissions — they have<br />
been losing to OTAs over the years by<br />
digging (naturally) for better deals.<br />
According to research firm Net<br />
Marketshare, Chrome controls 58.8<br />
per cent of the desktop browser<br />
market, where the majority of all hotel<br />
research takes place. Gopher founder<br />
James Gancos believes the plug-in<br />
could amass “millions” of users within<br />
the next year.<br />
Whenever a user who has the<br />
plug-in installed is looking at a hotel<br />
deal on a major travel site, such as<br />
Booking.com, Gopher will pop up<br />
with a better deal as well as a direct<br />
link to the hotel website for booking.<br />
“What we’re offering is a better deal<br />
on your hotel every time, and nobody<br />
else can offer that value proposition,”<br />
says Gancos, whose career has included<br />
stints as director of North American<br />
operations for Starwood Hotels<br />
& Resorts Worldwide and managerial<br />
roles with W Hotels.<br />
“[Hoteliers] couldn’t love our model<br />
more,” he adds. “It’s 100-per-cent<br />
aligned interest. We’re hoteliers by<br />
background and we always put hotels’<br />
interest first, above all else. A lot of<br />
disruptors in the space have an eye<br />
towards being acquired by Expedia as<br />
their exit strategy; we would never do<br />
that because it would never put the<br />
hotels first.” u<br />
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SEGMENT REPORT<br />
LOOKING BACK<br />
WHEN<br />
SMALL<br />
is<br />
BIG<br />
THOUGH FORMING ONLY A SMALL<br />
SEGMENT OF THE INDUSTRY, SOFT<br />
BRANDS ARE GAINING INTEREST AND<br />
RAMPING UP DEVELOPMENT<br />
BY ANDREA VICTORY<br />
o most well-travelled guests<br />
T<br />
there used to be two kinds<br />
of hotels: the reliable,<br />
standard chain, and the<br />
offbeat, quirky independent<br />
hotel. However, as the<br />
industry grows and changes, the line<br />
is blurring between boutique hotels<br />
and large, worldwide conglomerates.<br />
A new kind of brand extension is<br />
gaining popularity in the industry —<br />
the soft brand.<br />
ADVANTAGES OF SOFT BRANDS<br />
In addition to the obvious opportunity<br />
of portfolio expansion, one would<br />
wonder why not just envelop the new<br />
property into the fold and brand it as<br />
suited? It turns out, there are many<br />
advantages for large companies to<br />
create and develop soft brands.<br />
Brian Stanford, senior managing<br />
director for CBRE Hotels, explains.<br />
“From a brand perspective, it’s the ability<br />
to continue to expand shelf space. In<br />
other words, soft branding is one more<br />
channel to bring more rooms into the<br />
system.” He points out that from the<br />
owner, operator or developer’s perspective,<br />
soft branding allows the uniqueness<br />
of the individual hotel to prevail<br />
through its own name and branding,<br />
letting the hotel owner or operator<br />
benefit from the marketing power of<br />
the major hotel company.<br />
In essence, soft branding is a<br />
win-win for both parties. The<br />
chain can continue to expand and<br />
the hotel benefits from the chain’s<br />
systems through reservations, marketing<br />
and business practices.<br />
Ron Pohl, SVP and COO of Best<br />
(top) Magnolia Bluffs (BW Premier Collection)<br />
in Natchez, Miss.; Quattro Hotel &<br />
Conference Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.<br />
(Ascend Collection)<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 45
Western Hotels & Resorts, describes<br />
the value in sharing in these systems.<br />
“Independent hotels want to tap into<br />
alternate sources of business other<br />
than online travel agencies (OTAs),<br />
and are looking for access to a powerful<br />
reservation system and loyalty<br />
program — and they benefit from<br />
the brand’s lower OTA-commission<br />
structure. Brands, on the other hand<br />
are looking to broaden their portfolios<br />
with additional price points, locations<br />
and hotel types.”<br />
Brian Leon, managing director of<br />
Choice Hotels Canada, echoes the<br />
benefits for the independents. “Hotels<br />
affiliated to Ascend Hotel Collection<br />
benefit from our strong reservation<br />
distribution, which increases RevPAR;<br />
development and design flexibility,<br />
which reduces development cost; and<br />
operational flexibility and efficiencies,<br />
which increases profit margins.”<br />
There’s also another major benefit<br />
and that’s loyalty programs, which<br />
can be expensive to implement and<br />
costly to maintain as an independent.<br />
Leon notes that hotels under the<br />
Ascend brand benefit from access to<br />
its loyalty program, Choice Privileges,<br />
and especially from the investment<br />
of heavy marketing dollars into the<br />
program each year. “A loyalty program<br />
is extremely important as the hotel<br />
space becomes increasingly competitive”,<br />
he explains.<br />
THE CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE<br />
In addition to the benefits for independent<br />
hotels and big brands, there are<br />
benefits for travellers as well. Pohl<br />
states, “Many consumers are looking<br />
for unique experiences when they<br />
travel — hotels that feel special and<br />
are unlike other properties.”<br />
Leon agrees, “From a consumer<br />
perspective, guests want a curated,<br />
unique and local experience.<br />
As a traveller, every time I go<br />
to a new destination, I want my<br />
hotel to be part of the travelling<br />
journey and represent its<br />
local culture and community.<br />
We encourage hotels in our<br />
Ascend portfolio to create<br />
unique local experiences to<br />
engage with their audience. We<br />
recommend hotels get involved<br />
with their communities, for<br />
example, [by] having a creative<br />
food-and-beverage experience<br />
that targets hotel guests and<br />
locals alike.”<br />
These original experiences are<br />
enhanced by the peace of mind that<br />
comes with knowing there is a level<br />
of service the guest can expect from<br />
a well-known brand. “[Soft brands]<br />
open up additional booking channels<br />
and access to unique assets, while at<br />
the same time ensuring some level of<br />
product and service standards will be<br />
met,” says Stanford.<br />
EXPANSION POSSIBILITIES<br />
With regard to saturation in Canada<br />
compared to the U.S., soft brand<br />
expansion in the North is on the rise,<br />
though Stanford says it remains a<br />
niche segment. He indicates a number<br />
of internationals are already in the<br />
space with Tribute and Autograph,<br />
(by Marriott) Curio and Tapestry<br />
(by Hilton), Unbound Collection (by<br />
Hyatt) and Ascend (by Choice) among<br />
the market leaders. “Combined, these<br />
brands were still under 500 hotels<br />
(above) Les Suites Victoria (Ascend Collection);<br />
Hotel Quartier (Ascend Collection)<br />
globally, with more than 60 per cent<br />
of those in the United States (still<br />
less than one per cent of the national<br />
hotel inventory). It’s still very much an<br />
emerging product offering.”<br />
Choice Hotels’ Ascend Hotel<br />
Collection is a membership of more<br />
