Hotelier Jan/Feb 2022

DRIVEN TO SUCCEED 

Delivering on the 

guest experience 

is behind every 

decision at Opal 

Hospitality 

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R H O T E L E X E C U T I V E S / J A N U A R Y ~ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 

CANADIAN PUBLICATION MAIL PRODUCT SALES AGREEMENT #40063470 

BREAKING 

THE MOULD 

New hotel brands are catering 

to upscale guest demands 

SELLING 

POINTS 

Hotel operators need new 

sales-and-marketing strategies 

to succeed post-pandemic 

BALANCING 

ACT 

It's time to envision the future 

of hotel F&B offerings 

THE 2022 

FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

A comprehensive 

listing of the 

industry’s top 

franchises 

hoteliermagazine.com

CONFERENCE • TRADE SHOW • COMPETITIONS • EVENTS 

NEW DATES FOR 2022 

May 9 - 11, 2022 

Enercare Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto 

ATTEND IN-PERSON & VIRTUALLY 

REGISTER NOW RCSHOW.COM

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R H O T E L E X E C U T I V E S / J A N U A R Y ~ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 

New hotel brands are catering 

to upscale guest demands 

Hotel operators need new 


to succeed post-pandemic 

It's time to envision the future 

of hotel F&B offerings 

hoteliermagazine.com 

CONTENTS 

VOLUME 34, NO. 1 | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 

60 

40 

64 

COVER PHOTO BY MARGARET MULLIGAN 

FEATURES 

10 LOOKING AHEAD 

Evolving HR strategies are key 

to industry recovery 

11 BAR NONE 

The lobby bar is back with 

a vengeance 

14 FÊTING SUCCESS 

A look back at the 32ndannual 

Pinnacle Awards gala 

16 DRIVEN TO SUCCEED 

Opal Hospitality builds 

community, not just hotels 

19 FRESH TAKES 

New brand launches are 

catering to upscale experiences 

23 THE 2022 

FRANCHISE REPORT 

A comprehensive listing of 

the industry’s top franchises 

40 PASSION PROJECT 

Bonnie Strome discusses the 

re-opening of the Park Hyatt 

during COVID-19 

45 SHAKING THINGS UP 

Hotels are mixing it up to aid 

post-pandemic recovery 

49 SELLING POINTS 

Hotels are rolling out new 


52 CASTING CALL 

In-room entertainment systems 

are changing with the times 

56 BALANCING ACT 

Hoteliers are envisioning the 

future of hotel F&B offerings 

60 TIMELESS SOLUTIONS 

COVID-19 is re-shaping hotel 

design and architecture 

63 SETTING THE STAGE 

Hotel kitchens are bringing 

guests back with contactless 

technology 

DEPARTMENTS 

2 EDITOR’S PAGE 

5 CHECKING IN 

64 HOTELIER 

James Hague, Baker Creek 

Mountain Resort, Banff, Alta. 


DRIVEN TO SUCCEED 

BREAKING 

THE MOLD 

SELLING 

POINTS 

BALANCING 

ACT 

Deliving on the guest 

experience is behind 

every decision at 

Opal Hospitality 


FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

A comprehensive 

listing of the 

industry’s top 

franchises 

ON THE COVER 

(l to r) Opal Hospitality's 

Sean Hogan director of 

Food and Beverage & Social 

Marketing; Perry Vashee, 

president; and Jeff Waters 

vice-president of 

Operations 

hoteliermagazine.com JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 | 1

EDITORIAL 

HIGH STAKES 

When you work with words, it’s an occupational 

hazard to choose them with the utmost care and a 

great deal of thought. After all, the right word can 

make all the difference between evoking a certain 

emotion or feeling, and conveying just the right sentiment. 

In the past year, we’ve repeatedly heard a handful of words to 

describe the severity of the effects of the pandemic — unprecedented, 

devastating, tumultuous and challenging are only a few 

of the words we’ve heard ad nauseum. We’ve also been inundated 

by the overuse of key words such as pivot, re-set, re-build, 

re-structure and evolve. 

But now, almost two years into a pandemic that continues to 

wreak havoc, individuals and industries are craving to move forward 

with a plan to re-build themselves and the industry. Where to start 

and what to focus on are a few questions we need to ask ourselves. 

As a recent article in Inc. magazine suggests, a good exercise to 

undertake at the start of every year is to focus on a word that will 

serve as a guiding principle for the year ahead. For those looking to 

attain more balance in their lives, for example, they might zero in 

on words such as calm, relaxation or meditation. But which word 

would you choose in your professional lives to focus on in 2022? 

Certainly, Recovery — with a capital R — comes to mind as a key 

word the entire industry will focus on this year. But you will need 

to dig deeper to determine what will fuel the recovery. 

Certainly, the hotel industry has undergone an avalanche of 

change in the past year, as hotels have been among the hardesthit 

industries in the world and, now with new variants surging, 

the reality is that tourism will be under siege for the long term. The work at hand is 

mammoth and will require intestinal fortitude. 

As a message from the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario recently stated, the 

“stakes for our industry have never been higher: Two years into the pandemic, saddled 

with increasing levels of debts, increased fixed costs and non-existent revenues, our 

industry has had period of re-opening — but never recovery. That’s why we remain 

relentless in our pursuit for continued economic supports and to fix programs that don’t 

meet the needs of our industry.” 

That will be the ongoing focus for associations that advocate on behalf of the industry. 

But while they solider on with this important work, hopefully pushing government to 

continue to provide the essential supports the industry so desperately needs to survive, 

operators will need to work harder than ever to re-build and re-make themselves in 

innovative and creative ways to ensure success once the 

pandemic is finally over — whenever that may be. 

ROSANNA CAIRA rcaira@kostuchmedia.com 

CONNECT 

WITH US 

HotelierMagazine 

@hoteliermag 

@hoteliermagazine 

PHOTO BY NICK WONG 

2 | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 


T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R H O T E L E X E C U T I V E S / J U L Y | A U G U S T 2 0 1 9 $ 4 

ROSANNA CAIRA EDITOR & PUBLISHER 

rcaira@kostuchmedia.com 

AMY BOSTOCK MANAGING EDITOR 

abostock@kostuchmedia.com 

NICOLE DI TOMASSO ASSISTANT EDITOR 

nditomasso@kostuchmedia.com 

COURTNEY JENKINS ART DIRECTOR 

cjenkins@kostuchmedia.com 

JENNIFER O'NEILL DESIGN ASSISTANT 

joneill@kostuchmedia.com 

JHANELLE PORTER SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER/ 

EVENTS CO-ORDINATOR 

jporter@kostuchmedia.com 

WENDY GILCHRIST 

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

wgilchrist@kostuchmedia.com 

ELEANOR SANTOS ACCOUNT MANAGER 

esantos@kostuchmedia.com 

KIMONE CLUNIS SALES & MARKETING ASSISTANT 

kwales@kostuchmedia.com 

DANNA SMITH ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT 

dsmith@kostuchmedia.con 

DANIELA PRICOIU ACCOUNTING SERVICES 

dpricoiu@kostuchmedia.com 

CIRCULATION PUBLICATION PARTNERS 

kml@publicationpartners.com 

ADVISORY BOARD 

Andrew Weir, Destination Toronto; Anne Larcade, Sequel 

Hotels & Resorts; Anthony Cohen, Cresent Hotels — Global 

Edge Investments; Bonnie Strome, Hyatt Hotels; Christiane 

Germain, Germain Hotels; David McMillan, Axis Hospitality 

International; Don Cleary, Marriott Hotels; Geoffrey Allan, 

Project Capital Management Hotels; Hani Roustom, Friday 

Harbour Resort; Heather McCrory, Accor; Reetu Gupta, Easton's 

Hotels; Ryan Killeen, The Annex Hotel Ryan Murray, 

The Pillar + Post Hotel; Stephen Renard, Renard International 

Hospitality & Search Consultants 

GET HOTELIER 


Lasting 

Legacy 

Hilton celebrates 100 

years of exceeding 

guest expectations 

GREAT 

ESCAPES 

In-room wellness 

options are coming 

of age 

CHALLENGES + 

OPPORTUNITIES 

Hotel operators address 

issues impacting the 

industry 

MAGAZINE 

ON YOUR IPAD 

With the Hotelier magazine app, you 

can access all the latest issues. View the 

entire issue page by page or jump directly 

to your favourites. All the departments and 

features you’ve come to know and love, 

all at the tap of a screen. 


FORM MEETS 

FUNCTION 

A look at 21st century 

kitchen design 

CHAMPIONING 

CHANGE 

Coverage of the annual 

WITH Summit 

INSPIRED 

TASTES 

Hoteliers seek new 

strategies to raise 

F&B revenue 

C E L E B R AT I N G 

HOTELIER is published eight times a year by Kostuch Media 

Ltd., 14 – 3650 Langstaff Rd. Ste. 33, Woodbridge, ON L4L 9A8, 

(416) 447-0888, Fax (416) 447-5333. All rights reserved. Subscription 

rates: Canada: $25 per year, single issue $4, U.S.A.: $30 per year; 

all other countries $40 per year. Canadian Publication Mail 

Product Sales Agreement #40063470. Member of Canadian 

Circulations Audit Board and Magazines Canada. Printed in 

Canada on recycled stock. 

Return mail to: Publication Partners 1025 Rouge Valley Dr., 

Pickering, Ontario L1V 4N8 


JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 | 3

Get your 

money’s worth. 

At Quality ® brand hotels, our guests want real value for their 

hard-earned dollars. They need to know they’ll get their money’s 

worth so they can relax and focus on the people and experiences 

they came for. And in Canada, we’re delivering! 

Get your money’s worth. It’s not just a promise to our guests; 

it’s a promise to our franchisees, too. The Quality brand delivers 

great performance and also provides owners with a great 

opportunity to enhance property value and strengthen market 

positioning. Plus, the brand’s flexible product extensions fit most 

building types and locations. 

ChoiceHotelsDevelopment.ca 

Development@choicehotels.ca 

The Quality brand is all about delivering on the value that both 

guests and hotel owners need. 

THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO INVEST IN QUALITY. 

©2022 Choice Hotels Canada Inc. All Rights Reserved.

CHECKING IN 

THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS FOR HOTEL EXECUTIVES FROM CANADA AND AROUND THE WORLD 

The Arne Sorenson 

Social Impact 

Leadership Award 

will be presented 

annually to a seniorlevel 

executive in the 

lodging industry who 

strives to drive change 

through strong leadership 

and community 

engagement. Nominations 

are reviewed 

by AHLA’s Executive 

Committee and representatives 

from ALIS. 

LEADING 

THE WAY 

David Kong receives inaugural Arne 

Sorenson Social Impact Leadership Award 

David Kong, recently retired president and 

CEO of BWH Hotel Group, has been 

named the inaugural recipient of the 

Arne Sorenson Social Impact Leadership 

Award on behalf of The American Hotel 

& Lodging Association (AHLA), The American Hotel 

& Lodging Foundation and The BHN Group. 

When Kong emmigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong 

as a young adult, he began his career in hospitality as a 

dishwasher and quickly climbed the ladder, securing his 

role as president and CEO of BWH Hotel Group from 

2004-2021. During his career, Kong developed initiatives 

focused on women in the hotel sector, provided scholarships 

to hospitality students in partnership with the AHLA 

Foundation and spearheaded BWH Hotel Group’s Future Leaders Group initiative. 

This new award is named after Arne Sorenson, former president and CEO of Marriott 

International, who passed away in February 2021. 

“Like Arne, David is an industry icon — an amazing leader and among the most 

respected people in our industry,” says Chip Rogers, president and CEO, AHLA. “The 

story of David’s career trajectory, from dishwasher to CEO, is inspiring to us all, as is his 

commitment to the next generation of hotel leaders and the communities we serve. It 

has been a joy to work with David, and I can think of no better way to honour him at 

the conclusion of his illustrious career 

than with this award.” 

“The humanity-meets-business crossroads 

David Kong was 

that Arne and David built their leadership 

honoured this month 

styles around are more important than ever, 

during the AHLA 

so it’s an honour to acknowledge Arne’s 

Foundation’s premier 

legacy by having David as the inaugural 

fundraising gala, 

recipient of this award,” says Jeff Higley, 

the Night of a 

president of The BHN Group. “The impact 

of embracing a people-centric approach by 

Thousand Stars, 

prominently addressing key social issues 

as well as during the 

serves as an agent of change far beyond 

21st Annual Americas 

the boundaries of the hotel industry. We 

Lodging Investment 

should all be proud of the impact that Arne 

Summit (ALIS). 

and David have contributed by being kind, 

thoughtful and forward-looking leaders.”◆ 


FAIRMONT CHATEAU 

LAURIER NAMES 

NEW GM 

AccorHotels has appointed Geneviève Dumas as 

general manager of the iconic Fairmont Chateau 

Laurier in Ottawa. Dumas is a dynamic leader 

with more than 25 years’ experience in the luxury 

hospitality and tourism industry. 

In her most recent position as general manager 

of the historic Fairmont Château Montebello, 

Dumas raised the hotel to new heights, seeing it 

recognized as the third-best hotel in Canada from 

Condé Nast Traveler magazine. She also successfully 

guided a massive renovation and restoration 

of the “world’s largest red-cedar log cabin” ahead 

of its 90th anniversary. 

In her new role, Dumas will oversee the Fairmont Chateau Laurier’s day-to-day 

operations and guest experience. Dumas’ career journey has taken her across the 

globe, to the Middle East, Europe and Asia. She’s held progressive leadership roles 

at the Fairmont Tremblant, Fairmont Empress, Hilton Homewood Suites and 

Marriott Residence Inn. She’s been recognized many times by her peers; among the 

2021 Top 30 most-influential people in the industry in Quebec; as an Exceptional 

Woman of the Year by the local Chamber of Commerce in 2020; as a recipient of 

the Industry Performance Award from ESG UQAM’s School of Management in 

2013; and as a 2011 Ambassador of the Year for the Hotel Industry by the Minister 

of Tourism, Quebec. 

EXPANDING 

PORTFOLIOS 

Sonder Holdings Inc. increased 

its footprint in Canada in 2021 

by opening new properties and 

contracting hundreds of additional 

units across Montreal and Toronto. 

In Montreal, Sonder recently 

opened the Sonder Saint Paul, 

a 20-unit hotel in a heritage 

building in Old Montreal, as well 

as the Sonder Maisonneuve, a 

157-unit new-build property, 

located in the heart of downtown 

Montreal. Sonder also continues 

to expand in Toronto and recently 

contracted more than 110 units in 

four additional locations, spread 

across desired neighbourhoods 

such as the St. Lawrence Market 

and the Entertainment District. 

These units are in addition to 

the more than 120 live units 

across five existing Sonder 

locations in Toronto. 