than 230 upscale independent hotels<br />
worldwide, including hotels under<br />
development. There are 14 Ascend<br />
properties operating in Canada<br />
with three under development and<br />
expected to join the affiliation after<br />
completing renovations in 2018.<br />
Choice continues to grow as a hotel<br />
company, currently boasting 325<br />
hotels across Canada, and is expanding<br />
its loyalty program. Leon notes<br />
there are submarkets where there<br />
is limited hotel supply, but strong<br />
demand within their reservation<br />
system. Ascend Hotel Collection is<br />
a membership designed for upscale<br />
hotels to capture the pent-up reservation<br />
demand and increase financial<br />
performance.<br />
Best Western Hotels & Resorts<br />
currently has three soft brands that<br />
provide hoteliers the opportunity<br />
46 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
to participate across multiple market<br />
segments. BW Premier Collection<br />
(luxury and upscale boutique properties)<br />
launched in 2015, and BW Signature<br />
Collection by Best Western launched in<br />
November 2017. And, its SureStay brand<br />
introduced the industry's first mid-scale<br />
soft brand, the SureStay Collection.<br />
CONTINUED GROWTH<br />
Pohl says there has been tremendous<br />
growth across the board. He notes that<br />
Best Western is pleased with the success<br />
it is experiencing. “BW Premier Collection<br />
reached 75 hotels earlier this year,<br />
with upscale, high-quality, independent<br />
hotels spanning the United Kingdom,<br />
mainland Europe and North America.”<br />
The BW Signature Collection by Best<br />
Western launched in November with<br />
three properties already open and several<br />
more in the application phase. He says<br />
additional properties are expected to<br />
open in Mexico, France, Canada, Illinois,<br />
South Carolina and Hawaii. “Our<br />
SureStay brand is growing quickly; we<br />
will have more than 100 hotels operating<br />
under the SureStay brand in 2018; many<br />
will be SureStay Collection properties.”<br />
For Pohl, “Success is generated from<br />
how we’ve structured our soft brands to<br />
fill unique needs in the market at varying<br />
chain-scale levels, each with well-defined<br />
standards and regulations. We have<br />
conducted extensive research and invested<br />
smartly in developing new brands that<br />
will resonate with today’s travellers and<br />
developers/owners seeking to achieve the<br />
highest RevPAR in their market.”<br />
Leon is optimistic about the growth<br />
of soft brands in Canada, “We opened<br />
two Ascend hotels in 2017 and currently<br />
have three under development. We are<br />
excited about the growth of our Canadian<br />
portfolio.”<br />
Stanford agrees the prospects for soft<br />
brands look strong. “Historically, much<br />
of the brand growth in Canada was<br />
focused on conversions; however, the<br />
new Autograph Hotel in Vancouver<br />
opened earlier this year and, over the<br />
last 12 months, we’ve seen an extremely<br />
high level of interest in soft brands being<br />
considered for smaller new-build hotels<br />
as part of mixed-use developments in the<br />
downtown cores of Toronto, Montreal<br />
and Vancouver.” u<br />
hoteliermagazine.com
OPERATIONS<br />
Safe Secure<br />
AND<br />
In the wake of terrorist attacks in the U.S., cyber-breaches across North America<br />
and a volatile political climate globally, Hotelier talks to hotel-security experts<br />
about what the industry can do to keep guests safe<br />
OUR PANELISTS<br />
ISTOCK.COM/HYWARDS<br />
GABOR FORGACS,<br />
associate professor, Ted Rogers<br />
School of Hospitality and Tourism<br />
Management, Ryerson University<br />
PAUL KATERENCHUK,<br />
president, Synergy Protection<br />
Group Inc.<br />
LONNIE RATCHFORD,<br />
director of Security and<br />
Emergency Management,<br />
Fairmont Royal York<br />
STIG LAGERSTEDT,<br />
Solution director, Hotel,<br />
ASSA ABLOY<br />
DAVID LAKS,<br />
vice-president, Risk Control<br />
Services Manager - Eastern<br />
Canada - HUB International<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 49
HOTELIER : Given what<br />
happened in Las Vegas last<br />
October, where is the hotel<br />
industry going with security<br />
measures?<br />
Gabor Forgacs: The issues<br />
of safety and security in<br />
the hotel industry are<br />
always relevant. In light<br />
of what happened in Las<br />
Vegas, I have to make this<br />
point — I don’t see this as<br />
hotel-specific.<br />
Lonnie Ratchford: It’s<br />
always part of security to<br />
be looking and examining<br />
what’s happening and<br />
technology is probably<br />
where we’re going to be<br />
looking when we look at<br />
things like Las Vegas —<br />
how we can detect [threats]<br />
so it’s not so intrusive<br />
and offensive that we put<br />
people off.<br />
Paul Katerenchuk: You<br />
don’t want a military state<br />
when you’re coming into<br />
a hotel. And when Las<br />
Vegas happened, a few<br />
of the hotels right away<br />
started stopping guests,<br />
wanding everyone, searching<br />
bags, et cetera. People<br />
were reporting half an<br />
hour to 45-minute waits<br />
[to check in]. When you<br />
come into a hotel, you<br />
want to relax, you want a<br />
friendly face greeting you.<br />
You don’t want to have a<br />
burly security person there<br />
[asking you to] open your<br />
bags and show your ID.<br />
So the augmentation of<br />
technology, where it’s less<br />
intrusive, will be vital to<br />
the industry.<br />
GF: Hotels have to try<br />
to balance how to stay<br />
a welcoming, hospitable<br />
establishment but, at the<br />
same time, be safe, alert<br />
and aware. What they have<br />
to do is have technology<br />
complement the human<br />
training around how to<br />
identify suspicious behavior,<br />
how to react, how<br />
to look at whatever we<br />
can look at in terms of<br />
profiles of people and how<br />
to identify possible “bad<br />
dudes” and weed them out.<br />
HOTELIER : What role does<br />
technology play in hotel<br />
security?<br />
David Laks: There are<br />
some technologies that are<br />
using algorithms to recognize<br />
behaviours and are<br />
starting to make it easier<br />
[to identify] less-obvious<br />
red flags such as 24-hour<br />
do-not-disturb signs and<br />
lots of baggage.<br />
Stig Lagerstedt: The<br />
technology today is much<br />
more secure — more of a<br />
balanced option but there<br />
are also risks for some of<br />
these things. [Assaabloy]<br />
does a key on the [mobile<br />
device]. One of the big<br />
benefits the guests like is<br />
that they can go direct to<br />
the room, meaning passing<br />
the front desk without<br />
stopping. We don’t get<br />
an ID check, so as a part<br />
of the overall solution,<br />
you need to have a way<br />
to identify the guests in<br />
the back-end. Another<br />
technology being implemented<br />
is restricted access<br />
to elevators if you don’t<br />
have a valid guest key. But,<br />
of course, those are not 100<br />
per cent secure — you can<br />
follow someone — but at<br />
least they’ve tightened it<br />
down as much as they can.<br />
GF: The protection of<br />
privacy is a growing issue<br />
for security because how do<br />
you not intrude and invade<br />
on the privacy of the guest<br />
but also get the information?<br />
That’s a delicate<br />
balance. For instance, we<br />
know the location of the<br />
guest, but can we use it if<br />
they didn’t opt in? We can<br />
ping the guest for a happy<br />
hour or whatever sales<br />
promotion, but if there is a<br />
[security] alert, can we text<br />
or can we tweet the guest?<br />
The industry is trying to<br />
figure out how to not invade<br />
privacy but provide safety<br />
and use the technology of<br />
constant connectivity.<br />
LR: When we do have the<br />
technology to contact<br />
our guests and tell them<br />
about sales promotions;<br />
do we want to use that<br />
technology to say we’re in<br />
a lockdown situation? The<br />
technology is there.<br />
DL: One of the risks is<br />
you don’t want to create<br />
a panic situation where<br />
you’re creating this<br />
scenario. So, if you’ve got a<br />
phone, can someone hack<br />
into that and then access<br />
it via different portals or<br />
ways of getting in through<br />
a third party?<br />
HOTELIER : What are some<br />
examples of technology<br />
being used in hotels?<br />
GF: Digital-camera systems<br />
can do facial recognition<br />
and have search capabilities<br />
so you can quickly filter<br />
out [whether] a person was<br />
in the lobby, on this floor<br />
or on that floor. Once the<br />
suspect is identified — by<br />
ISTOCK.COM/IKRYANNIKOVGMAILCOM<br />
50 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
people or by patrols — you<br />
can quickly take action.<br />
LR: In most hotels, there<br />
are also alarms — the old<br />
traditional ones — so if<br />
we go through this door,<br />
an alarm sounds. We<br />
won’t hear a thing, but the<br />
camera will immediately go<br />
to that position, security<br />
gets notified there’s an<br />
alarm there and they investigate.<br />
So, there is a lot of<br />
quiet surveillance that also<br />
goes on in the hotel.<br />
DL: With the cameras<br />
becoming much more high<br />
definition, facial recognition<br />
[can be used to identify]<br />
loitering. You can now<br />
set parameters so that if a<br />
person is in a stairwell for a<br />
certain period of time that<br />
raises a trigger that may be<br />
investigated.<br />
HOTELIER : In a large hotel,<br />
where you’ve got more than<br />
1,000 rooms and people<br />
coming and going all the<br />
time, how do you control all<br />
those points?<br />
LR: It’s technology and it’s<br />
vigilance. It’s surveillance,<br />
being aware and it’s training<br />
— all the pieces that<br />
have to come together to<br />
make sure we’re doing as<br />
much as we can to keep<br />
our hotel safe. The security<br />
officers have to be trained,<br />
but we do training with the<br />
front office staff, with our<br />
room attendants, with our<br />
house persons. Everybody<br />
in the hotel — from the<br />
executive right down is<br />
trained in awareness. One<br />
of our programs we’ve just<br />
started is in relation to<br />
child exploitation, which<br />
is another [risk] within the<br />
hotel business. We have<br />
a partnership with the<br />
Toronto Police Service to<br />
come in and train all of<br />
our staff about awareness<br />
— what to look for — and<br />
in this industry, security is<br />
about being aware.<br />
GF: The asset protection,<br />
which used to be the<br />
primary focus for many<br />
years in the hotel industry,<br />
is also evolving because a<br />
lot of the assets now are<br />
digital. It’s not just protecting<br />
the guest’s physical<br />
property or the hotel’s<br />
property from being stolen,<br />
but also how to prevent<br />
hacking and gaining<br />
unauthorized access into<br />
databases. That’s where<br />
technology is a doubleedged<br />
sword.<br />
HOTELIER : What are the<br />
top threats hotels are training<br />
staff to be aware of<br />
right now?<br />
LR: [At the Fairmont Royal<br />
York] we focus on people<br />
who are not guests that<br />
may be causing problems<br />
for our guests, being aware<br />
of those folks and what<br />
to look for. We’re also<br />
focused on access control.<br />
We have public access<br />
to the lobby of the hotel,<br />
but we’re limiting where<br />
you can go once you’re in<br />
the lobby with technology<br />
into the elevators and<br />
with surveillance within<br />
the hotel. And, with our<br />
colleagues being trained<br />
properly to understand and<br />
be aware that if they do<br />
see somebody on a floor,<br />
if there’s an undesirable<br />
person within the hotel,<br />
then they let us know.<br />
We’re not training them to<br />
be proactive in the sense<br />
of approaching these folks,<br />
but be aware that, if that<br />
looks suspicious to you, let<br />
us know, and we’ll take the<br />
next step.<br />
HOTELIER : What type of<br />
staff training is being implemented?<br />
DL: We work with clients<br />
to test the [security protocols]<br />
and do a gap analysis.<br />
A lot of them have a great<br />
program in place, but<br />
once they test it, there are<br />
things that go off the rails<br />
that you wouldn’t expect.<br />
LR: We have great programs<br />
in relation to those types of<br />
threats where you have an<br />
active attacker. If there’s an<br />
active attacker or violence<br />
happening within a hotel,<br />
people want to know, so<br />
communication is key.<br />
We’ve talked about texting,<br />
sending out messages to<br />
people about sheltering in<br />
place or it’s a lockdown —<br />
it’s how we get them out.<br />
GF: That communication is<br />
really crucial today because<br />
when anything happens,<br />
there are always hundreds<br />
of guests who have cameras<br />
in their pocket. So any<br />
action your security officer<br />
takes could be on camera<br />
and if it gets online, how<br />
do you get the official<br />
communication out?<br />
Somebody, on behalf of the<br />
property, has to get ahead<br />
of the story — before all of<br />
these guests’ angles get out<br />
there — to say this is the<br />
official version, this is what<br />
happened.<br />
PK: Training your front-line<br />
people is critical. Observations,<br />
awareness, just being<br />
able to see, what I call,<br />
look in the corners. Look<br />
beyond what’s here and<br />
make sure to see what’s<br />
happening. Sometimes,<br />
when you’re there every<br />
day, 12 hours or eight<br />
hours, everyone puts<br />
blinders on — you just go<br />
do your task, do your thing,<br />
interact with customers<br />
and deal with the grind of<br />
today. But you have to just<br />
have that perspective,<br />
look out, be observant and<br />
be aware.<br />
HOTELIER : On the supplier<br />
side, what are hotel operators<br />
asking for when it<br />
comes to security-related<br />
products?<br />
SL: A big part so far has<br />
been a focus on the guestfacing<br />
side of it, but we see<br />
now that as a part of the<br />
overall, we’ve been tightening<br />