From L to R: Mark Shalala, SVP Development, Upscale Brands, Choice Hotels; John Percy, president Destination 

Niagara USA; Janis Cannon, senior vice-president, upscale brands, Choice Hotels; Frank Strangio, co-owner, 

Plati Niagara Inc.; Antonio Strangio, co-owner, Plati Niagara Inc.; Anthony Strangio, co-owner, Plati Niagara 

Inc.; Angelo Morinello, assemblyman, New York State Assembly; Anthony Vilardo, president of USA Niagara 

Development Corp. (Cambria Hotel Niagara Falls ) 


ROOM 

WITH 

A VIEW 

Cambria Hotels by Choice Hotels 

International has started construction 

on the Cambria Hotel Niagara Falls, 

which is expected to open in spring 

2023. Developed by Plati Niagara 

Inc., the 120-room hotel will feature 

indoor and outdoor common spaces, 

contemporary and sophisticated 

guestrooms, spa-style bathrooms and 

Bluetooth mirrors, bar and restaurant, 

meeting-and-event spaces and a 

fitness centre. 


K2 GROUP ACQUIRES 

TRAVELODGE LUNDY’S 

LANE IN NIAGARA FALLS 

K2 Group, an independent investment company, has acquired Travelodge by 

Wyndham Niagara Falls Lundy’s Lane. The property will be fully renovated 

with enhancements to the indoor and outdoor pools, restaurant, fitness centre, 

meeting spaces, banquet halls and 118 guestrooms. 

“We’re happy to welcome K2 Group as the newest owners of a Travelodge by 

Wyndham property within Canada,” says Trevor Hagel, executive vice-president 

of Operations, Travelodge Canada. “As the current ownership and operating 

group of the nearby Ramada Fallsview, one of the only hotels in the region to 

have remained open throughout the pandemic, they’ll certainly provide strong 

leadership and leading-edge improvements to the property.” 

“Through recent and pending transactional activity, we’re refining, enhancing 

and growing our existing hotel portfolio while increasing our exposure to a 

market with already strong growth trajectories,” says Kailash Kasal, president of 

K2 Group. “Niagara Falls is one of Canada’s most visited tourist destinations, and 

we look forward to working with Superior Lodging and Wyndham to enhance 

the already exceptional Travelodge experience and offer our guests the highest 

standard of hospitality.” 

“We’re excited to see K2 Group continue to invest in Niagara Falls,” says 

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati. “We look forward to working closely with 

the K2 team as they continue their work in up-levelling and developing more 

properties in our community.” 

NOW 

OPEN 

THE 

PEARLE 

HOTEL 

& SPA 

Ontario’s first Autograph 

Collection Hotel, The Pearle 

Hotel & Spa, has opened. 

Designed by Studio Munge, 

the 151-room hotel is located 

on the waterfront and features 

a Hammam steam room, an 

indoor swimming pool and a 

fitness centre in addition to 

the spa. The Pearle Hotel & 

Spa offers two dining concepts, 

Isabelle and Earth to Table: 

Bread Bar. Isabelle is headed 

by chef Ben Heaton and offers 

a lakeside terrace and patio 

seating while Earth to Table: 

Bread Bar is more casual. 

Much of their menu offerings 

are grown on Pearle Hospitality’s 

farmland roughly 20 

minutes from the hotel. The 

hotel also offers elegant spaces 

for weddings, retreats and 

other special events. 

BACK IN 

BUSINESS 

The town of Hornepayne, Ont. is set to 

open its first hotel in a decade within the 

next year. The new hotel will be a Studio 

6 franchise, with construction estimated 

to cost $7.6 million. Construction is 

expected to start in the spring and 

completed by December 2022. 



PASSING 

THE TORCH 

Best Western Hotels & Resorts has elected John L. Kelly as its Board 

Chairman for 2022. In his new role, Kelly will drive Best Western’s 

recovery, growth and future success. Kelly brings 28 years of Best 

Western ownership to his new role as Chairman, as well as decades of 

hospitality experience. He was initially elected to the Board of Directors 

in 2016 to represent the interests of hoteliers in District V, which 

includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. In 

fact, he owns and operates the Best Western Plus Yukon in Oklahoma, 

earning perfect quality-assurance scores and numerous accolades. 

“It’s a privilege to be elected as the Chairman of the Board for Best 

Western Hotels & Resorts,” says Kelly. “My membership with this 

remarkable organization has been a point of pride throughout my 

career and I’m honoured to serve in this leadership role on behalf 

of our family of hoteliers. Our organization has shown tremendous 

strength throughout the pandemic, and with the hope of recovery 

on the horizon, I look forward to working with my fellow directors to 

help lead our family into a brighter future. I believe the best is yet to 

come for Best Western Hotels & Resorts.” 

TOP HONOURS 

Trip Advisor has named The Hazelton in Toronto as the number-1 

hotel in Canada for the fifth-consecutive year. The Hazelton was also 

ranked among the top one per cent of hotels worldwide and received 

Traveller’s Choice Best of the Best award by Trip Advisor. 

“I’m honoured to lead a team of hospitality experts who continue 

to excel at the highest level. The Hazelton is committed to providing 

outstanding customer service across the property. The Trip Advisor 

awards we have earned are a testament to our dedicated team, as well 

as our guests – both new and returning – who have taken valuable time 

to share their experiences and support by rating us after their stay,” says 

Gaurav Dutta, general manager of The Hazelton Hotel. 

Additionally, The Hazelton renewed its five-year collaboration 

with Leading Hotels of the World. The hotel will also be unvieling 

its extensive renovation and the introduction of the new Presidential 

Bellair Suite designed by Yabu Pushelberg. Other renovations include 

ONE restaurant’s indoor dining room and bar, meeting spaces and the 

private Silver Screening Room. 

CURIO 

COMING TO 

CANADA 

Easton’s Group of Hotels will be building 

Canada’s first Curio by Hilton near Toronto’s 

Distillery District. Construction is expected to 

begin mid-2022. 

The new full-service 31-storey hotel will 

feature 392 guestrooms, as well as a rooftop 

bar and restaurant. Other features and amenities 

will include: ballrooms and conference spaces, 

spa and gym, main floor lobby, lounge and restaurant, 

five underground levels (four reserved for 

parking) and innovative loading dock. The 

hotel’s design will be led by IBI Architects, 

ERA Heritage Architects and Studio Munge. 


RECRUITMENT 

JOB INTERVIEW 

state of today’s 

THE workforce is 

characterized by chronic 

understaffing and challenges 

attracting and retaining 

talent and it's keeping 

our leaders up at night. In 

November 2021, Tourism 

HR Canada reported 

“unprecedented job vacancies,” 

with nearly 200,000 

vacant jobs and 14.4 per cent 

of industry jobs understaffed. 

With the rise of new 

COVID-19 variants, our 

colleagues nationally and 

globally are once again 

experiencing mounting 

uncertainty and new sets 

of restrictions. Although 

we may not know what the 

coming months will bring, we 

know we must look ahead for 

solutions with new, flexible 

and agile recruitment strategies 

to support recovery. 

A STRATEGIC MINDSET 

‘The Great Resignation’ 

made headlines in 2021, 

with record numbers of 

employees quitting their jobs 

in search of greater flexibility, 

autonomy, belonging and 

purpose. But what if we shift 

our mindset to view this as 

an opportunity for ‘a great 

acquisition?’ 

Acquiring talent starts 

with a strategic plan that lays 

out the course of action for 

identifying, recruiting, hiring 

and retaining talent. The 

most effective plans think 

beyond past practices of 

“post and pray” and instead 

deploy sales, marketing and 

digital-marketing approaches 

to capture talent market 

SUPPORTING 

RECOVERY 

Evolving recruitment strategies 

are key to recovery 

share. This includes developing 

a compelling employer 

brand which highlights 

organizational mission and 

campaigns directly to the 

ideal target candidate. If you 

are re-defining your employer 

brand, be unique and inclusive, 

but also genuine in what 

you’re offering. 

THE EMPLOYEE 

EXPERIENCE 

Today’s employees are 

subscribing to a new set of 

ideals, including an employee 

experience that will enhance 

their life and align with 

their values. Job descriptions 

remain a key touchpoint 

with prospective candidates 

and should be a thoughtfully 

crafted part of the marketing 

campaign. Your job descriptions 

should be a communication 

piece that speaks 

to your candidates about 

mission, leadership philosophy, 

opportunity for growth and 

contribution, and paints a 

clear picture of the employee 

BY CAYLEY DOW 

experience. Most importantly, 

you should re-write 

job descriptions in a way that 

welcomes diverse groups and 

speaks to candidates’ purpose 

as a member of your team. 

BUILD A TALENT 

COMMUNITY 

The key to finding candidates 

is to cast the net wide. The 

best way to do this is to 

establish an expectation that 

everyone in the organization 

has a role in recruitment. 

Some of the best candidates 

are lingering within your 

employee’s networks and 

social-media feeds. Looking 

at ways to activate these 

networks to build a talent 

community of passive candidates 

should be included in 

your recruitment strategy. 

LEVERAGE THE 

POWER OF SOCIAL 

With so many socialmedia 

outlets, it is difficult 

to know which is the most 

effective for attracting talent. 

Although LinkedIn and 

Indeed are the most common 

go-to’s for recruiting, Facebook 

groups allow employers to 

engage in genuine conversations 

with candidates. Videos 

on LinkedIn and Twitter 

are effective in discussing a 

job role instead of reading 

a standard job description. 

YouTube is valuable to leverage 

your employer brand and 

allows you to upload videos, 

build walk-throughs, employee 

testimonials and other 

content to showcase your 

employee experience. Short 

videos on TikTok are ideal to 

attract new workers, interns 

or graduates. Twitter is best 

for engaging millennials, 

while Instagram works to 

attract candidates seeking 

creative jobs. 

Moving forward, we need 

to recruit with a strategic 

mindset targeting passive 

candidates and highlighting 

the employee experience. 

Employers will need to act 

quickly in today’s competitive 

recruitment market.◆ 

Cayley Dow is the founder 

and CEO of Thrivity Inc., a 

human-resources consulting 

and coaching firm that helps 

service-oriented businesses to 

thrive in the ever-evolving world 

of work. 

FREEPIK.COM 



OPERATIONS 

LONG LIVE 

LOBBY BARS 

The lobby bar is back with a vengeance 

BY LARRY AND ADAM MOGELONSKY 

Larry and Adam Mogelonsky 

are partners of Hotel Mogel 

Consulting Limited, a Toronto-based 

consulting practice. Larry 

focuses on asset management, 

sales and operations while Adam 

specializes in hotel technology and 

marketing. You can reach Larry at 

larry@hotelmogel.com or 

Adam at adam@hotelmogel.com 

ISTOCK.COM/EXPLORA_2005 

Call it wishful thinking, 

but we’re anticipating 

the steadfast return of the 

hotel lobby bar now that 

COVID-19 restrictions 

are lifting. In fact, we 

predict such outlets stand a good chance 

at becoming big attractions in the year 

ahead, with hoteliers able to use them to 

differentiate their marketing approach 

and garner more bookings. 

The lobby bar (or rooftop bar) is 

a point of pride for many.With first 

impressions so important, it’s one thing 

to approach the front desk to check-in 

with music billowing the halls from 

a nearby lounge with most tables 

occupied by chattering patrons; it’s an 

entirely different matter to be greeted 

by an empty hall. 


Both of us have long been big fans 

of the upscale and hobnobbing lounges 

that hotels have painstakingly created 

because of the attention to detail in the 

decor, F&B, theme and overall vibe at 

these establishments. They are often 

attractions in their own right. Importantly, 

and in contrast to an empty lobby 

when checking in, this ‘scene’ acts to 

boost overall guest satisfaction and word 

of mouth to draw in more paying guests. 

The pandemic sadly shuttered 

many of these outlets, and the lack 

of foot traffic can make a place feel 

less welcoming. Without the hubbub, 

something feels off; it’s a void that 

bleeds into the hotel experience, subtly 

diminishing one’s appreciation for the 

guestroom product or other amenities. 

What we’re seeing on the ground 

right now, though, tells a different story 

— one of revival. With many lobby 

bars setting up gated entrances to check 

vaccination status, this conspicuous 

security chokepoint now elicits an 

air of safety, so much so that patrons 

are increasingly confident about 

returning to the pre-pandemic lifestyle 

of gathering at kinetic, close-quarters 

locations. Barring a major surge in virus 

caseloads that hammers this renewed 

spirit for socialization back down to 

its 2020 levels, our forecast is that the 

lobby bar only gets busier as global 

travel resumes. 

How do you take advantage of this 

emerging renaissance? How do you 

re-start a beverage-driven establishment 

to be both quantifiably profitable and 

work intrinsically to boost room reservations? 

In balancing these two realities, 

the latter is one that may not be readily 

measurable but is perhaps the more critical 

of the two as it drives total revenues 

for the property and gives your property 

a zero-base marketing tool. 

It’s no longer just about thinking 

of your bar or restaurant as a siloed 

revenue generator, but in its contribution 

to TRevPAR (Total Revenue 

Per Available Room). Does the lobby 

bar encourage more room reservations? 

Can the lobby bar positively influence 

TripAdvisor scores? Are there certain 

guest profiles that would be more 

inclined to spend at the lobby bar, 

thereby giving you a more detailed 

lookalike audience to hone your 

marketing efforts? These are a few 

cross-departments questions to ask. 

Design is critical here as your restaurant 

or bar has to be ready. If you have a 

renovation planned, the winter is the 

time to do it before what may be a 

great summer of travel come May 2022. 

Then, in addition to having such an 

operation already in place 

(big CAPEX is not exactly on the table 

at the moment) or making the binary 

decision about whether to re-open, 

most crucial is having the right staffing. 

Labour shortages severely limit your 

topline sales from this outlet, as well as 

perhaps forcing you to reduce your bar’s 

operating hours. 

Our top recommendation on the 

labour front is less is more. Food menus 

should be uncomplicated, featuring 

only your bestsellers to limit requirements 

on the kitchen and speed 

up table turns. Similarly, where it 

concerns beverages, it’s easier to crack 

a beer bottle or pour a glass of wine 

than to prepare an elaborate cocktail, 

even though the latter may have a 

price point set at several dollars above 

such simpler options. While cocktails 

help to differentiate your product in a 

unique way, it’s a balancing act because 

of the time drain involved. 

Next, from a design perspective, 

less is also more as you may need to 

contend with backlogged workorders 

and supply-chain issues that might 

make complex decor purchases 

harder to implement. Most guests 

would simply be happy just to have a 

home-base option at their disposal. 

Some hotel brands have great bar 

components and are poised to make it 

big as travellers return. Remember, a 

great bar not only provides marginal 

ancillary sales, but it also can produce 

a halo effect to subsequently drive 

more loyalty and bookings. And that’s 

ultimately what hotels need right now, 

so consider how your bar, or any restaurant 

outlet for that matter, can work 

holistically towards re-building your 

guestroom bookings where most hotels 

make the majority of their profits. ◆ 

Coming in 

March 2022 

• THE BUYER’S GUIDE 

• Trends: The Labour Shortage - Recruitment & Retention 

• Decor & Design: Bathrooms 

• Operations: Housekeeping & Laundry – Post COVID-19 

Cleanliness Standards & Protocols – Are they Sustainable? 