down on the backside<br />
of it — the back-of-thehouse<br />
concerns such as the<br />
large number of entrances<br />
that typically haven’t been<br />
looked over. On the guest<br />
side, it’s convenience —<br />
making it easier for the<br />
guests — but at the same<br />
time, trying to make it<br />
more secure. With that,<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 51
there are some challenges,<br />
but the technology [we<br />
have to work with] today is<br />
a lot better.<br />
Mobile is big — everyone<br />
wants to have the key<br />
on their mobile. We did<br />
a project with Starwood<br />
some years ago as the<br />
first [brand to implement]<br />
mobile access. But at<br />
the same time, you can<br />
[address] guest privacy, but<br />
typically, when you do a<br />
guest or a hotel-chain app<br />
on your phone, you [offer]<br />
benefits. When guests get<br />
benefits, they allow hotels<br />
access to their information<br />
[to track their movements].<br />
We know where guests are<br />
all the time.<br />
GF: I just read research<br />
[that shows] guest pick-up<br />
on mobile phones as a<br />
key is very slow, although<br />
the technology isn’t.<br />
And it’s not growing. It’s<br />
held steady in the last<br />
couple of years at five or<br />
six per cent of the guests<br />
opting-in. They still have<br />
concerns about privacy.<br />
They don’t mind going<br />
to the desk and having<br />
personal service instead of<br />
just bypassing and going<br />
straight to their rooms.<br />
HOTELIER : Aside from<br />
terrorism, what other<br />
threats should hotels be<br />
prepared for?<br />
LR: Fire is probably the<br />
number-1 threat or concern<br />
that we talk about within<br />
the hotel business — the<br />
training that we do around<br />
fire — the fire plan that<br />
we have and the awareness<br />
level for all of our<br />
colleagues around what<br />
their role is. Within the<br />
hotel we have fire wardens<br />
— leaders — that, when<br />
a fire alarm goes off, go to<br />
their positions and help<br />
colleagues help the guests.<br />
And that goes right down<br />
to the room attendant on<br />
the floor who is a vital<br />
piece within our fire plan<br />
because they’re on the floor<br />
with the guests. So, when<br />
that fire alarm goes off,<br />
the guests are popping out<br />
of their rooms, wondering<br />
what this alarm [is<br />
about]. We have to get<br />
that message out to our<br />
guests of what’s going on<br />
so they’re not panicked.<br />
We train staff to be aware<br />
that at that first stage,<br />
the fire warden is getting<br />
the message out. Then, if<br />
we went to second stage,<br />
where we’re actually evacuating<br />
floors, that’s another<br />
communication piece<br />
and we have an excellent<br />
system that has a voice<br />
so we send out automated<br />
messages, or we can do it<br />
manually and talk to our<br />
guests about what we want<br />
them to do.<br />
DL: All the technology<br />
in hotels means there are<br />
so many different access<br />
points and when technology<br />
[use increases], the<br />
needle is going to start<br />
moving a little quicker. Is<br />
the security and protection<br />
going to keep up with it?<br />
PK: With the Internet of<br />
Things, if your coffeemaker<br />
is the weakest link,<br />
[hackers are] going to<br />
find a way to exploit that.<br />
That’s the easiest way to<br />
get into your network and<br />
then all of a sudden, you’re<br />
compromised.<br />
GF: Now the security training<br />
for every employee<br />
includes password protection,<br />
log-in-ID protection<br />
— we mandate that the<br />
employee doesn’t have<br />
an easy-to-read password.<br />
And when somebody gets<br />
transferred or terminated,<br />
we immediately cancel or<br />
delete that access because<br />
the inside job is worse than<br />
outside. Inside jobs are a<br />
major concern for every<br />
company, from a security<br />
perspective, when it comes<br />
to hacking.<br />
LR: It comes down to what<br />
does each colleague really<br />
need to have on that<br />
computer? What can they<br />
access with their computer<br />
at the front desk? They<br />
really don’t need that much<br />
and that’s the way we look<br />
at it because we have great<br />
synergy with our own<br />
in-house technology.<br />
PK: But the [guest data]<br />
in the profile that really<br />
engages your guest and<br />
makes that relationship,<br />
means it’s a tough balance<br />
to find what you actually<br />
need on that terminal<br />
versus what the guest’s<br />
expectations are and the<br />
kind of service you want<br />
to deliver.<br />
GF: And we have openprotocol<br />
total-building<br />
automation systems that<br />
interface the lighting to<br />
the building transportation<br />
to access control to the<br />
HVAC. Everything could<br />
be remotely controlled, but<br />
now there’s a check. How<br />
do you protect it? It’s a<br />
wonderful technology, but<br />
it’s also difficult to protect.<br />
The more flexibility you<br />
have, the more difficult the<br />
protection.<br />
HOTELIER : How do<br />
smaller hotel<br />
properties<br />
without huge<br />
budgets<br />
address these<br />
security<br />
concerns?<br />
PK: You have to<br />
be persistent.<br />
There are solutions out<br />
there and some don’t cost<br />
much. You just have to<br />
be diligent and do your<br />
research.<br />
SL: Moving systems to the<br />
cloud [means hotels] don’t<br />
require the same kind of<br />
on-property knowledge or<br />
technology. It would be<br />
easier to do updates, and<br />
keep it up-to-date all the<br />
time, so it’s a cost-saving<br />
benefit.<br />
ISTOCK.COM/ANDREYPOPOV [SMARTPHONE ARMING SYSTEM]<br />
52 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
ISTOCK.COM/ARTOLYMPIC [EMERGENCY VEHICLE LIGHTING]; ISTOCK.COM/ YACOBCHUK [HOUSEKEEPER]<br />
GF: Industry is very aware<br />
of, what we call, the highmedia<br />
value targets. So,<br />
for those hotels, like a<br />
Royal York, if something<br />
happens, it’s front page.<br />
But a little suburban<br />
mom-and-pop operation,<br />
they don’t have the same<br />
media value for terrorist or<br />
cyber-attacks.<br />
HOTELIER : What are<br />
the pros and cons of<br />
outsourcing hotel security<br />
compared to keeping it<br />
in-house?<br />
PK: It depends on the<br />
strategic vision for the<br />
organization. Having<br />
in-house security infrastructure<br />
is a huge cost but<br />
it’s necessary on a scale<br />
[like that of] the Fairmont<br />
Royal York. However, I<br />
would see smaller hotels,<br />
softer targets, outsourcing<br />
patrolling and monitoring<br />
cameras and making sure<br />
everything lines up.<br />
LR: With in-house security,<br />
the benefits are we have<br />
people — officers — that<br />
are there every day and<br />
are invested in the hotel.<br />
They’re hotel employees<br />
and have the continuous<br />
training of the procedures,<br />
the policies, what we want<br />
within that hotel, how we<br />
want our security officers<br />
to interact with our guests.<br />
The customer-service<br />
training that we give to<br />
all of our colleagues, we<br />
also give to the security<br />
officers so what may start<br />
out as a negative security<br />
issue, they have the skills<br />
and the ability to change<br />
[into] a memorable positive<br />
experience for that guest.<br />
Then if there is a fire<br />
alarm, these officers have<br />
been there for many years<br />
and have had so much<br />
training they are responding<br />
with muscle memory<br />
because they know exactly<br />
what their role is. They<br />
know where the elevators<br />
are, where the fire<br />
panel is. If there’s a serious<br />
issue, these are the people<br />
that are the go-to people<br />
within our hotel.<br />
HOTELIER : How important<br />
is it for hotel security<br />
departments to have<br />
relationships with local<br />
emergency services?<br />
GF: Downtown hotels need<br />
to have great relationships<br />
with the first responders<br />
and it’s really helpful<br />
if the head of security is<br />
somebody who speaks the<br />
same language. It’s not<br />
unusual to have heads of<br />
security with [a police]<br />
background. It’s very<br />
helpful and meaningful.<br />
LR: We have to be tied in<br />
to those sources of information.<br />
We want to know<br />
if, for example, there’s a<br />
protest going to happen<br />
around our hotel. Our<br />
relationship with<br />
the 52 Division officers<br />
(in Toronto) is going to<br />
help us.<br />
HOTELIER : How do you<br />
identify security vulnerabilities<br />
in a hotel setting?<br />
PK: We have to do an<br />
analysis first [which<br />
involves] a site visit to see<br />
how the current structure<br />
is set-up, and what specific<br />
concerns or challenges they<br />
have with the property.<br />
Then we determine the<br />
approach — more tactical,<br />
or covert, or maybe just a<br />
little design or technology<br />
advancement.<br />
GF: Sometimes vulnerabilities<br />
are identified<br />
as a training issue. For<br />
example, how staff<br />
handles ID checks if a<br />
guest loses their key. In<br />
that case, that’s a training<br />
issue. We don’t look<br />
at hardware or software<br />
— just train the front<br />
desk people for an ID<br />
check.<br />
HOTELIER : How do you<br />
involve the housekeeping<br />
department on that security<br />
detail?<br />
PK: They’re the CIA of<br />
the hotel.<br />
LR: They are fantastic and,<br />
again, it comes down to<br />
training and building that<br />
relationship. [At the Royal<br />
York] we have weekly<br />
meetings for the housekeeping<br />
staff, room attendants<br />
and housemen to<br />
talk about fire safety, active<br />
attack and about being<br />
aware. That’s key for us<br />
because they are on every<br />
floor in the morning and<br />
in the evening. They are<br />
everywhere and are a great<br />
source of information.<br />
HOTELIER : What are some<br />
of the things housekeeping<br />
staff should be on<br />
alert for?<br />
LR: They are told to be<br />
aware and understand<br />
what a first-stage fire alarm<br />
means and how to talk to<br />
the guests about that. If<br />
it does go to second stage,<br />
what does that mean?<br />
They understand, too,<br />
when somebody is on the<br />
floor and they don’t look<br />
like they fit on their floor,<br />
they should call down to<br />
us. We’ll go up and talk<br />
to them and deal with the<br />
concern. Again, we don’t<br />
get them directly involved<br />
— they are a source of<br />
information. They also<br />
have a big role to play<br />
in the child-exploitation<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 53
piece, because they’re<br />
aware of what to look for<br />
when going into the room<br />
— there are cues.<br />
HOTELIER : What is your top<br />
tip for keeping hotels safe?<br />
SL: It’s training personnel<br />
[with regard to] cyber,<br />
and internal access, which<br />
is often done by mistake<br />
or they weren’t aware.<br />
IT security, cyber, is the<br />
biggest thing to [keep on<br />
top of].<br />
LR: Building awareness of<br />
cyber-security threats —<br />
building that sense within<br />
every colleague that we<br />
have to be aware and that<br />
we own it. It’s our hotel;<br />
we have to be aware of<br />
what’s going on in it. We<br />
have to do formal training<br />
and we have to document<br />
our training. [For example]<br />
if we’re doing a training<br />
session on fire-alarm safety<br />
for housekeeping, then it’s<br />
documented. And that we<br />
can trace it back that we’ve<br />
done all this training, and<br />
how regularly we are doing<br />
it — not do it once, and<br />
then think five years later,<br />
oh my, 'we should really try<br />
that again.’<br />
PK: Training awareness is<br />
key as well as cyber protection.<br />
They’re parallel. To<br />
be honest, they’re critical.<br />
GF: It’s important to leverage<br />
the power of technology<br />
and connectivity, but<br />
it’s about people — how<br />
we train them, how we<br />
serve the guests, how we<br />
truly find the balance so<br />
that we’re not intrusive,<br />
but we provide adequate<br />
protection. And the power<br />
of technology is wonderful,<br />
but you can’t trust it really.<br />
HOTELIER : How important<br />
is it to have a crisismanagement<br />
plan in place?<br />
GF: We have to have a<br />
communication strategy<br />
because things go wrong.<br />
Accidents happen. How<br />
you handle it, what you<br />
do about it, and how you<br />
communicate…that really<br />
makes a difference. You’ve<br />
got to get your own brand<br />
management — your own<br />
reputation for management<br />
is riding on it. You have to<br />
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e genuine and you have to<br />
be honest and transparent.<br />
The bottom line is that if<br />
security works perfectly,<br />
you never hear about it.<br />
DL: There are many things<br />
that need to be included<br />
in your plan that are part<br />
of a fire code and building<br />
code. [The codes] also<br />
change and how often<br />
do you review your safety<br />
plan? In some properties,<br />
it’s a lot more frequent<br />
than others<br />
LR: At the [Royal York],<br />
we have an emergencymanagement<br />
business<br />
continuity communication<br />
plan. I review it every year<br />
and put a new one together<br />
yearly so it’s a constant<br />
that the fire plan is being<br />
reviewed all the time. It’s<br />
constant keeping it up-todate,<br />
reviewing and training.<br />
It’s all of those pieces,<br />
and it’s easy not to do,<br />
but you really do have to<br />
because you can get behind.<br />
HOTELIER : What changes<br />
have you seen in hotelsecurity<br />
management?<br />
LR: Technology is a big<br />
piece that we’re moving<br />
towards but we have to stay<br />
focused on our people, our<br />
training of our engaged<br />
colleagues and security,<br />
along with the technology.<br />
It’s that synergy and the<br />
fact that you have to bring<br />
them together to make it<br />
work.<br />
DL: It’s the interaction<br />
between hotels, emergency<br />
response, fire and police<br />
in an emergency response<br />
[situation]. You want to<br />