• Equipment/Technology: New Cleaning Technology 

• F&B: Health-Conscious Food Trends

EDITORIAL 

TIME TO 

KML fêtes the best-of-thebest 

at the 32nd-annual 

Pinnacle Awards 

1 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY 

JENNIFER O’NEILL 

2 



3 4 

5 

6 

7 8 

9 

10 11 

1. Registration desk at the 32nd-Annual Pinnacle Awards 2. (l to r) Peter Gillis, general manager 

Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, Toronto; Harmeet Chugh, hotel manager at Westin Harbour 

Castle, Toronto; Mike Truscott, area director of Operations, Canada at Marriott International; 

Don Cleary, president at Marriott Hotels of Canada; and Hiren Prabhakar, general manager & 

Chairman, Marriott Business Council for Central Canada at Marriott International 3. Anne Marie 

Johns with her son Tim, and sponsors of the Hotelier of the Year award, Nikola Bozic, 

national strategic key account manager, Foodservice & Hospitality, Nestlé Nespresso S.A. and 

Sandeep Kapoor, regional key account manager, Nespresso Professional / EVS Canada 4. Chris 

Siedel, vice-president, Encore Canada 5. Deepak Ruparell, president of Silver Hotel Group; 

6. Edwin Frizzell, regional vice-president Accor Central Canada & general manager, Fairmont 

Royal York 7. Supplier of the Year, Susie Grynol, her parents and her team from Hotel Association 

of Canada; 8. Company of the Year, Silver Hotel Group; 9. Rosanna Caira and Susie 

Grynol, president, Hotel Association of Canada; 10. Rosanna Caira, editor/publisher, KML 11. 

Amy Bostock, managing editor, KML 


(l tor) Sean Hogan, director of 

Food and Beverage & Social 

Marketing; Perry Vashee, 

president and Jeff Waters vicepresident 

of Operations 



PROFILE 

BUILDING 

COMMUNITY 

Community becomes Opal Hospitality’s 

competitive advantage 

BY NICOLE DI TOMASSO | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARGARET MULLIGAN 

erry Vashee says guest 

experience is more than 

just a tailored hotel term 

for customer service. 

When financial value 

plays a role in whether 

travellers will choose a 

property, the founder and president of Opal 

Hospitality says taking guest experience to the 

next level will ultimately ensure guest satisfaction 

and repeat bookings. For Opal Hospitality, it’s 

their number-1 priority. 

“We’re driven by creating experiences for 

[our guests],” says Vashee. “We know people 

are looking for something unique and different, 

so we cater to that.” 

Leaders in the development and management 

of hospitality spaces, Opal Hospitality has 

been led by Vashee since its inception in 

2018. Previously, Vashee was the director of 

Asset Management for Silver Hotel Group. 

He was also the director of Operations at 

Northampton Group for more than a decade, 

developing several award-winning hotels 

across Canada, including Fairfield Inn & 

Suites by Marriott in Ottawa and the first-ofits-kind 

Aloft Hotel by Marriott in Montreal. 

Vashee also sat on the owner’s boards for 

Holiday Inn and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. 

Today, Opal Hospitality’s team of experts 

also includes Jeff Waters, vice-president of 

Operations; Jay Mori, project manager; Sean 

Hogan, director of Food and Beverage and 

Social Marketing; and Reema Padia, controller. 

Together, they deliver a full range of services: 

hotel management, asset re-positioning, 

brand-product development, strategic 

consulting and project management. 

In just over three years, Opal Hospitality has 

grown its portfolio to include four casual-luxury 

hotels and one restaurant, including Double- 

Tree by Hilton and its onsite restaurant The 

Little Sparo in St. John’s, Nfld.; Canvas 

Moncton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton in 

Moncton, N.B.; The Walper Hotel in Kitchener, 

Ont.; and The Insignia Hotel in Sarnia, Ont. 

The company also has two properties currently 

in development. 

“We’ve seen a significant change in the 

hotel industry over the last two decades 

as more guests are in tune with design and 

technology,” says Vashee. “When we look at 

developing a hotel, we don’t necessarily go for 

whatever the latest design is. We look at form, 

functionality and community.” 

“Our hotels are community oriented,” says 

Waters. “They’re popular amongst people that 

live in those areas, and that makes them more 

interesting to stay in for those visiting from 

out of town. It allows tourists to experience 

the cities they’re in as if they’re locals.” 

Opal Hospitality honed in on the growing 

demand for localism for the significant investment 

and development of its east-coast properties. 

In fact, DoubleTree by Hilton was Opal 

Hospitality’s first purchase and 


e-positioning. In spite of COVID-19 

setbacks, the hotel opened in June 

2020, giving the company the opportunity 

to capture local business. Located 

on the waterfront near St. John’s 

downtown core, the property embraces 

the province’s prolific fishing grounds 

in its design, from wall vinyl blueprints 

of dories (traditional fishing boats) to 

refrigerators resembling lobster cages. 

“DoubleTree was completely gutted, 

right down to the bare bones,” says 

Vashee. “Our design lends itself to the 

island’s fishing industry without being 

overly done. [We wanted to create] a 

chic and upscale environment.” 

Then, in October 2020, The Little 

Sparo restaurant opened at DoubleTree 

by Hilton. With views of the harbour, 

The Little Sparo offers an array of Italian 

cuisine — such as beef carpaccio, squidink 

bucatini and squash risotto — curated 

by executive chef Tony Mackenzie. 

“We look to see what’s happening in 

the community and design food-andbeverage 

programs that complement 

that,” says Hogan. “Another big 

focus of ours is the finer details on 

how we deliver F&B, from decor and 

atmosphere perspectives to the type 

of products offered, and the level of 

service and experience that’s provided. 

That’s a big thing that attracts local 

clientele to our spots.” 

Hogan continues, “We’re really 

focused on the onsite dining experience 

and ensuring people feel comfortable 

and safe. But as restrictions started 

loosening up, naturally, people want to 

be out more, so we have also adapted 

to extend the guest experience off-site 

to incorporate ourselves in other adventures, 

[like our on-the-go hiking lunch 

concept, for example.]” 

Canvas Moncton, Tapestry Collection 

by Hilton, on the other hand, was a 

new build. It was announced in 

November 2019 as the first Canadian 

hotel in the Tapestry Collection 

by Hilton. Colliers Hotels recently 

negotiated a joint-venture transaction 

between FiveFive Queen Developments 

and Opal Hospitality, which will 

co-own and manage Canvas. Focused 

on artistic luxury, the hotel has been 

re-imagined as a vibrant social hub, 

with plenty of dining experiences and 

daily events to spark guests’ interest. Its 

coffee-to-cocktail bar has proven to be 

a successful concept, offering consumers 

the best of both worlds. Its on-site 

restaurant, Gahan House Pub & Oyster 

Bar, also doubles as a brewery. 

“We have an incredible partnership 

with 55Queen group in Moncton to 

develop Canvas hotel. They’re a 

visionary group that saw the potential and 

need for a lifestyle hotel in Moncton 

and supported the idea,” says Vashee. 

“Together we’re constantly assessing 

how we can continue to be a truly 

community-driven hotel.” 

At both DoubleTree and Canvas, 

Opal Hospitality delivers a multisensory 

experience upon arrival. Restobar 

concepts occupy lobby spaces, 

emerging as the focal point of design 

and inducing positive moods. “Our 

check-in desk is off to the side because 

we wanted the bar to be the centrepoint 

of the lobby,” says Vashee. “It’s a 

high-energy space, and that initial 

feeling when someone enters the hotel 

is critical to us. It doesn’t matter what 

time of day it is.” 

Vashee says the hotels have 

performed relatively well despite 

ongoing pandemic-related challenges 

plaguing the industry. While Double- 

Tree by Hilton’s performance was 

hindered by some of the toughest travel 

restrictions in the country, forcing 

its closure for a few months, Canvas 

remained operational. 

“St. John’s was more difficult because 

the island was closed off to the rest of 

Canada, but it re-opened in July 2021. 

We’re still penetrating the market as a 

new hotel, but we’ve seen good results 

from August to September,” says Vashee. 

Since the onset of the pandemic, 

Opal Hospitality has been laserfocused 

on establishing a social-media 

presence for its properties, which has 

become a lifeline for engaging its communities 

in the darkest of times. “We’ve 

been strategic about how we position 

ourselves on social media,” says Hogan. 

“I always knew utilizing social media 

was valuable, but we’ve really been able 

to turn on business by telling our audience, 

whether it’s on Facebook or Instagram, 

about the things we’re doing and offering,” 

says Waters. “We’ve been able to strike 

the right cord, and [our audience] relates 

to those things. We’ve seen great success 

utilizing our social media to tell stories 

that people find appealing.” 

Opal Hospitality’s approach to its guests 

extends to its staff, too. Its social media 

taps into the history of its properties and 

expresses genuine interest in the staff 

they hire, demonstrating company 

values to potential travellers who, in 

turn, will feel good about their 

accommodation choice. 

“We’re lucky to have such incredible 

teams at all of our hotels,” says Vashee. 

“Labour is a challenge right now, so 

we’re focusing on our people. [However,] 

in Moncton, we’re finding that people 

are actually seeking out work at Canvas 

because of our social-media presence 

and the perception of the property. Job 

satisfaction is a huge consideration in 

addition to pay scale, and housekeeping 

is difficult to attract and retain, so we’re 

working on providing flexible hours. 

We’re going to be spending a lot more 

time and energy working with our staff 

to create a positive environment.” 

In 2020, Opal Hospitality was 

awarded the Hilton New Developer of 

the Year Canada award in recognition 

of its work accomplishments and has 

hit the ground running in 2022, with 

new developments and projects already 

underway. The team is currently 

working on Bloom Hotel in Mississauga, 

Ont., a Tapestry Collection by 

Hilton featuring a destination restaurant 

and unique event space, as well 

as The Wellington Hotel in Prince 

Edward County, Ont. with multiple 

F&B concepts and a spa. Both hotels 

are set to open this year. 

For hotel owners, managers and 

developers that will be forced to 

navigate a fourth wave at the start of 

a new year, Vashee offers some advice. 

“There’s a fine line between costcutting 

because of the times we’re in 

and penalizing the customer that is 

coming to the hotel. We still have to 

let those customers know that even 

though other people aren’t travelling, 

they [aren’t receiving anything less.] 

They should be given a true experience 

and feel as though they have spent their 

dollars on something that mattered. It’s 

a fine balance, a very fine balance.”◆ 



FEATURE 

JIVE PHOTOGRAPHY [THE MUIR]; SIMON HAVENHAND [KING BLUE HOTEL] 

New brand launches are catering to 

the upscale guest experience 

BY DENISE DEVEAU 

Tempo Milwaukee Downtown 

The Muir, Autograph 

Collection, Halifax, N.S. 

King Blue Hotel Toronto 


The ups and downs of recent months 

may have slowed down development 

efforts in some regions, but operators 

haven’t been shying away from 

introducing new concepts to the 

market. Many new projects launched 

over the past year are targeting a 

growing customer base seeking more 

upscale experiences that hold a distinct 

appeal outside the cookie-cutter norm. 

Here is a look at some recently introduced 

concepts across Canada that are 

setting themselves up for success in 

2022 and beyond. 

Signature Styles 

Over the past year, Marriott did not let 

the pandemic halt expansion plans for 

its Autograph Collection portfolio in 

Canada. December 2021 for example, 

marked the launch of the Muir Hotel 

in Halifax, a new-build property located 

in the heart of the city’s coveted waterfront 

location. 

“We always wanted to offer a distinct 

hospitality experience for Haligonians 

and guests coming to town,” says 

Eugénie Jason, general manager. “Some 

travel restrictions led to construction 

delays, but that part is now behind us.” 

The guest profile runs the gamut 

from corporate to leisure, and international 

to local travellers. “It can cater 

to families travelling over weekends or 

business travellers, or couples enjoying a 

staycation on the waterfront,” she says. 

The hotel’s design, inspired by 

Maritime-Canada themes, complements 

the district, which includes luxury 

residences, office spaces, upscale 

restaurants and more than 75,000 sq. 

ft. of public spaces. 

Despite the instability that COVID- 

19 has brought to the industry, Jason 

believes there was no better time than 

December 2021 to launch their brand. 

“With new variants every other month, 

at some point you just have to put your 

toe in the water. This is a good time for 

us to ramp up and be ready for what we 

hope will be a busy summer season.” 

Humaniti Hotel in Montreal, another 

Marriott Autograph Collection hotel, 

opened in June 2021. Located at the 

intersection of Old Montreal and 

St. Catherine Street, the 193-room 

boutique hotel is one of the first to 

PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY MUIR HOTEL; SIMON HAVENHAND [KING BLUE HOTEL] 

(clockwise from top right) 

guest suite at the Muir Hotel, 

bike rentals at the Muir Hotel, 

King Blue Hotel Toronto, Drift 

Bar at the Muir Hotel 



(clockwise from top left) bathroom at the Tempo by 

Hilton, Get Ready Zone at Tempo by Hilton, Drift 

Restaurant at the Muir Hotel, Muir Hotel's GM 

Eugénie Jason 

NICOLE LAPIERRE PHOTGRAPHY [EUGÉNIE JASON]; PAULINE YU [DRFIT RESTAURANT] 

open in Canada since the start of 

the pandemic, says general manager 

Mathieu Duguay. “We appeal to the 

individualist traveller, who prefers the 

diverse, one-of-a-kind experiences that 

independent hotels offer.” 

Features include a ground-floor 

boulangerie, high-end supermarket, 

restaurants and lounges, rooftop pool, 

state-of-the-art fitness facilities and a 

vibrant art collection by local artists 

that starts on the street and ends in 

the guestrooms. Duguay likes to describe 

Humaniti as “a city within a building 

that draws visitors that share the 

creative spirit.” 

As for opening during the pandemic, 

it’s about instilling hope for the future 

of the industry, he says. “The entire 

industry has been heavily impacted by 

COVID, but we see the opening as an 

important symbol of confident optimism 

for the future of Canadian tourism.” 

This year, Accor introduced its first 

MGallery Hotel Collection property 

in the Canadian market with the acquisition 

and refurbishment of the Hotel 

Belmont in Vancouver. The five-storey, 

82-room ultra-premium heritage 

boutique hotel located on Granville 

Street, is now part of a global network 

of more than 100 MGallery properties 

around the world. 

“It was important to bring the brand 

to Canada, which is Accor’s home in 

North & Central America,” says Anatoly 

Kondratenko, VP, Development, Accor 

North & Central America, in Toronto. 

The Hotel Belmont is just the first 

step in the MGallery strategy for 

Canada, he adds. “Our aim is to have 10 

MGallery hotels in Canada by 2026.” 

Toronto saw a new upscale offering 

with the opening of the independent 

King Blue Hotel in the fall of 2021. 

It’s been described as a contemporary 

luxury boutique hotel inspired by 

Toronto’s Entertainment District. 

“Our front façade was built from the 

original six stories of the Canadian 

Westinghouse Company Building that 

date back to 1917,” says Robert Pratt, 

president, Sandman and Sutton Place 

Hotels in Vancouver. 

“Looking into the rear-view mirror, 

with four waves of COVID-19 behind 

us and still managing the uncertainty 

associated with new variants, what we 

have created is a boutique-style hotel 

with a proud and unique style that 

perfectly complements its new 

neighbourhood,” he says. 

Beyond the Borders 

Outside of Canada, the past year has 

seen new brand launches that will be 

making their way to Canada sometime 

in the future. 

Hilton is making its play for the 

upscale traveller with the launch of 

a new Tempo brand, which will be 

introduced to Canada soon, says global 

brand head, Kevin Morgan, Fairfax 


County, Va. “We’re looking at bringing 

Tempo to Toronto, Montreal and 

Calgary, among other locations within 

the next two to three years.” 

Morgan describes Tempo as “an elevated 

and approachable lifestyle brand 

that sits in the middle — above Hilton 

Garden Inn and below Canopy. The key 

audience is the rising class of modern 

achievers who don’t want boring and 

banal anymore or staying at cookie-cutter 

properties. They’ve reached a point in 

their career where they’ve received a few 

promotions and can afford to stay at a 

higher-end hotel centered on wellness, 

mindfulness and sustainability.” 

While COVID-19 delayed the 

project, Morgan sees it as a plus in 

some ways. “That extra time gave us 

the chance to go back and sharpen our 

pencils and make sure we would hit the 

mark 100 per cent. We looked back at 

everything, including the furniture, to 

find ways to improve our product.” 

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ new 

Registry Collection Hotels concept 

is specifically focused on the luxury 

segment. “The brand fills an important 

space at the upper end of our portfolio, 

allowing us to provide support to 

those who meet the highest standards 

of luxury service and accommodations,” 

says Chip Ohlsson, EVP, Chief 

Development Officer, North America, 

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Registry 

Collection Hotels, Parsippany, N.J. 

He notes that a noteworthy 

outcome of the pandemic was a strong 

increase in demand for leisure travel 

just ahead of the 2021 summer travel 

season, making the launch of the 

brand all the more timely. “In this 

new, remote, work-from-anywhere 

world, we saw a trend of ‘longer long 

weekends,’ with Thursday and Sunday 

night occupancy climbing to record 

highs last quarter.” 

The pandemic has not only opened 

potential new markets, but it is also 

transforming the entire guest experience, 

says Jason. “Whatever we are seeing 

in terms of change and service in 

luxury hotels is pretty much going 

to be the new norm, both in the way 

rooms are serviced and the equipment 

we provide, such as mobile check-in 

and keys.” 

But one important aspect will 

continue, she adds. “The human 

connection will always remain.” ◆ 

MUIR HOTEL 

INCREASE YOUR 

BOTTOM LINE WITH 

OUR CANADIAN 

BASED TEAM 

1.800.646.2435 

development@travelodge.ca 

travelodge.ca/development 

OVER 100 LOCATIONS 

ACROSS CANADA 

Scan to 

view more 

information


FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

AC HOTELS 

Marriott International, Inc. 

2425 Matheson Blvd. E., Ste. 100 

Mississauga, ON L4W 5K4 

905-366-5208 

marriottdevelopment.com 

Senior Director, Lodging 

Development, Canada: 

Aaron Laurie 

Director, Lodging Development, 

Canada: Duncan Chiu 

History, Plans 

- first AC Hotel opened in 2011 

- one property in Canada; 197 

outside of Canada 

- one property in development 

for Canada 

Franchise Costs 

- initial franchise fee US$90,000 

plus US$500/room in excess 

of 150 

- royalty fee 5.5% of GRS 

- program services contribution 

3.85% of GRS (includes a contribution 

to the marketing fund of 

2.5% of GRS); plus US$10,000/year; 

plus US$220/room/year 

Services 

- advertising/marketing 

- design 

- management 

- purchasing 

- staff training 

- supplies 

AIDEN BY BEST WESTERN 

Best Western Hotels & Resorts 

6557 Mississauga Rd., Unit D 

Meadowvale Ct. 1 

Mississauga, ON L5N 1A6 

905-816-4787 

bestwestern.com 

President: Lawrence M. Cuculi 

Chief Development Officer: 

Brad LeBlanc 


- established in 2018. 

- 13 properties outside of Canada 


- initial franchise fee $49,000 

minimum, plus $200/room for 

properties with more than 

50 rooms 

- marketing fee 1% of GRR plus 

$13.65/room/month 

- royalty fee 5% of GRRR; for a 

qualifying existing Best Western 

owner fee is 3.5% of GRR 

Services 


- design 

- lease negotiation 

- management 

- purchasing 

- revenue management 

- site location 


- supplies 

ALOFT HOTELS 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 




- first Aloft Hotel opened in 2008 

- three properties in Canada; 202 


- one property in development 

for Canada 




of 150 




to the marketing fund of 1% 

of GRS); plus US$10,000/year; plus 

US$220/room/year. 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- site review and analysis 


- supplies 

ASCEND HOTEL COLLECTION 

Choice Hotels Canada Inc. 

5015 Spectrum Way, Ste. 400 

Mississauga, ON L4W 0E4 

905-206-7316 

choicehotelsdevelopment.ca 

President, Choice Hotels Canada 

Inc.: Brian Leon 


- established in Canada in 2009 

- 24 properties in Canada; 286 

outside of Canada (all franchised) 


- initial franchise fee: $300 per 

room; minimum $45,000 

- advertising fee 1.25% 

- royalty fee 4% 

- reservation fee 1.25% 

Services 


- design 


- supplies 

AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 




- first Autograph property opened 

in 2010 

- six properties in Canada; 238 


- four properties in development 

for Canada 

Franchise costs 

- initial application fee US$100,000 

plus US$400/room in excess of 250 

- royalty fee 5% of GRS 


2.02% of GRS (includes a 

contribution to the marketing fund 

of 1.5% of GRS); plus US$40,000/ 

year; plus US$450/room/year 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

AVID HOTELS 

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 

2 Robert Speck Pkwy., Ste. 600 

Mississauga, ON L4Z 1H8 

416-675-6644 

avidhotels.com 

Regional Director, Upscale and 

Mainstream Development, Canada: 

Stuart Laurie 


- established in 2017 


- plans to add five properties 

in Canada 


- total investment $ 7,7062,820 

to $9,398,535 

- royalty fee 5% GRR 

- marketing fee 3% GRR 

- application fee $500/room; 

$50,000 minimum 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- site selection 


- supplies 




FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts 

22 Sylvan Way 

Parsippany, NJ 07054 

800-889-9710 

wyndhamdevelopment.com 

Executive Vice-President and Chief 

Development Officer: Chip Ohlsson 



- five properties in Canada; 514 

properties outside of Canada 


- initial franchise fee: new 

construction & conversion 

$2,500 plus the greater of 

$26,000 or $260 per room 

- total investment $208,813 - 

$7,304,504 

- application: $2,500 

- royalty: 5% of GRR 

- marketing: 3.5% GRR 

Services 

- architectural services/design 


- conventions and area meetings 

- development & design 

- field support 

- financial assistance 

- group tour material 

- group savings 


- purchasing 

- quality assurance audits 

- quality control 

- reservation systems 


- supplies 

- technical services 

- worldwide sales 

BEST WESTERN 





905-816-4787 




Brad LeBlanc 


- established in 1946 in Long 

Beach, Calif. 

- 59 properties in Canada; 1,805 




minimum, plus $200/room 

for properties with more than 

50 rooms 






Services 


- design 


- management 

- purchasing 




- supplies 

BEST WESTERN PLUS 





905-816-4787 




Brad LeBlanc 


- established in 2011 in 

North America 







50 rooms 






Services 


- design 


- management 

- purchasing 




- supplies 

BEST WESTERN PREMIER 





905-816-4787 




Brad LeBlanc 


- established in 2003 in Europe 

and Asia, 2011 in Canada and U.S. 







50 rooms 






Services 


- design 


- management 

- purchasing 




- supplies 

BW PREMIER COLLECTION 

BY BEST WESTERN 





905-816-4787 




Brad LeBlanc 






- initial franchise fee $25,000 plus 

application fee of $4,000 

- monthly fee (sales, marketing 

and technology fee) 5% of GRR 

Services 


- design 


- management 

- purchasing 




- supplies 

CAMBRIA HOTELS 

Choice Hotels International 

1 Choice Hotels Circle, Ste. 400 

Rockville, MD 20850 

800-547-0007 

development@choicehotels.com 

choicehotelsdevelopment.com 

President & CEO, Choice Hotels 

International: Pat Pacious 

SVP, Franchise Development, 

Upscale Brands: Mark Shalala 


- founded in 2007 

- zero properties in Canada; 58 


24 | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 2021 hoteliermagazine.com


FRANCHISE 

REPORT 


- initial fee: $500 per room (new 

franchises), minimum of $60,000; 

$750 per room (transfers/renewals), 

minimum $65,000 

- royalty fee: 6% GRR 

- system fee 3% GRR 

Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising, Inc. 

255 Washington St Ste 270 

Newton, MA, 02458-1634 

development@sonesta.com 

franchise.sonesta.com 

SVP, Franchise Development: 

Mike Castro 

RVP, Franchise Development: 

Andre Giannandrea 



- franchised by Red Lion Hotels 

Franchising Canada, Inc., 

since 2017 

- 20 properties in Canada 

- sister brand, Americas Best Value 

Inn, franchised in the U.S., has 

540 properties 


- initial/application fee $16,500 for 

first 50 rooms; $150/room over 50 

- monthly membership fee 

(Royalty) first 50 rooms $23.50/ 

room/month; 51 to 75 rooms $19.50/ 

room/month; 76+ rooms $18.50/ 

room/month ($860 monthly 

minimum) 

- marketing fee $17/room/month 

- no loyalty fees 

Services 


- CRS and CRO 

- groups, meetings, conventions 

sales and support 

- guest-recognition program 

- reputation management/guest 

relations 

- local marketing support 

- revenue management assistance 

- STR/Rate Shop 

- travel industry sales 

CANDLEWOOD SUITES 




416-675-6644 

candlewoodsuites.com 

Regional Director, Midscale 

Franchise Sales & Development, 

Canada: Stuart Laurie 


- established 1995 

- three franchised properties in 

Canada; 356 outside Canada 

- plans to add five properties 

in Canada 


- total investment $8,992,560 

to $12,373,515 

- royalty fee 5% GSR 

- marketing fee 2.5 % GSR 

- application fee: $500/guest suite, 


Services 


- design 

- management 



- supplies 

CLARION 




905-206-7316 





- established in 1994 in Canada 

- nine properties in Canada; 264 








Services 


- design 


- supplies 

CLARION POINTE 




905-206-7316 






- two properties in Canada; 39 








Services 


- design 


- supplies 

COAST HOTELS 

APA Hotel International Limited 

700 - 535 Thurlow Street 

Vancouver, B.C., V6E 3L2 

604-642-4104 

coasthotels.com/managementfranchise/ 

Vice-President, Development: 

Mark Hope 


- established in 1972 in Gold River/ 

Tahsis, B.C. 

- 26 properties in Canada; nine 

outside of Canada (26 franchised 

in total) 

- continued expansion planned in 

Western Canada 



minimum, or $150 per room, 

whichever is greater 

- advertising fee 2% 

- distribution fee 1.5% 

(reservations fee) 


- revenue management fee 1% 

- other fees 1% 

Services 

- accounting 


- design 


- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

- reservations and distribution 


COMFORT 




905-206-7316 






- 147 properties in Canada; 

1,970 outside of Canada 

(all franchised) 





- royalty fee 5.50% 


Services 


- design 


- supplies 




FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

COUNTRY INN & SUITES 

BY RADISSON 

Radisson Hotel Group Americas 

1601 Utica Ave. S., Ste. 700 

St. Louis Park, MN 55416, U.S.A. 

800-336-3301 

radissonhotelsamericas.com 

Chief Executive Officer: Tom Buoy 


Phil Hugh 



Minneapolis, Minn. 

- eight properties in Canada; 476 

outside of Canada (465 are 

franchised) 

- plans to open a new property in 

Ajax, Ont. and elsewhere 

throughout Canada 



- total cost US$1,927,024- 

$9,625,369 




Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 






1,210 outside of Canada 

- 13 properties in development 

for Canada 




of 150 





2% of GRS); plus US$10,000/year; 

plus US$220/room/year. 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

CROWNE PLAZA HOTELS 

AND RESORTS 




416-675-6644 

crowneplaza.com 

development.ihg.com 

Senior vice-president, Upscale 

Development: Julienne Smith 

Regional Development Director, 

Mainstream, Canada: 

Stuart Laurie 



- seven properties in Canada 

(all franchised); 402 outside 

of Canada 


- total investment: $ 29,831,350 - 

$55,161,440 


- marketing fee: 3% GRR 

- application fee: $500/guest 

room, $75,000 minimum 

Services 


- design 

- management 



- supplies 

DAYS INNS HOTEL & SUITES 

Days Inns - Canada 

Master Franchisor in Canada 

Realstar Hotel Services Corp., 

Division of Realstar Hospitality 

(Wyndham Hotel Group) 

77 Bloor St. W., Ste. 2000 

Toronto, ON M5S 1M2 

416-966-8387 

daysinn.ca 

President and COO: Irwin Prince 


- franchising in Canada began 

in 1992 

- 106 franchised properties in 

Canada; 1,600-plus outside 

of Canada 

- plans to add five (+/-) properties 

in Canada 


- initial franchise fee minimum 

$45,000 


- marketing fee 1.5% 

- reservations fee 2.3% 

Services 


- design 

- global reservations 

- national sales network 

- operational support 

- purchasing 



- tradeshow representation 

DELTA HOTELS 

BY MARRIOTT 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 




- acquired Delta Hotels and 

Resorts in 2015 



- two properties in the pipeline 

for Canada 


- initial application fee 

US$100,000 plus US$400/room 

in excess of 250 





1.5% of GRS); plus US$45,000/ 


Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

DOUBLETREE BY HILTON 

Hilton 

7930 Jones Branch Dr. 

McLean, VA 22102 

703-883-1000 

hilton.com/en/corporate/ 

development/ 

President & CEO: 

Christopher Nassetta 

Senior Director, Development, 

Canada: Jeff Cury 



- 18 properties in Canada (all 

franchised); 606 outside of 

Canada 



for the first 250 rooms, plus 

US$400 per additional room 

- royalty fee: 5% of Gross Rooms 

Revenue 

Services 


- design 

- Hilton Honors guest-reward 

program 

26 | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 hoteliermagazine.com


FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

ECONO LODGE 




905-206-7316 







outside of Canada (all 

franchised) 







Services 


- design 


- supplies 

ELEMENT HOTELS 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 




- first Element Hotel opened 

in 2008 

- five properties in Canada, 76 





of 150 







Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

EMBASSY SUITES BY HILTON 

Hilton 



703-883-1000 


development/ 







- four properties in Canada 


of Canada 





- royalty fee: 3.5% year one; 

4.5% year two; 5.5% year three 

and thereafter of Gross Rooms 

Revenue 

Services 


- design 


program 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

EXECUTIVE HOTELS 

AND RESORTS 

1080 Howe St., 8th Fl. 

Vancouver, BC V6Z 2T1 

604-642-5250 

executivehotels.net 

President: Salim Sayani 


- established in 1986 in Vancouver 

- 11 properties in Canada, three 



- fees available upon request 

Services 


- design 


- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

FAIRFIELD INN & SUITES 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 







- 18 properties in development 

for Canada 




of 125 





2.5% of GRS); plus US$7,000/year; 


Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

FOUR POINTS BY 

SHERATON 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 







- seven properties in development 

for Canada 




of 150 







Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 




FRANCHISE 

REPORT 


255 Washington St., Ste. 270 

Newton, MA, 02458-1634 




Mike Castro 





Franchising, Inc. since 2015 

- re-launched as Extended Stay 

Brand in late 2020 

- 14 properties outside Canada 

- expansion planned in Canada 


- application fee $20,000 for first 

60 rooms; plus $150/room over 

6t membership fee $60/room/ 

month (includes royalty and 

marketing) 

- no Loyalty Fees 

Services 


- CRS and CRO 

- CRM 

- design assistance 



- guest recognition program 


- procurement assistance 


relations 




HAMPTON BY HILTON 

Hilton 



703-883-1000 


development/ 








(60 franchised); 2,678 outside 

of Canada 


- initial franchise fee: US$75,000 




Revenue 

Services 


- design 


program 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

HAWTHORN SUITES 

BY WYNDHAM 


22 Sylvan Way 


800-889-9710 


Executive Vice President and 


Chip Ohlsson 



- 84 hotels outside Canada 


- initial fee: new construction 

& conversion = $2,500 plus the 

greater of $40,000 or $400 

per room 


$11,726,092 

- application fee: $2,500 

- royalty fee: 5.5% of GRR 

- marketing fee: 2.5 % GRR 

Services 










- management 

- purchasing 





- supplies 



HILTON GARDEN INN 

Hilton 



703-883-1000 


development/ 







- 29 properties in Canada (all 

franchised); 903 units outside 

of Canada 





- royalty fee: 5.5% of Gross Rooms 

Revenue 

Services 


- design 


program 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

HILTON HOTELS & RESORTS 

Hilton 



703-883-1000 


development/ 






- established in 1925 in Texas 


(nine franchised); 580 outside 

of Canada 






Revenue 

Services 


- design 


program 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

- supplies 

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS 




416-675-6644 

holidayinnexpress.com 






FRANCHISE 

REPORT 




Canada; 2,907 outside of Canada 

- plans to add 23 units in Canada 


- total investment: $8.993,365 

to $13,129,670 

- royalty fee: 6%GRR 



room; $50,000 minimum 

Services 


- design 

- management 



- supplies 

HOLIDAY INN HOTELS 

AND RESORTS 




416-675-6644 

holidayinn.com 







Canada; 1,183 outside of Canada 

- plans to add four properties in 

Canada 


- total investment: $12,959,720 

to $19,809,160 




room; $50, 000 Minimum 

Services: 

- advertising/ marketing 

- design 

- management 



- supplies 

HOME2 SUITES BY HILTON 

Hilton 



703-883-1000 


development/ 







- seven franchised properties in 

Canada; 503 outside of Canada 3 


- US$75,000 flat franchise fee 


Revenue 

Services 


- design 


program 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

HOMEWOOD SUITES 

BY HILTON 

Hilton 



703-883-1000 


development/ 







- 22 properties in Canada (21 

franchised); 502 outside of 

Canada 





- royalty fee: 3.5% year one; 

4.5% year two; 5.5% year three 

and thereafter of Gross Rooms 

Revenue 

Services 


- design 


program 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 



Newton, MA, 02458-1634 




Mike Castro 




- franchised in the U.S. since 2014 

- four properties outside of 

Canada 

- expansion underway in Canada 


- application fee $50,000 

- royalty fee $83.33/room/ 

month; marketing (program 

flat fee $8,333.33/month for 

hotels with one to 150 rooms 

and $12,500/month for hotels 

with 151+ rooms 

Services 


- CRM 

- CRS and CRO 







relations 


- sales and support 




22 Sylvan Way 


800-889-9710 




Chip Ohlsson 




- 290 outside of Canada 




$2,500 plus the greater 

of $35,000 or $350 per room 


$11,726,092 


- royalty: 4.5% of GRR 

- marketing: 2% GRR 

Services 










- purchasing 





FRANCHISE 

REPORT 




- supplies 



HYATT HOUSE 

Hyatt Hotels Corporation 

150 N. Riverside Plaza 

Chicago, IL 60606 

416-300-8215 

hyattplace.com 

Vice-President, Real Estate and 

Development (Canada): 

Scott Richer 


- one franchised property in 

Canada; 124 outside of Canada 

(franchised and managed); four 

in the pipeline for Canada 


- application fee US$75,000 plus 

US$500/room (over 150 rooms) 


- marketing fee 3.5% GRR 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

HYATT PLACE 




416-300-8215 




Scott Richer 


- established in on franchising 

since 2005 

- one managed and six 

franchised property in 


(franchised and managed); 

- 12 in the pipeline for Canada 


- application fee US$75,000 plus 

US$500/room (over 150 rooms) 


- marketing fee 3.5% GRR 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

HYATT REGENCY 




416-300-8215 




Scott Richer 


- established in 1967; franchising 

since 2006 

- three managed Hyatt Regency 

properties in Canada; 224 

outside of Canada (franchised 

and managed) 

- one in the pipeline for Canada 


- application fee US$100,000 

or US$400/room (whichever 

is greater) 

- royalty fee 6% GRR plus 3% F&B 

- program fee: refer to current 

FDD 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

INTERCONTINENTAL 

HOTELS & RESORTS 




416-675-6644 

intercontinental.com 


Senior vice-president, 

Development Upscale & Luxury 

and Transactions & Asset 

Management: Julienne Smith 

Regional Development Director, 

Mainstream, Canada: 

Stuart Laurie 



- three properties in Canada 

(all managed); 203 outside 

of Canada 


- total investment $70,494,125 

to $103,087,610 





Services 


- design 

- management 



- supplies 

JOIE DE VIVRE BY HYATT 




416-300-8215 




Scott Richer 


- two franchised properties in 


(franchised and managed) 




is greater) 


- program fee: 3.5%GRR 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

KIMPTON HOTELS 

& RESTAURANTS 




416-675-6644 

kimptonhotels.com 


Vice-President, Development: 

Dan Thorman 







to $70,127,050 

- royalty fee 6% GRR, plus 2% of 

gross food-and-beverage sales 




Services 

- advertising/Marketing 

- design 

- management 



- supplies 



FRANCHISE 

REPORT 



Newton, MA, 02458-1634 




Mike Castro 





Franchising, Inc., since 2018 





- initial/application fee $16,500 for 

first 50 rooms; $150/room over 50 

- royalty for first 50 rooms 

$40.50/room/month; 51to 75 

rooms $36.50/room/month; 

76+ rooms $35.50/room/month 

($1,620 monthly minimum) 

- marketing fee $17/room/month 


Services 


- CRS and CRO 





- reputation management/ 

guest relations 


assistance 




22 Sylvan Way 


800.889.9710 




Chip Ohlsson 



- two properties in Canada 






$55,000 or $550 per room 

- total investment: $3,958,307 - 

$13,536,449 


- royalty: 4.5-5% of GRR 


Services 










- management 

- purchasing 





- supplies 



LE MERIDIEN HOTELS 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 











- royalty fee 5% of GRS, plus 2% of 

gross food and beverage sales 






Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

(THE) LUXURY COLLECTION 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 





- one property in the pipeline 

for Canada 






- program service contribution 

2.32% of GRS (which includes 

a contribution to the marketing 

fund of 1% of GRS); plus 

US$40,000/year; plus 

US$450/room/year 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

MAINSTAY SUITES 




800-547-0007 






Extended Stay: Ron Burgett 







- initial fee: $300 per room 

(new construction/conversion), 

minimum of $50,000; $550 per 

room (transfers/renewals), 



- system fee: 2.5% GRR 



TM 

TM 


FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

MARRIOTT HOTELS 

(INCLUDING JW MARRIOTT) 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 






(three JW and 17 MH) 

- 682 properties outside of 

Canada (104 JW and 578 MH) 












Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

MGALLERY HOTEL 

COLLECTION 

Accor North & Central America 

155 Wellington St. W., Ste. 3300 

Toronto, ON M5V 0C3 

416-874-2600 

group.accor.com/en/hoteldevelopment 

SVP Development, North & Central 

America: Mark Purcell 


- first MGallery in Canada opened 

in December 2021 in Vancouver, 

- MGallery Hotel Collection is 

comprised of more than 

100 hotels worldwide 


- initial franchise fee: $95,000 plus 

$300 per room for every room 

over 250 rooms 

- royalty fee: 5% of GRR 

- marketing fund fee: 1.5% of GOR 

- loyalty fee: 4.75% of all qualified 

hotel loyalty revenue (excludes 

members’ first stay) 

- distribution fee: varies depending 

on the channel 

MICROTEL BY WYNDHAM 


22 Sylvan Way 


800-889-9710 


Executive Vice President and Chief 

Development Officer: Chip Ohlsson 






- initial franchise fee: new construction 

= $2,500 plus the greater 

of $40,000 or $400 per room 

- total investment $5,824,238 - 

$6,895,873* new construction only 

- advertising fee: 2% GRR. 


Services 










- purchasing 





- supplies 



MICROTEL INN & SUITES 

BY WYNDHAM 

Master Territorial Developer in 

Canada: MasterBuilt Hotels Ltd. 

(Wyndham Hotels & Resorts) 

#410, 211 11TH AVE SW 

Calgary, AB T2R 0C6 

403-698-8528 

masterbuilthotels.com 

President: David Donaldson 



(eight franchised) 

- properties under construction 

in Summerside, PEI, Ottawa, ON, 

Dorval, QC and Boisbraind QC, 

more than 15 in development/ 

planning stages 





- loyalty/rewards program fee 5% 

Services 


- design 


- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

Monte Carlo Inns 

Your home away from home 

Monte Carlo Hotel 

Motel International 

218 Export Blvd., Ste. 601 

Mississauga, ON L5S 0A7 

888-564-6194 

montecarloinns.com 

VP of Operations: Justin Meffe 

VP, Franchise Development: 

Danny Pedone 



- eight properties in Canada 


- looking to expand in southern 

Ontario 

Franchise Report 


or $400/room 



Services 


- design 


- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 



FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

MOTEL 6 


Realstar Hospitality Corp., Division 

of Realstar Hospitality 

(G6 Hospitality LLC) 



416-923-8387 

motel6.com 



- franchising in Canada began 

in 2003 

- 31 franchised properties 

in Canada; 1,400-plus outside 

of Canada 

- plans to add five (+/-) properties 

in Canada 




- program fees 3.5% 

Services 


- design 



- purchasing 



MOXY HOTELS 




905-366-5208 



Development, Canada: Aaron 

Laurie 





- 100 properties outside 

of Canada 

- four properties in the pipeline 

for Canada 




of 150 




to the marketing fund 



Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

NOVOTEL CANADA 

Accor North & Central America 

155 Wellington St. W., Ste. 3300 

Toronto, ON M5V 0C3 

416-874-2600 

group.accor.com/en/hoteldevelopment 

SVP Development, North & 

Central America: Mark Purcell 


- first Novotel in Canada estab - 

lished in 1985 in Mississauga, ON 

- six properties in Canada; 540+ 

worldwide 


- initial franchise fee: $95,000 plus 

$300 per room for every room 

over 250 rooms 


- marketing fund fee: 1.5% of GOR 

- loyalty fee: 4.75% of all qualified 

hotel loyalty revenue (excludes 

members’ first stay) 

- distribution fee: varies depending 

on the channel 

PARK INN BY RADISSON 

Radisson Hotel Group 



800-336-3301 




Phil Hugh 




- four properties in Canada; 

142 outside of Canada 

(70 franchised) 

- plans to open new properties 





$20,956,027 




Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

QUALITY 




905-206-7316 














Services 


- design 


- supplies 

RADISSON 




1-800-336-3301 




Phil Hugh 





outside of Canada (146 franchised) 






$52,337,635 



- distribution fee 2% 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

RADISSON BLU 




800-336-3301 




Phil Hugh 




FRANCHISE 

REPORT 





outside of Canada (126 franchised) 





- total cost US$21,414,010- 

$121,764,855 




Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

RADISSON RED 




800-336-3301 




Phil Hugh 





(2 franchised) 






$32,789,635 





22 Sylvan Way 


800.889.9710 


EVP and Chief Development 

Officer: Chip Ohlsson 





of Canada 





$35,000 or $350 per room 


$9,713,219 




Services 










- purchasing 





- supplies 





Newton, MA, 02458-1634 




Mike Castro 






- expansion in Canada planned 



minimum of $60,000 

- royalty fee 5% of GRR 

- marketing fee 3% of GRR 

Services 


- CRS and CRO 

- CRM 







relations 


assistance 






Newton, MA, 02458-1634 




Mike Castro 





- 38 properties in the U.S. 



- application fee $300; minimum 

of $40,000 


- marketing (program) fee 3% 

of GRR 


Services 


- CRS and CRO 

- CRM 





relations 







Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 



FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

REGISTRY COLLECTION 

HOTELS BY WYNDHAM 


22 Sylvan Way 


800.889.9710 








construction & conversion = 


$50,000 or $500 per room 

- total investment: $463606 - 

$37,180,989 


- marketing fee: 3% of GRR 

RENAISSANCE HOTELS 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 




- acquired Renaissance Hotels 

in 1997 

- three properties in Canada; 171 






- royalty fee 5% GRS 

- program contribution services: 

2.12% of GRS and ClubSport 

revenues (includes a contribution 


1.5% of GRS); plus US$50,000/ 


Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

RESIDENCE INN 

BY MARRIOTT 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 




- acquired Residence Inn in 1987 



- five properties in the pipeline 

for Canada 



plus US$500/suite in excess of 150 






year; plus US$65/suite/year 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

RODEWAY INN 




905-206-7316 






- nine properties in Canada; 




- initial fee: $200 per room; 


- advertising fee: 1.25% 

- royalty fee: 4.% 

- reservation fee: 1.25% 

SHERATON HOTELS 

& RESORTS 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 

















Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 



Newton, MA, 02458-1634 

Development@sonesta.com 



Mike Castro 




- re-launched 2018 

- six properties in the U.S, including 

Signature (midscale) properties 



- application fee $20,000 for first 

70 rooms; plus $150/room over 70 

- flat membership fee $50/room/ 

month (includes royalty, marketing, 

and PMS license) minimum 

of $2,000 per month 

Services 


- CRS and CRO 

- CRM 







relations 





SLEEP INN 




905-206-7316 







FRANCHISE 

REPORT 



- four properties in Canada; 435 








Services 


- design 


- supplies 

SPRINGHILL SUITES 

BY MARRIOTT 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 





- two properties in Canada; 508 


- four properties in pipeline 

in Canada 









year; plus US$220/suite/year 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

STAYBRIDGE SUITES 




416-675-6644 

staybridgesuites.com 

Regional Director, Upscale and 

Mainstream Development, 






- plans to add seven more 

properties in Canada 



- $ $22,456,565 


- marketing fee 2.5% GRS 

(combined reservation and 

training fee) 

- application fee $500/suite; 


Services 


- design 

- management 



- supplies 

STUDIO 6 


Realstar Hospitality Corp., Division 

of Realstar Hospitality 

(G6 Hospitality LLC) 



416-923-8387 

staystudio6.com 




- one franchised property 

in Canada; 100-plus outside 

of Canada 

- plans to add two (+/-) properties 

in Canada 




- program fees 3.5% 

Services 


- design 



- purchasing 



SUBURBAN EXTENDED 

STAY HOTEL 




800-547-0007 













- initial fee: $225 per room 

(new franchise), minimum of 

$30,000; $475 per room 

(transfers/renewals), 

minimum of $30,000 



SUPER 8 BY WYNDHAM 


22 Sylvan Way 


800-889-9710 







- 2,598 outside of Canada 





of $25,000 or $250 per room 


$5,059,152 




Services 










- purchasing 





- supplies 





FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

Master Territorial Developer 

in Canada: Superior Lodging 

Development S8 Corp. 