make sure that communication<br />
is ongoing.<br />
GF: When I worked in<br />
the industry, we had these<br />
old-fashioned, what we<br />
called, ‘door-nudger’ kind of<br />
thieves. They walked down<br />
the hallway and nudged the<br />
doors. If they got in, they<br />
stole. That was 40 years ago.<br />
Today, it’s a different world.<br />
That’s not the first concern<br />
anymore. It’s getting more<br />
sophisticated and you always<br />
have to evolve because it<br />
never stops.<br />
PK: We see the evolution<br />
from door knocking<br />
to people copying<br />
the access control<br />
cards or being able to<br />
program their own.<br />
We start something and<br />
new technology comes<br />
out. Well, then someone<br />
is going to be able to take<br />
your phone, copy it, and<br />
open up your suite, right?<br />
But then they’ll react by<br />
fixing the hack and creating<br />
some more secured<br />
protocols to fix that. It<br />
opens up new industries<br />
and new frontiers. u<br />
To hear the complete<br />
transcript of the Safe &<br />
Secure roundtable discussion,<br />
visit hoteliermagazine.com
F&B<br />
TASTE<br />
OF<br />
PLACE<br />
THESE UNIQUE PROPERTIES<br />
ARE MAKING THE MOST OF THE<br />
INGREDIENTS THEY CAN FIND<br />
IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD<br />
BY SARAH B. HOOD<br />
CANADA is a land of distinct regions, each with its own<br />
landscape, colours and flavours. These qualities can keep people coming<br />
back year after year to recapture that special essence they can find only<br />
in one location. Food and drink are particularly potent ways to evoke the<br />
personality of a region. Here is a selection of properties offering guests a<br />
true taste of their locales.<br />
FOGO ISLAND INN<br />
Nestled off the coast of Newfoundland,<br />
Fogo Island Inn is defined by<br />
its unique sense of place. “The ties to<br />
community are deep,” says the inn’s<br />
chef de cuisine Timothy Charles.<br />
“You could almost consider it to be<br />
community-owned; all the profits go<br />
back to the community.” The chef’s<br />
menus celebrate cod — the fish that<br />
brought settlers to the island in the<br />
first place. “It’s the star of our food program for sure, and we’re lucky enough<br />
to be using a lot of fish that is caught here and processed on the island,” he<br />
says. “We’ve been working with growers on the island since before the inn<br />
opened; it’s been part of the informal mission of the inn to incentivize some<br />
of their traditional practices of keeping gardens — there aren’t any formal<br />
farms on the island.”<br />
Fogo Island Inn goes a step further with its drinks, creating cocktails from<br />
ingredients foraged by staff. The island is carpeted with edibles, including<br />
about 17 types of berries. In addition to pies and sauces, the inn’s chefs also<br />
concoct syrups for mixing. “Our bar program uses a lot of berry shrubs [like<br />
blueberry-juniper] in the cocktails,” says Charles.<br />
DRAKE DEVONSHIRE INN<br />
The 13-room Drake Devonshire Inn<br />
in Ontario’s Prince Edward County is<br />
also soaked in local flavour. “We like to<br />
think of ourselves as a community hub,”<br />
says general manager Karla Brennen. The<br />
boutique-style retreat is tied into community<br />
events in the area, which has recently<br />
become a favourite with urban food<br />
tourists. For March’s annual Maple in the<br />
County — a celebration of the maplesyrup<br />
season — the inn offers a community<br />
pancake breakfast; it also promotes<br />
the region’s offerings at Countylicious, a<br />
twice-yearly food festival.<br />
The Drake Devonshire has recently<br />
imported chef Alexandra Feswick, who<br />
commanded the kitchen for about three<br />
years at the inn’s sister property The<br />
Drake Hotel in Toronto. “She’s got a lot<br />
of expertise in farm-to-table and vegetable-forward<br />
dishes,” Brennen says. “She<br />
started her career working on farms and<br />
cooking with the things they grew.”<br />
Feswick, who has relocated with her<br />
family to Prince Edward County, will<br />
have an array of local wineries, as well<br />
as nearby cheese producers, chocolate<br />
factories and apple growers to call upon<br />
when designing her menus.<br />
With the boom in demand for VQA<br />
wines and craft beer, along with the<br />
recent emergence of craft cider and<br />
even local spirit distillers, it has become<br />
easier to integrate local offerings into a<br />
beverage program as well. For instance,<br />
the Drake Devonshire’s house wine,<br />
“Vintner’s Daughter,” is commissioned<br />
from nearby winery Rosehall Run, and<br />
a changing selection of local beers is<br />
always on tap.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAX KOPANYGIN [DRAKE DEVONSHIRE INN]; LUIS VALDIZON [BOTANIST]<br />
56 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
FAIRMONT PACIFIC RIM<br />
Botanist, the new restaurant at Vancouver’s Fairmont Pacific Rim,<br />
is “ingredient-oriented and seasonally driven,” says executive chef<br />
Hector Laguna. “Everything varies, depending on the season we are<br />
in. We like to work with sustainability — not to say that that’s all we<br />
do; however, everything we’ve done since we’ve opened in April has<br />
used only sustainable ingredients.”<br />
Some of Laguna’s menu favourites include spot prawns in season<br />
as well as B.C. sablefish, salmon, sturgeon and trout. Then there are<br />
stone fruit from the Okanagan and duck from the Fraser Valley. “The<br />
flavours are different when you cook with fresh ingredients than when<br />
you bring them from halfway around the world,” Laguna explains.<br />
Botanist has also developed an extremely elaborate cocktail<br />
program. Apart from an array of house cocktails using unique<br />
botanicals such as the Electric Daisy, there’s a Cocktail Lab as an<br />
extension of the bar — “kind of like a bartender’s studio,” says the<br />
hotel’s Creative Beverage director Grant Sceney. Only three drinks<br />
are concocted in the Lab, which is glassed-off, so patrons can watch<br />
mixologists at work.<br />
Deep Cove ($28), named for a popular bay outside Vancouver, is<br />
served in a custom punchbowl and includes local Sheringham gin,<br />
blue algae, sea buckthorn and crushed ice with ribbons of cucumber<br />
that resemble seaweed. The earth element is represented by Candy<br />
Cap Magic ($28), based on locally foraged mushrooms. “They can’t be<br />
cultivated,” Sceney says. Pretty Bird (the air element, $28) is served<br />
in a bird-shaped glass, complete with nest, and combines gin with<br />
centrifuged strawberry juice, a dill-seed tincture and a splash of Blue<br />
Mountain Gold Label Brut from the Okanagan.<br />
“Tapping into local feeling is unique,” says Sceney. “Most people,<br />
when they’re travelling, are looking for a local experience.” You might<br />
say they’re literally hungry for a taste of their destination.<br />
HOTEL ARTS<br />
Hotel Arts, which runs two onsite restaurants (Yellow Door Bistro and<br />
Raw Bar) and a banquet operation, is a boutique property in downtown<br />
Calgary that showcases the city’s new urban flair. “We’ve got a partnership<br />