(Wyndham Hotels & Resorts) 

#410, 211 – 11th Ave SW 


403-543-8800 

super8.ca 

EVP, Operations: Trevor Hagel 

VP, Franchising and 

Development: Mike Bobbitt 




- plans to add four locations 

in 2022 





Services 


- design 


- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

SURESTAY HOTEL GROUP 





905-816-4787 


President: David Kong 


Brad LeBlanc 







minimum, plus $100/room for 

properties with more than 100 

rooms; application fee of $2,500 

- marketing fee 4% of GRR 


Services 


- design 


- management 

- purchasing 




- supplies 

TAPESTRY COLLECTION 

BY HILTON 

Hilton 



703-883-1000 


development/ 







- two properties in Canada; 







Revenue 

Services 


- design 


program 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

THRIFTLODGE 

Master Franchisor in Canada: 

Superior Lodging Development 

TL Corporation (Wyndham Hotels 

& Resorts) 

#410, 211 – 11th Ave SW 


800-646-2435 

travelodge.ca 





- Canadian operations 

established in 1992 in Alberta 


Canada 

- plans to increase brand port 

folio by 10-per-cent net growth, 

concentrating on secondary 

and tertiary markets 





Services 


- annual conference 

- loyalty program 

- opening and training support 

- partnership synergies 

- purchasing 

- quality assurance 


TOWNEPLACE SUITES 

BY MARRIOTT 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 







- 17 properties in the pipeline 

in Canada 






3.35% of GRS (includes a contri 

bution to the marketing fund of 



Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

TRADEMARK COLLECTION 

BY WYNDHAM 


22 Sylvan Way 


800.889.9710 






- 11 hotels in Canada; 103 outside 

of Canada 



& conversion $2,500 plus the 


per room 

- total investment: $193,606 - 

$13,432,600 


- membership: 4% of GRR 





FRANCHISE 

REPORT 

Services 










- purchasing 





- supplies 



TRAVELODGE 

Master Franchisor in Canada: 

Superior Lodging Development 

TL Corporation (Wyndham Hotels 

& Resorts) 

211 – 11th Ave SW, Ste. 410 


800-646-2435 

travelodge.ca 





- established in 1945 in the U.S.; 

Canadian operations established 

in 1992 in Alberta 


Canada 

- plans to increase brand portfolio 

by 10-per-cent net growth, 

concentrating on secondary and 

tertiary markets 



to $35,000 



Services 


- annual conference 

- loyalty program 

- opening and training support 

- partnership synergies 

- purchasing 

- quality assurance 


TRIBUTE HOTELS 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 




- two property in Canada; 59 



for Canada 



plus US$400/room in excess of 

250 guestrooms 



2.42% of GRS (which includes 

a contribution to the marketing 

fund of 1.5% of GRS); 

plus US$40,000/year; plus 

US$450/room/year. 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

TRU BY HILTON 

Hilton 



703-883-1000 


development/ 







- two properties in Canada 


of Canada 


- US$75,000 flat franchise fee 


Revenue 

Services 


- design 


program 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 


22 Sylvan Way 


800.889.9710 






- 86 hotels outside Canada 



& conversion = $2,500 plus the 


per room 


$25,812,380 


- royalty: 5% of GRR 


Services 










- purchasing 





- supplies 



(THE) UNBOUND 

COLLECTION BY HYATT 




416-300-8215 




Scott Richer 


- established in/franchising 

since 2016 



(franchised and managed) 




is greater) 


- program fee: 3.5%GRR 

Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 



- supplies 

WESTIN HOTELS & RESORTS 




905-366-5208 




Aaron Laurie 





FRANCHISE 

REPORT 


- Established in 1941 




in Canada 





- royalty fee 7% GRS, plus 3% of 





1.325% of GRS); plus US$50,000/ 


Services 


- design 

- management 

- purchasing 


- supplies 

WINGATE BY WYNDHAM 


22 Sylvan Way 


800.889.9710 


Executive Vice President and Chief 

Development Officer: 

Chip Ohlsson 









of $36,000 or $360 per room 


$11,549,659 




Services 










- purchasing 





- supplies 



WOODSPRING SUITES 




800-547-0007 












- initial fee - $50,000 (if more 

than 122 rooms, $300 per 

room additional) 



WYNDHAM GARDEN 


22 Sylvan Way 


800.889.9710 





- three properties in Canada 






of $35,000 or $350 per room 


$13,900,097 

- advertising fee 3% GRR 


Services 










- purchasing 





- supplies 



WYNDHAM HOTELS 

& RESORTS 

22 Sylvan Way 


800.889.9710 





- Established 1996 

- zero properties in Canada 





$10,000 plus the greater $50,000 

or $500 per room 

- total investment: $1,349,994 - 

$70,703,960 




Services 










- purchasing 





- supplies 



DON'T SEE YOUR COMPANY LISTED? 

CONTACT US TO BE INCLUDED IN NEXT 

YEAR'S FRANCHISE REPORT 

abostock@kostuchmedia.com 



Q&A 

Passion Project 

Bonnie Strome, GM of the Park Hyatt Toronto, talks about the recent 

re-opening of the iconic Toronto landmark and the challenges and 

opportunities of overseeing a luxury property in this new COVID-19 era 

INTERVIEW BY ROSANNA CAIRA 

Rosanna Caira: Can you 

walk us through what 

the renovation process 

has been like and what 

you wanted to accomplish 

with the renovation 

of this iconic property? 

Bonnie Strome: The 

renovation couldn’t have 

been better timed, but the 

planning dated back far 

before the pandemic started 

as we looked to re-position 

this hotel to be a competitor 

in the luxury market. 

The Park Hyatt brand has 

always been synonymous with 

luxury and taking a product 

to that level was not a small 

undertaking, with the magnitude 

of the construction that 

has been completed at the 

site, to ensure we understood 

what the guest experience 

needed to be — from the 

restaurants through the bar 

experience to the guestrooms. 

[We actually created] a model 

room so we could experience 

it and see what works and 

what doesn’t and what needs 

modifications before we 

rolled it out on scale. It’s been 

a transition over the period 

of time that it was renovated 

— obviously not anticipated 

to be that long — but in 

hindsight, all the stars lined 

up so as we came into 2021, 

we were able to strategically 

decide when it was the right 

time to open versus just the 

completion of the construction 

being the biggest factor 

for that decision. So, we 

feel very good about the 

time we were able to come 

in the market that things 

were growing brighter, and 

we could actually launch a 

luxury property. 

RC: What precipitated 

the need to undertake 

this large-scale 

renovation? 

BS: The luxury landscape 

in Toronto changed back 

in 2012/2013, with the 

introduction of newly built 

luxury-branded properties. 

That said, obviously, it wasn’t 

instantaneous. So, we decided 

to complete a renovation in 

combination with the sale of 

the hotel in 2014 to Oxford 

Properties Group, who are 

obviously very savvy in the 

world of development, and 

had all of the tools in their 

kit to be able to really evaluate 

this site to see what the 

next iteration of this hotel 

could be and then to put 

together a plan to make it 

happen. It’s no small feat, 

what’s been accomplished at 

this property, and it took a 

group such as Oxford Properties 

to be able to do that. The 

goal was to keep the brand 

but build the product to suit 

and match the brand expectations 

from a luxury perspective. 

And knowing that we 

are at the best address in the 

city, [it was about bringing] 

this piece of real estate to a 

different level that made it 

sustainable going forward 

as well — the evaluation of 

the uses on sites between 

the hotel and the residential 

rental residences is a balance, 

along with future retail space. 

Bringing this corner to life 

for Yorkville was the goal 

and making sure that it’s a 

super activated piece of the 

community. 

RC: How many rooms 

in the new property, 

and how different is 

that from the number 

of rooms that were 

there previously? 

BS: We originally had 346 

guestrooms and the new 

hotel has 219 guestrooms, 

which is the right size for a 

luxury hotel. The other big 

change is the appointment of 

suites. We have 40 new suites 

that are beautifully appointed 

and specifically built to 

be well-functioning suite 

space. Also, we had 15,000 

sq. ft. of meeting space, but 

the new hotel has just a 

little bit under that — but 

again completely re-designed 

and very well appointed. 

Part of the new build of 

the hotel houses our new 

ballroom — an entire floor 

dedicated to the ballroom 

with pre-function space and 

dedicated kitchens to those 

spaces as well. The location 

in Yorkville is very supported 

by social, business, weddings, 

bar mitzvahs (we have a 

kosher kitchen as well) so 

the re-introduction of a 

really well-built living space 

that functions very well for 

BRANDON BARRÉ 



EDITORIAL 

I love this 

industry and I 

do feel like I’m 

probably a 

little bit on a 

cloud still, 

because I just 

got to launch 

this great hotel 


the needs of both social and 

corporate clients has been 

built into the new design 

and a new restaurant with 

130 seats and a new bar. In a 

lot of ways, the trickiest part 

of the building was to make 

sure we got the bar right. It’s 

an iconic bar and so many 

people really call that home 

in a lot of ways. We’ve seen 

regulars flip back to try the 

new bar and so far it’s been a 

thumbs up from everybody in 

regard to the new iteration. 

RC: In 2020, COVID-19 

changed the dynamic 

of every hotel operation 

— not just in Canada, 

but around the world. 

Looking back at how 

the hotel was designed 

in 2017, in a different 

period, will you be doing 

anything differently? 

BS: I wouldn’t say that 

anything significant stands 

out in regard to what we 

would maybe have done 

differently with the design. 

The needs of the guest in the 

local community are different 

and we take our cues from 

them in regard to the safety 

measures we put in place. But 

if additional safety measures 

need to be in place, we take 

our cues from those guests 

that maybe need something 

greater. I don’t know that we 

were able to identify anything 

specific to say we would have 

designed it differently. 

A couple of things that 

have really been a success 

include the design of Joni 

Restaurant, which is about 

well-spaced tables. In this 

capacity game, being able 

to hear the guest feedback 

that the safety measures of 

vaccine passports to come 

into the space are great, 

it’s a bit of an open air, it’s 

not a closed-in space so it 

makes people more comfortable. 

With the spacing of 

the tables, they can enjoy 

themselves in a vibrant 

environment, but not have 

to be next door to someone 

so closely. 

RC: How have you 

changed the checkin 

process to make it 

contactless? 

BS: We have all the contactless 

technologies available 

for the guests through our 

World of Hyatt program. 

So, if they have the loyalty 

program, they can use 

mobile check-in and have 

their key on the phone. 

What we’re finding though, 

is the high touchpoints of a 

luxury experience are still 

expected. So again, we take 

our cues from our guests as 

we communicate with them 

pre-arrival what their needs 

are going to be and sharing 

that these technologies are 

available. But I would have 

to say in almost all cases, our 

guests have been comfortable 

to check in with the sanitization, 

masking and all of those 

pieces, and to be escorted 

to their guestrooms, if they 

would like to take us up on 

that request. There’s been a 

comfort level around that, 

that goes with the higher 

brand, making sure they take 

safety very seriously as well. 

The luxury high touchpoints 

I find are something we need 

to be hitting the mark on 

every time because they are 

starting to return to travel. 

And they have big expectations. 

And they’re celebrating 

things that they’ve put 

on hold for a year and a 

half. They leave the safety 

pieces to us, but they want to 

make sure that they get a full 

luxury experience. 

RC: From the housekeeping 

perspective, 

have you had to adjust 

your housekeeping 

department protocols 

to take into consideration 

the times we’re 

living in? 

BS: The safety and cleaning 

protocols are all followed 

for the sanitization of all 

the common spaces and our 

employees don’t access a 

guestroom if a guest is there. 

We also give [guests] the 

option to choose not to have 

[housekeeping] service. A 

lot of that training went into 

that as we launched the hotel 



were able to get a trip in 

when it’s a nice time to travel 

hyperlocal. And no matter 

how much people want to 

travel, they’re probably going 

to do it on a smaller scale or 

a night away and in their city 

of choice or close by. 

RC: Will the consumer 

of tomorrow, 

who has been impacted 

by COVID-19, change 

dramatically from the 

consumer of prepandemic 

times? 

GILLIAN JACKSON; BRANDON BARRÉ [RESTAURANT] 

but we’ve continued to offer 

twice-daily service and again, 

most guests are accepting of 

it and would like it — I don’t 

think we’ve had anybody 

that’s declined, or very few. 

We take our cues from our 

guests. We have all the 

options available to them, 

but we want to make sure 

that we’re not underestimating 

a luxury experience. 

RC: Moving forward, 

will the luxury experience 

change dramatically 

because of everything 

that’s gone on in 

the last two years? 

BS: No, my sense is that 

[guests will] continue to 

have high expectations 

of what that those service 

touchpoints are. And 

making sure that full-service 

is not just a part of their 

experience, but an expectation 

of us as an operator. 

RC: With people travelling 

less, primarily from 

a business perspective, 

are you concerned 

about what that means 

for hotels like yours that 

offer luxury premium 

product? 

BS: It is going to be a long 

road to recovery for sure, for 

the whole industry. What 

we’re seeing right now we 

can’t call a trend because 

people have just been allowed 

to start to travel again. So, 

people’s travel patterns may 

fall back into what they used 

to be. I give the team here an 

example of let’s not assume 

a person from Europe that 

would come spend 10 nights 

at our hotel to visit family in 

the summer isn’t going to do 

so in January instead, because 

they’re just not going to wait 

anymore, it’s been two years, 

they’re just going to do it. 

But in the future, they would 

probably roll back to their 

preferred times once they 

get this first visit out of the 

way. It’s hard to tell what the 

trends look like right now, 

although corporate is a big gap 

and definitely a needed piece 

of the business for guestrooms 

as well as small meetings. 

And what we’re seeing is 

those senior leadership teams 

are starting to meet and do 

things and we’re benefiting 

from those groups that 

are deciding to have small 

meetings and travel again. 

But it definitely needs to be 

on a bigger volume for the 

whole city to sustain growth 

to what we used to have. The 

other segments that will be 

a little slow coming back are 

going to be the individual 

business traveller. So those 

two [segments] combined 

with groups not being held 

in the same scale are going to 

need to come back before the 

hotel is going to see strong 

recovery. 

RC: Do you see the 

hyper-local trend that 

we saw through the 

last year and a half as 

we all started relying 

more on domestic 

tourism, because international 

tourism had 

dried up, continuing? 