with Alberta Food Tours: Karen Anderson runs a series of walking tours<br />
with a culinary focus,” says Fraser Abbott, the hotel’s director of Business<br />
Development. “It’s a great vehicle for us to introduce our hotel clients to<br />
what the local scene is all about.” Hotel Arts is also a transportation hub<br />
for tours to Eau Claire Distillery — located about 40 minutes out of town<br />
— and features the distillery’s gin in its beverage program.<br />
“Our chefs’-choice tasting menus are always changing,” says Abbott.<br />
Local and regional suppliers’ products are showcased whenever possible,<br />
like root vegetables from Poplar Bluff Farms, as well as beef, lamb and<br />
duck from local producers. The hotel also highlights Food Day Canada,<br />
the annual celebration of our national cuisine (which will fall on August<br />
4 in 2018). The hotel’s Yellow Door Bistro develops a special menu to run<br />
for that week. “We want to make sure we’re showcasing our taste-of-place<br />
experiences,” Abbott says.<br />
Hotel Arts offers craft beers and B.C. wines for its bar specials and participates<br />
in events that spotlight the region’s offerings. “We host the Pig and<br />
Pinot festival; 10 or 12 different restaurants come in to do a pork dish paired<br />
up with wines. We generally use pork sourced from people who are producing<br />
unusual pork breeds,” says Abbott. “We’ll do the same thing next year with<br />
beef and barley — the barley [represents] not just risotto, but craft beer.” u<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 57
TECHNOLOGY<br />
FUTURE FORWARD<br />
Though still in its early days, AI technology is set to impact<br />
many facets of hotel operations<br />
BY ROBIN ROBERTS<br />
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to open<br />
more doors to more hotels, offering increased<br />
convenience for guests and efficiency for<br />
properties. The minute a guest makes a hotel<br />
reservation through, say, Avvio’s Allora<br />
— the world’s first booking platform powered by artificial<br />
intelligence, which is currently being tested by Best<br />
Western — he or she has begun interacting with AI. By<br />
providing a property or booking agent with their preferences,<br />
guests send a series of data that is collected, stored and<br />
linked to predict patterns and profiles the hotel can use to<br />
customize and personalize those guests’ experiences (ideally<br />
leading to future loyalty).<br />
With the exception of smartphone-enabled keyless<br />
entry in some Canadian properties (such as Hilton and<br />
Marriott), as well as Best Western’s Mobile Guest Engagement<br />
Platform — featuring web-based communication<br />
tools to allow for easier interaction between guest and staff<br />
— Canadian hotels have lagged somewhat behind their<br />
American, European and Asian counterparts.<br />
New York City’s Yotel, for example, employs Yobot<br />
— an automated porter that stores luggage — as well as<br />
environmentally driven AI initiatives. “As part of our<br />
green program, our brand standard is to install occupancy<br />
sensors in the [rooms] that automatically activate<br />
the heating, lighting and cooling systems” says Jo<br />
Berrington, VP, Brand for Yotel.<br />
Some companies, including Wynn Las Vegas,<br />
Four Seasons and Marriott International, offer<br />
voice-controlled digital assistants, such as Google<br />
Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and<br />
Angie Hospitality’s Angie, which allow guests to<br />
control lights, drapes, temperature and the TV<br />
via voice command. Best Western is currently<br />
testing Amazon Dot for use by staff to note when<br />
the room has been cleaned, report maintenance<br />
issues and fill in operational gaps.<br />
“We think of Angie as a full-time staff member<br />
dedicated to serving that guest and remembering<br />
that guest’s preferences,” says Ted Helvey, founder<br />
and CEO of Angie Hospitality — makers of Angie,<br />
the world’s first cloud-powered, interactive digitalguestroom-assistant<br />
built specifically for the hospitality<br />
industry.<br />
And then, of course, there are the robots. M Social<br />
in Singapore employs the front-of-house Autonomous<br />
Service Delivery Robot (AURA), which delivers bottled<br />
water, fresh towels, toiletries and meals to guests’ rooms.<br />
AURA has been so successful, Millennium Hotels is<br />
rolling out four more in its sister properties, including<br />
AUSCA (Automated Service Chef Associate) — the<br />
world’s first prototype able to cook guests’ breakfast.<br />
As advanced, albeit limited, as the technology is, it’s still<br />
in its embryotic stage. “AI can only analyze the data it has,”<br />
says Helvey, noting the limitations of connectivity, integration<br />
and analytics that go into processing and contextualizing<br />
enormous amounts of customer information. “You<br />
still have the issue of pulling meaningful data together if<br />
you’re going to look at the big picture. Our view of AI is at<br />
a much simpler level, based on technology available today.”<br />
As for the future, experts predict robots and digital<br />
assistants — novelties now — will become standard<br />
practice. Helvey says, “As capabilities mature, so does [the]<br />
device. Statistics [predict], in the next four or five years,<br />
the majority of people, in the U.S. at least, will have an<br />
in-home agent they talk to.”<br />
And, what they have in their homes, they’re going to want<br />
in their hotels. u<br />
ISTOCK.COM/BAKAL<br />
58 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER
EQUIPMENT<br />
COZY, CUSTOMIZED<br />
AND CUTTING EDGE<br />
Why the future of hotel-PMS success lies in data collection<br />
BY J. LYNN FRASER<br />
ISTOCK.COM/SCYTHER5<br />
Data collection is the<br />
future. With an adaptable<br />
Property Management<br />
System (PMS),<br />
a hotelier can create a<br />
welcoming, efficient first impression<br />
for guests in person or online. Creating<br />
a cozy experience requires a PMS<br />
that can fluidly connect with different<br />
technologies that immediately share<br />
data, including guest preferences,<br />
across functions such as bookings,<br />
POS and spas.<br />
“Hoteliers are more proficient<br />
at capturing guest information to<br />
customize and personalize guest<br />
experiences. A PMS has better tools<br />
to operationalize data and CRM tools<br />
make it easier to leverage information<br />
for targeted-marketing offers,”<br />
observes Amanda Wisell, Marketing<br />
manager, Springer-Miller Systems.<br />
“Our PMS records require guest<br />
information when a booking is made.<br />
The system records information on<br />
the back end and stores it. It displays<br />
our room options, prices and packages<br />
on our website,” says Ben MacMillan,<br />
general manager of Charlottetown’s<br />
Fairholm Inn.<br />
Today’s PMSs are evolving to<br />
connect seamlessly with guests’<br />
preferred technologies. “Given the<br />
[number] of people who are now<br />
making reservations on their phones,<br />
all websites and information pages<br />
have to be accessible through phones<br />