BS: It will phase away a little 

bit because again, people 

BS: In the short term, and 

that could be another year or 

two, we’re still going to see 

caution out of a lot of travellers. 

And I hear from our 

guests that although they’ve 

made the choice to travel, 

they’re hyper aware of what 

they choose to do. So, the 

positive is that they’ve chosen 

to travel but there will still be 

a lot of caution. But I do think 

people want to get back to 

some sense of normalcy. 

RC: What will be the 

greatest change that 

you anticipate for 

your business moving 

forward? 

BS: Launching a hotel 

during a pandemic was easier 

than having operated one 

through one, but it hasn’t 

been without its challenges 

from a staffing perspective 

and the workforce, which we 

all know has taken a large 

hit in hospitality sector. And 

unfortunately, it also has a 

long road to recovery. It’s 

not a quick fix of a matter 

of months — there’s going 

to have to be some strong 

thoughts to how, as an industry, 

we start to re-build that 

workforce. We were very 

fortunate to be hiring during 

a time where we were able 

to put a great team in place. 


That said, we’re not done 

yet. We have just over 200 

employees and we need to 

keep growing as we continue 

to see our business hit those 

levels that we anticipate in 

the future. Understanding 

this new workforce is going 

to be a learning curve for 

many, myself included. 

Work-life balance is going 

to be such a big factor for 

people so in an industry that 

operates 24/7, it’s not easy to 

find that that balance. 

RC: Everybody’s 

complaining about the 

labour shortages in the 

hotel industry. What 

does the industry need 

to do to solve this riddle? 

BS: There’s always a couple 

of things that drive people to 

want to work for an employer 

and what I find is that 

number-1 is not necessarily 

wages and compensation, but 

the workplace, the culture, 

what it offers someone as far 

as a sense of purpose. The 

quick reaction is we pay 

more, we’ll get more and I 

don’t think that’s been the 

case in a lot of situations. I 

don’t know that’s necessarily 

the formula that’s going 

to bring in the volume of 

employees that every operator 

is going to need. I do think 

there’s room to evaluate it 

for sure and understanding 

what’s important. Again, I 

find it’s not necessarily the 

compensation, it might be 

time away, healthcare, flex 

time. The other challenge 

to finding labour is that we 

obviously have a gap with the 

school and the graduations 

that didn’t happen and the 

student during COVD. 

A lot more mentoring is 

going to need to happen in 

our industry and we really 

need to get back to basics 

as to how do we realize that 

team members are coming 

from a different place than 

maybe they were before. 

There’s so much more mentoring 

needed to help them 

understand the industry; to 

get them to fall in love with 

the industry. Maybe we need 

to start younger — at the 

high school period where you 

try to attract their attention 

[and offer]co-op placements 

—that’s worked very well for 

some hotels. 

RC: As a leader, and 

leading through these 

turbulent times, do 

you feel like your 

leadership style has 

had to change? 

BS: There are some days 

right now when I question 

that. It’s a big shift and my 

leadership role in the last 

four years has been on a very 

diminished scale. So now 

getting back up into a full, 

ramped-up hotel, I feel like 

everything I used to know 

about leadership, I have to 

take a step back and go home 

at night to re-evaluate what 

I think I know — because I 

don’t think I know it anymore. 

A lot of it has to do with, 

again, a very different mindset 

in the workplace. Bringing on 

a whole lot of new mindset at 

the same time. And it’s not 

small introductions of new, 

it’s all new. What I’ve learned 

about leadership over the 

years, though, is if you can’t 

stop and evaluate your own 

strengths and weaknesses, you 

can’t expect others to be doing 

the same for the teams they’re 

leading. So, I’ve had a few of 

those moments already where 

I need to stop, take a breath, 

re-group and strategize a little 

bit because it’s going to be just 

a different path forward, 

RC: The industry has 

gone through so much 

turbulence change 

in the last 19 months. 

How optimistic are you 

about the hotel industry 

moving forward out of 

this period? 

BS: I love this industry and 

I do feel like I’m a probably 

a little bit on a cloud still, 

because I just got to launch 

this great hotel. The future 

is very positive, just not in 

the short term — it’s going 

to be a slow, uphill climb 

for the industry. I encourage 

everyone to make sure that 

we’re moving forward — the 

days of being reactionary, 

out of necessity, need to get 

behind us — and we need 

to be strategic as an industry 

versus again, just quick stops 

to make sure we can get that 

next revenue dollar in. And 

yet, I feel very fortunate to be 

launching a new hotel. I love 

being able to sit and have a 

glass of wine or lunch in a 

space and hear people and be 

around people again. So, you 

get excited about the socialization 

that’s ahead of us. And I 

think people are ready for it. 

RC: What have been 

some of the biggest 

lessons that you’ve 

learned in the past 

18 months? 

BS: At the peak times of 

COVID, I was working 

out of my home office like 

everybody else was, with 

a small team of five or six 

people. At that time, I felt 

relief that I didn’t have the 

weight of an operating hotel 

on my shoulders. And as 

we got closer and closer, 

what I learned was you 

have to make decisions and 

stick with them — you can 

always adjust later. But make 

decisions that benefit the 

team; make decisions that 

benefit the business. And 

then if there’s after-effects, 

we’ll look at them and evaluate 

versus not make that decision 

at all. ◆ 

You can listen to the entire 

episode of Checking In here 




TRENDS 

RECIPES FOR RECOVERY 

Across the country, hotels are mixing it up to boost the re-bound 

BY ROBIN ROBERTS 

ISTOCK.COM/SOLOVYOVA 

As hoteliers survey the 

damage wrought by 

COVID-19, they see hope on 

the horizon. Yes, emerging 

variants continue to threaten a full 

recovery, but borders have re-opened, 

lockdowns have lifted across most of 

the country and travellers are feeling 

the confidence to book hotel rooms. 

That confidence was hard-earned, as 

hotels have gone above and beyond to 

maintain health-and-safety protocols 

in order to re-assure guests. But now 

they turn their attention to wide-ranging 

strategies to aid in the continued 

recovery and long-term stability of 

their decimated industry, and to go 

from merely surviving, to thriving. 

STAYCATIONS WILL STAY 

“The name of the game right now is 

‘flexibility and adaptability’ with any 

strategy,” says Nicole Nguyen, director, 

CBRE Hotels. “In the summer there 

was a strong push towards staycations. 

And now that we’ve entered meeting 

and conference season, hotels are 

looking at how to adapt to hybrid 

meetings, and all the things that are 

still making meeting planners scratch 

their head as they try to put an 

event together.” 

But business travel still has not 

returned to the same extent as leisure. 

“What we can claim to know so far, 

based on solid data, is that business 

travel came back before leisure after the 

previous recessions, but this time we 

see quite the opposite,” says Dr. Gabor 

Forgacs, associate professor emeritus, 

Ted Rogers School of Management at 

Ryerson University. “Even the updated 

cleaning-and-sanitization protocols, 

touchless service solutions or new 

labels will not create better conditions 

for the business traveller, who needs 

to better justify the return on travel 

expenses in the face of technology 

alternatives for face-to-face meetings. 

Those business travellers who need to 

earn the business of a client and are 

desperate to get back on the road, [are 

also being] offered a growing number of 

suitable alternatives.” 

So, owners and operators have 

remained focused on attracting the 

long-stay domestic vacationers through 

targeted advertising and marketing 

campaigns, as well as via social media. 

“Properties were saying, ‘Come stay 

here, here’s what you can do while 

here, it’s family-friendly, outdoors, 

you can be safe,’” says Nguyen, who 

nevertheless hasn’t heard of any hotels 

embarking on major renovations or 

additions solely to attract staycationers. 


“A lot of resorts already have expansive 

grounds to hike, but that wasn’t necessarily 

why [travellers] went there. It 

was more about going to the pool. But 

with pools and fitness centres closed, 

it [became] more about promoting the 

things you could do instead of drawing 

attention to the things [you couldn’t].” 

OFF-LOADING 

AND RE-FLAGGING 

Laura Baxter, director of Hospitality 

Analytics, Canada, for the CoStar 

Group, says hoteliers have, thanks in 

large part to government and lender 

supports, managed to hang on to their 

properties, but there has been some 

trade action. “Some hotel-ownership 

groups have been offloading their 

non-core assets,” she says. “Also, there 

was the sale of [Toronto’s] King Blue 

Hotel, and, in late September, Greenland 

Group Canada sold its newly 

developed hotel located in downtown 

Toronto. [That] occurred after the 

parent company’s debt was downgraded. 

The seller did generate $598,000 per 

key despite the market lagging in its 

recovery compared to other location 

types. And this strong pricing reinforces 

confidence in the long-term recovery of 

the area.” 

Baxter also notes that the Rapid 

Housing Initiative, a federally backed 

program aimed to create 3,000 

supportive housing units across the 

country, focused on major urban 

centres, was an incentive for hoteliers 

to sell. “There were several sell-offs in 

Vancouver, typically rundown [properties], 

but the pricing was healthy and in line 

with pre-pandemic values, generally 

speaking. So, if a hotel company was 

aiming to generate liquidity, that was 

a bit of an incentive.” 

As for re-flagging, Carrie Russell, 

senior managing partner for HVS, says, 

“I wouldn’t say there is a race to do 

anything right now in the industry as 

everyone remains, to some degree, in 

survival mode and re-flagging can come 

at a cost. I will say that we expect to 

see more re-flagging as we come out of 

the pandemic and hoteliers look to find 

creative ways to increase cash flow.” 

Russell expects any re-flagging will be 

driven by increasing construction costs, 

supply chain and inflationary pressures 

for new builds. “That might push 

investors to buy existing properties 

and convert them to a different brand, 

sometimes taking them ‘up-market’ 

versus building something new.” 

But re-branding up-market will 

almost certainly require renovations 

and other improvements, which will 

necessitate a significant investment. 

And because of COVID-related 

revenue depletions, there’s just not a 

lot of extra cash lying around, so many 

properties have let their upgrades slide. 

Also, “You want to have a greater level 

of certainty of how the recovery is going 

to go in your particular market for your 

particular asset before you invest $4 

or $5 million dollars to renovate and 

re-flag,” says Nguyen. 

Re-flagging down-brand, on the 

other hand, usually won’t require any 

upgrades, but, without any kind of 

certainty of how the recovery will look, 

it also may be too much of a risk. And 

continued supply-chain issues could 

leave hoteliers stuck. “The worst-case 

scenario is that business volumes pick 

ISTOCK.COM/YAKOBCHUKOLENA [MAN IS USING MODERN TECHNOLOGIES IN 

HOTEL ROOM]; ISTOCK.COM/MAKSYM BELCHENKO [WAITER IN A MASK] 



ISTOCK.COM 

up, you’ve started a 

reno that has to be 

completed, but your 

FF&E is stuck on a 

cargo ship somewhere,” 

says Nguyen. “[That’s] 

not a workable situation.” 

Some companies have actually been 

using their FF&E reserves to free up 

cash flow to pay down loans or supplement 

operational costs, says Baxter. As 

for the other option of going independent, 

she says that “would mean fewer fees 

to pay to the brand, but on the flip side 

there’s less support, no access to their 

loyalty programs or to their central 

reservations system, so there’s the 

risk of losing some of their brand 

loyal customers.” 

DEALS AND DISCOUNTS 

With occupancy rates last summer 

still hovering around the 65-per-cent 

mark, some hoteliers have offered 

special deals and discounts just to put 

heads in beds and feather their nests, 

but that has a down side. “There are 

thousands of hotels, and if everybody 

starts dropping [rates], then what are they 

really yielding as an individual operator?” 

says Nguyen. “All they’re doing is 

driving the base price of a commodity 

down and that’s not going to help when 

they have to pay more labour, increased 

cleaning protocols, et cetera. It’s a 

question of, ‘Does this make economic 

business sense? Is it going to yield me 

enough to make it worthwhile?’” 

Also, “The choice for most consumers 

to travel today is not a price-driven 

one, it’s a confidence- and safetydriven 

choice. If the room’s $10 

cheaper that’s great, but it’s not 

enough if someone is not comfortable 

with traveling in general.” 

BOTTOM LINE 

While the climb out of the pandemic 

has been a slog, and while the industry 

remains hopeful, Dr. Forgacs splashes a 

bit of cool-water reality on the notion 

of a rapid recovery, especially with new 

variant, Omicron, on the rise. 

“There are too many moving parts 

with unknown variables” to make any 

solid predictions, he says. “The travel 

industry is nowhere near pre-pandemic 

numbers. The changes in the way work 

is performed as a result of the acceptance 

of remote work, telecommuting 

and flextime will change the value of 

location. If [many] workers will not 

have to commute to downtown offices 

any longer, that will change traffic 

patterns, plus the need for downtown 

hotels with the same capacity. [Also] 

real-estate value will be impacted.” 

Still, Nguyen says there’s reason for 

optimism. “Canada has been going in 

the right direction with COVID,” she 

says, “and hotels have given Canadians 

that comfort that we can get back to 

business as usual. But we’re still waiting 

for the floodgates to open, and we got 

a small taste of it this summer. But the 

taps turned off so quickly, cancellations 

and closures happened so fast, and the 

taps won’t turn on the same way. It will 

be more of a dripping tap. It’s slow and 

frustrating, but ultimately we really 

believe there will be forward progress.”◆ 


FOLLOW US 

ON INSTAGRAM 

Covering a wide range of topics, including the 

latest hotel trends as well as profi les of the most 

infl uential people in Canada’s hotel industry. 

@HOTELIERMAGAZINE 

FIND US ON 

LINKEDIN 

Covering everything from hotelier profiles 

to the latest hotel equipment and technology 

trends in Canada’s dynamic hotel industry. 

Visit Us

OPERATIONS 

SELLING POINTS 

ISTOCK.COM/TERA VECTOR 

Hotels are 

adopting new 

sales-and-marketing 

strategies to attract 

COVID-conscious 

clients 

BY JESSICA HURAS 

The pandemic has fundamentally 

changed the way consumers 

travel. As the hotel industry 

continues to grapple with 

the reverberating impacts of 

ongoing travel restrictions, it’s 

clear that catering to the post-pandemic 

guest goes beyond advertising hand-sanitizing 

stations in lobbies and promising 

masking protocols. From guiding guests 

through today’s more complicated travel 

landscape to bringing a fresh perspective 

to existing property features, hotels are 

adopting new sales-and-marketing strategies 

to attract COVID-conscious clients. 

Many hotels are finding success in 

shifting the target audience for their 

sales-and-marketing campaigns. With 

many travellers hesitant about taking 

their first post-pandemic vacations, some 

properties are focusing their efforts on 

appealing to local guests. 

“We’re well-placed to have international 

travellers and we will [eventually] have 

that reach but, in the immediate time, we 

have to look at those markets that are a 


little bit closer to home: New York, 

Toronto, Montreal,” says Patrick 

Kilvert, director of Sales for Halifax’s 

recently opened Muir, Autograph 

Collection. “Maybe they feel safer 

taking an hour or two-hour flight as 

opposed to an international flight,” 

he adds, noting that regional travellers 

have been the target of Muir’s initial 

digital ad campaigns. 

Christine Mulligan, director of 

Sales & Marketing at Gladstone 

House in Toronto, says that local 

travellers are also a key post-pandemic 

audience for their property. 