or tablets,” notes Wisell.<br />
A PMS should reflect a hotelier’s<br />
guest- and service-‘infrastructure’<br />
needs. “It’s important,” MacMillan<br />
states, “to note how many rooms the<br />
property has, what amenities they<br />
offer and what type of guest experience<br />
they provide. You are looking at a<br />
combination of what makes the guest<br />
experience and back-end experience<br />
as easy as possible.” Operators, Wisell<br />
says, must consider their “operational<br />
requirements.” They should “evaluate<br />
their current and future interface<br />
needs and partner with a PMS provider<br />
capable of responding to hospitality<br />
trends and new technology with<br />
interfaces in a timely manner.” Just as<br />
important are the “customer service<br />
and support offered.”<br />
Cyberhacking is a daily concern for<br />
business and a PMS’s security features,<br />
as well as the law, must be considered<br />
when choosing a system. “Canadian<br />
organizations are responsible for<br />
protecting information,” notes Molly<br />
Reynolds, senior associate, specializing<br />
in privacy law and cybersecurity<br />
at Toronto-based Torys LLP. “This<br />
includes the personal information<br />
of employees and guests.” Reynolds<br />
notes the cyber-security obligations<br />
of an organization “apply to personal,<br />
proprietary or corporate information.”<br />
The Privacy Commissioner of<br />
Canada requires companies to “take<br />
a holistic view,” when assessing<br />
whether the PMS will adequately<br />
protect information. “Where the<br />
information is stored and its circumstances<br />
should be considered to<br />
determine if it will receive the same<br />
level of protection as it would in<br />
Canada,” says Reynolds.<br />
Hoteliers must be well informed<br />
when a PMS provider’s servers are<br />
outside Canada. Operators, Reynolds<br />
stresses, “can’t contract out of a<br />
country’s laws, the laws of a specific<br />
country apply.” Understanding the<br />
implications of the PMS supplier’s<br />
service agreement is also important.<br />
Reynolds advises looking at what “is<br />
the expected nature of the data” that<br />
the PMS will process. It is possible<br />
the PMS provider’s agreement will<br />
state the providers “do not want<br />
personal information stored” on<br />
their servers and will not commit to<br />
protect personal information.<br />
It is advisable, Reynolds says to<br />
have cyber-risk insurance in the<br />
event there is a privacy breach that<br />
involves insider misuse, third-party<br />
hacking or loss of hardware such<br />
as laptops.<br />
Ask what cyber and privacy<br />
breach insurance the provider has,<br />
what breaches are covered, what<br />
the liability caps are and what<br />
happens after the caps are exceeded,<br />
Reynolds cautions. “Read the fine<br />
print of the vendor’s insurance; see<br />
the risks,” she advises.<br />
The cutting edge of PMS is data<br />
interconnectedness, storage and analysis.<br />
Future PMS will aggregate data<br />
from guests’ social-media accounts,<br />
control a hotel’s temperature and<br />
lighting use, monitor energy use and<br />
create fine-grained portraits of guests’<br />
preferences. This is both a competitive<br />
advantage and a responsibility. u<br />
hoteliermagazine.com<br />
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER 59
HOTELIER<br />
GAME<br />
CHANGER<br />
As GM of Alt Hotel Winnipeg, Laurie<br />
Barkman is challenging the status quo<br />
BY ROSANNA CAIRA<br />
Learning has always figured prominently<br />
in Laurie Barkman’s life. But<br />
that’s not surprising given she was<br />
raised in family of teachers. Like many<br />
others before her, she entered the restaurant<br />
industry in a bid to finance her own education,<br />
but immediately fell in love with the<br />
notion of providing customer service. She<br />
soon enrolled in the hotel- and restaurantmanagement<br />
program at Winnipeg’s Red<br />
River College, hoping to build a career in<br />
the restaurant business. Little did she know<br />
she’d end up in the hotel business instead. “My first<br />
work placement was at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza<br />
and, with that introduction to<br />
QUICK QUIPS: the hotel business, my career<br />
changed direction and I haven’t<br />
Hobbies: “I love to relax with a<br />
looked back since.”<br />
good book and a glass of wine or<br />
cup of tea. My husband and I also Today, as GM of the 160-room<br />
curl once a week.”<br />
Alt Hotel Winnipeg, the<br />
Word that best describes you: Manitoba native and mother of<br />
“Determined: I’m like a pit bull. two oversees a team of 40. “We<br />
I refuse to let go or give up.“ offer a beautiful product with<br />
Personal Status: Married with unique features, but what really<br />
two grown children.<br />
stands out is the level of job<br />
satisfaction and team camaraderie,<br />
both at the local and corporate level. We’re<br />
committed to hiring people who are authentic, love<br />
being a part of a team and genuinely care about a<br />
guest’s well-being.” It’s a philosophy the hotel’s parent<br />
company, Group Germain Hotels, believes is more<br />
important than work experience.<br />
With innovation fuelling the company, Barkman’s<br />
goal is to “stay on top of changing, increasing and<br />
varied guest expectations. Continuing to challenge the<br />
status quo and to look at our business from our guests’<br />
perspective is important to ensure we identify and<br />
introduce innovative service offerings.”<br />
As a relatively new hotel in the Winnipeg market,<br />
Barkman works to build recognition and grow<br />
business. “The Alt brand was new to Winnipeg, which<br />
generated a lot of curiosity and it’s our job to ensure<br />
the buzz and curiosity turns into business.”<br />
Barkman believes the hotel has an excellent<br />
opportunity to be part of the continued growth and<br />
revitalization of downtown Winnipeg. “Our location<br />
directly across from the Bell MTS Centre and within<br />
walking distance of theatre and other entertainment<br />
venues makes us attractive and convenient for people<br />
coming to Winnipeg for sports, concerts or other<br />
entertainment options.”<br />
One of the hotel’s greatest differentiators is its rates.<br />
“We’ve taken away the confusion and frustration some<br />
people feel when their rate fluctuates from day to day<br />
or week to week. Our flat-rate policy means the rate a<br />
guest pays won’t go up during periods of high occupancy.<br />
We’re pleased to offer no check-out time to individual<br />
travellers who book directly with us. So, if a meeting<br />
runs late, there’s no worry about where to store luggage<br />
or where to freshen up before heading to the airport to<br />
get back home.” And while most companies talk about<br />
customer service, the hotel staff walks the talk. “We<br />
embody that commitment at Alt Hotel Winnipeg like<br />
no other hotel I’ve worked at,” she boasts. u<br />
60 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com
FEB 25-27, 2018 | ENERCARE CENTRE | RCSHOW.COM<br />
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