“I think people are looking for that 

staycation, whether you’re driving from 

Montreal or you might even just be 

driving from Oakville,” she says, noting 

their focus on local markets in Ontario 

and Quebec in particular. 

Ann Layton, founder of Siren 

Communications, a Toronto-based 

travel and tourism PR agency, has 

observed an increased interest in 

multi-generational travel, which may 

represent an untapped guest category for 

some hotels. “The grandparents haven’t 

been able to see the grandkids for two 

years and now they’re getting vaccinated 

and they just want to be with 

family,” she says as an example. “They 

want adjoining rooms or larger suites 

because of this whole idea of ‘let’s all go 

somewhere together.’” 

Layton notes that one of Siren’s 

clients, Wymara Resort Turks & 

Caicos, built villas during its pandemic 

downtime in anticipation of marketing 

to this new wave of multi-generational 

travellers who want to vacation together 

in their family bubbles. 

Other hotels are re-framing their 

existing features with post-pandemic 

travel in mind. David Kelley, general 

manager of Toronto’s SoHo Hotel & 

Residences, says his team has been 

highlighting the property’s small size 

more than ever before. “Our approach is 

to market our hotel for what it’s always 

been, which is a small hotel, but all of 

a sudden that’s even more desirable,” 

he says. “People don’t want to go to big 

hotels where you’re going to run into 

100 people in the lobby.” 

Mulligan agrees that boutique properties 

have an advantage in the post-pandemic 

marketing landscape. “The size of the 

hotel has always been really attractive in 

getting that feeling of exclusivity,” she 

says. “That’s always been favourable for 

smaller hotels and, post-pandemic, it’s 

still very much on point.” 

Kelley says the SoHo has also been 

promoting an in-room element that he 

would never have imagined being a focal 

point prior to the pandemic: the HVAC 

system. Part hotel and part residence, 

the SoHo was originally constructed 

as a condo-style building with separate 

HVAC systems in every room. “We 

aren’t recycling air through everybody’s 

guestrooms. The air that’s in your room 

is only in your room because it’s a standalone 

unit, just like you’d have in a 

condo,” he explains, saying this feature 

has huge appeal for many SoHo guests. 

Kilvert says that Muir’s current 

marketing strategy emphasizes the 

property’s inclusion under the Marriott 

umbrella more than it may have done in 

the pre-COVID era. “Communicating 

that we’re part of the Marriott brand 

may have come a little bit more to the 

forefront,” he says. “The [fact] that the 

Marriott brand has health-and-safety 

measures in place is top of clients’ 

minds. Marriott is a trusted resource 

with a commitment to clean in place.” 

With travel restrictions and testing 

rules continuing to change almost daily, 

some hotels are highlighting how they 

can help simplify a potential guest’s travel 

experience. Perhaps the ultimate example 

of this is the Crane Resort in Barbados, 

which built a full-service COVID-19- 

testing facility on its property. 

“One of the barriers to travel is the 

confusion around testing and the costs 

of testing. Say I’ve got a family of four, 

but PCR tests could take up to three 

days — do I have to quarantine in a 

hotel room with three kids? What’s the 

price?” explains Layton. “The Crane is 

a really good example of a hotel proactively 

addressing this issue. Its guests get 

their tests right in the room and they 

can turn around the test in under three 

hours — even a PCR test.” 

Hotels are also promising potential 

guests a hassle-free experience in simpler 

ways. For example, Kilvert says Muir’s 

strategy includes a focus on the pre-arrival 

experience and providing guests with 

frequent communication about what 

they can expect on their journey to-andfrom 

the hotel. “Guests are looking 

for us to be those experts in the travel 

protocols,” he says. “We really want to 

put guests in control of the experience so 

they can know what to expect.” 

The promise of personalized service 

has always been a key part of the 

sales-and-marketing approach at the 

SoHo, but Kelley says COVID-19 has 

changed what that service looks like 

and how they advertise it to guests. 

The hotel is now promoting its app 

which, among its features, allows guests 

to communicate with staff and ask 

questions without in-person contact. 

“We still provide the same level of 

service, we’re just communicating in a 

different way,” explains Kelley. 

Ultimately, however, Kilvert believes 

that while COVID-19 may have driven 

shifts in the story hotels tell their 

potential guests, the fundamentals of 

effective sales and marketing remain 

the same. “It always starts with the 

brand story and getting that message 

out there,” he says. “That’s no different 

regardless of the pandemic.” ◆ 

ISTOCK.COM/TERA VECTOR 



Have the 

top business 

headlines 

conveniently 

delivered to 

your inbox 

every Monday 

& Wednesday 

morning 

VISIT hoteliermagazine.com/newsletter/ 

to activate your subscription 

Hospitality 

Headlines

EQUIPMENT 

CASTING 

CALL 

GUESTS ARE LOOKING FOR AN IN-HOME ENTERTAINMENT 

EXPERIENCE WITHOUT THE BELLS AND WHISTLES 

BY DENISE DEVEAU 

ISTOCK.COM/STEFANAMER 

For the past decade or more, hotel 

operators have been upgrading their in-room 

entertainment systems as guest preferences 

and technology evolves. The past two years, 

however, have accelerated their efforts as guests 

are spending more time in their rooms due to 

COVID-19 restrictions, and access to endless 

libraries of streaming content have taken over 

more traditional entertainment options. 

“Entertainment has always been a part of 

relaxation, luxury and enjoyment, and as more 

Canadians integrate premium entertainment 

technology into their day-to-day at home, they 

expect the same experience or better as hotel 

guests,” says Mary Peterson, vice-president, IT 

& Enterprise Solutions, Samsung Electronics 

Canada in Toronto “Today’s guests are looking 

for a hotel experience that’s similar or better 

than what they’re used to in their daily lives. 

“Two years ago, people familiar with 

YouTube TV, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO and 

Disney+, and other streaming/casting services, 

have been adopted strongly on the consumer 

side, [this doesn’t make sense] which means the 

commercial side needs to provide those entertainment 

options,” says Kara Heermans, SVP 

User Experience & Product Management for 

Sonifi in Sioux Falls, S.D. 

Since the pandemic began, guests have 

been staying a bit longer at hotels because 

of quarantining. Heermans says Sonifi’s 

internal studies of 3,500 properties show that 

the amount of time watching cast content has 

skyrocketed in the past two years. “Guests are 

casting an average of an hour-and-a-half per 

time, seven times over a two- to three-day 

stay. To date, guests have been casting over 

2,300 individual apps.” 

One added advantage of casting from personal 

devices is enabling foreign-language content, 

she notes. “Three years ago, that wasn’t even 

available. Now guests can stream content of 

their own choosing in their own language.” 

All brands are recognizing the importance 

of streaming as another opportunity to provide 

a positive guest experience, says Heermans. 



“Marriott, IHG and Hyatt are using their own flavours [???] 

as well.” 

Platforms that are personalized and innovative are 

becoming one of the most important aspects of the guest 

journey for modern travellers, says Jeff Edwards, senior 

vice-president, Property, Owner & Stay Experience 

Products and Platforms, for IHG Hotels & Resorts. 

The IHG Studio in-room entertainment system, part of 

its IHG Connect bandwidth and Wi-Fi platform, allows 

guests to instantly and securely cast from their own smartphones 

or personal devices to the in-room television, he 

explains. “Being able to cast their content directly from 

their mobile devices without having to enter anything on 

the TV gives guests the peace of mind that their credentials 

are staying on their device.” 

This is a big leap from previous iterations, when guests 

had to wait in front of the TV at a certain time to catch 

their favourite shows on a certain channel. Today, guests 

travel with their content library and can access it from any 

smart device on their time, says Edwards. “This is a fundamental 

shift in how people watch their favourite shows. So, 

we must change the way we think about how guests like to 

watch their shows and cater to that.” 

For Ana Yuristy, Chief Services Officer at The Drake 

in Toronto, the hotel’s recent expansion provided the 

perfect opportunity to explore new in-room entertainment 

options. “With ongoing construction and COVID delays, 

we had time to make sure we were making good selections. 

We knew the pay-per-view-system moment had passed. 

This is a fundamental 

shift in how people watch 

their favourite shows. So, 

we must change the way we 

think about how guests 

like to watch their shows 

and cater to that 


We also knew it was very important for guests to be 

able to cast their own streaming services.” 

The Drake opted to use Sonifi’s STAYCAST 

streaming platform. “The nice thing for a boutique 

hotel like ours is that it doesn’t require $80,000 to 

$100,000 head-end system to power it. It’s based on a 

monthly fee and scalable.” 

While there is some setup involved, she adds, “it’s 

not to the degree of other systems. Guests can simply 

turn on their TV using their device. They don’t have 

to work through the remote and go through multiple 

fields of choices. The whole system is all on one TV.” 

The televisions can also be used to live stream the 

Drake’s Underground closed-circuit content. 

In addition, The Drake has integrated an Intelity 

guest-engagement platform that allows guests to 

use the in-room tablet to play music, speak to guest 

services, order from the menu and explore the room 

compendium to find services and local hot spots. “It’s 

all interactively loaded into the system,” says Yuristy. 

“With both Sonifi and Intelity, there’s no need to 

download apps.” 

Whatever the choice, the fundamental part of any 

in-room entertainment offering is solid infrastructure, 

says Garth Ruggiero, director of Product/Purchasing 

for Atlific Hotels in Montreal, “Guestroom entertainment 

systems and casting platforms have become key drivers 

in guest offerings and customer satisfaction. Whether 

a property is running a guest-entertainment system 

solution or simply using Chromecast, at the end of 

the day, you need the backbone to run it. However, 

it’s often a delicate balance between technology 

and economics.” 

Atlific is focusing its efforts on figuring out how to 

enable casting across the board, he adds. “Ask anyone 

how much bandwidth is enough and you’ll get 12 

different answers. We’re trying to figure that out on an 

as-needed basis, whether we’re working with IP, coax, 

or satellite-based networks, and if and where we need to 

place wireless access points. We’re also transitioning to 

smart TVs in some locations and set top boxes in others.” 

With the services that are available, Peterson stresses 

the importance of having televisions that enable new 

levels of interactivity for multiple functions, while 

providing guests with the opportunities and access to 

new experiences in a personalized way. “Innovative 

in-room TV features include mobile mirroring, where 

guests can enjoy content from their personal mobile 

devices with just a click, as well as seamless and intuitive 

access to embedded entertainment applications.” 

Looking to the coming year, Heermans says it’s 

all about infrastructure. “Embracing the reality on 

entertainment demands today and forging a path for 

upgrades are solid recommendations for any hotel 

operator. Having a network that can be scalable would 

be a good area of focus for 2022.”◆ 

1 

2 

3 

4 

What’s 

trending 

in TVs 

Here are four in-room 

entertainment trends that 

hotels can expect to see 

in 2022. BY MIKE KOSLA 

Bigger TVs. 

The new 

standard for in-room entertainment 

is 49- to 55-inches (diagonal). Some 

hotel brands are even opting for 

65- and 75-inch displays. 

Wall mounted vs. 

standalone. 

Mounting a flat-screen 

TV on a wall improves 

the viewing experience, 

requires less furniture, 

and opens more space. 

OLED TVs. 

OLED TVs are now more cost-effective 

for the hospitality market. New 

“nano” particle technology also vastly 

improves the quality of large TVs. 

4K Content 

Streaming 

services are 

delivering more 

programming 

in 4K. Providing 

Internet Protocol 

television (IPTV) in rooms provides the 

added bandwidth to support 4K content. 

Mike Kosla vice-president 

of Hospitality at Illinois-based 

LG Business Solutions USA 



CHECK OUT THE 

LATEST EPISODES 

TODAY 

E22. DESIGNING SUCCESS 

Boris Mathias,Tatiana 

Sheveleva and Loris 

Ognibene at Chapi Chapo 

NAMED ONE 

OF THE TOP 

25 

hotel-related podcasts 

in the world 

BY FEEDSPOT 

E23. MARKETING MATTERS 

Dorothy Dowling, vicepresident 

and Chief 

Marketing Officer of 

Best Western Hotels 

E24. ATTRACT, RETAIN 

& REWARD 

James Lockhart, president 

of Group Lockhart 

E25. PASSION PROJECT 

Bonnie Strome, GM of the 

Park Hyatt Toronto



F&B 

B 

alancing 

Act 

WITH RECOVERY ON THE HORIZON, 

IT’S TIME TO ENVISION THE FUTURE OF HOTEL F&B 

BY DANIELLE SCHALK 

As industry stakeholders shape their 

food-and-beverage (F&B) strategies 

with an eye to the post-pandemic 

future, there are a lot of factors to consider 

— from safety procedures to shifting guest 

behaviours and increased labour challenges. 

“The pandemic may have changed travel, 

but even more important is recognizing that 

the pandemic changed people,” stresses Adam 

Crocini, senior vice-president and global head, 

Food and Beverage Brands, Hilton. “And, as 

a result of changing consumer lifestyles, we’ve 

seen an evolution in consumer demands as it 

relates to food-and-beverage services.” 

Crocini points out that Hilton’s recent 

trends report, The 2022 Traveler: Emerging 

Trends and the Redefined Traveler, identified a 

number of larger consumer trends that will 

influence travellers’ F&B expectations. These 

include a desire for wellness offerings, desire to 

connect to the communities they are travelling 

in and a focus on sustainability. 

Heeding these insights and guest feedback 

collected throughout the pandemic, Crocini 

says, “We’ve evolved our food-and-beverage 

offerings to focus on wellness; prioritize sustainable 

and locally sourced food options; and provide 

unique, on-property culinary experiences that 

weave in local lifestyles and fare.” 

For the team at Choice Hotels Canada, “The 

main thing that we’ve learned is that we need 

to be flexible and creative,” shares president 

Brian Leon. And this is especially true at a 

time when regional restrictions and personal 

comfort levels vary. “The demands in one 

market are not the same as another. To respond 

to that, we have a program with consistent 

brand standards, but with flexibility so it can be 

adapted slightly by market as needed.” 

“The main focus, across all the brands, is 

guest demand — giving the customer what 

they want, without paying for things they don’t 

want,” Leon adds. 

With complimentary breakfast being a 

key part of the value proposition for many 

hotel brands, how best to adapt these offerings 

has been a significant concern for many. 

“We weren’t sure if the traditional complimentary 

breakfast was going to come back 

post-COVID, as the industry moved to brown 

bags and limited offerings,” shares Brittany 

Hattingh, director of Operational Standards 

for Newton, Mass.-based Sonesta International 

Hotels Corporation. “Although we don’t see 

the same large buffets of the past, a robust 

breakfast offering is making a comeback in the 

ISTOCK.COM/YAKOBCHUKOLENA 


Shortage Struggles 

upscale extended-stay segment.” 

This has led the company to pilot a 

new complimentary breakfast offering 

at its Sonesta ES Suites hotels. Served 

in the hotels’ marketplace, the offering 

will feature “a wide variety of cold 

and hot items such as yogurts, cereals, 

oatmeal, pastries, waffles and breakfast 

sandwiches.” 

At Choice, Leon shares, “We have 

a breakfast task force that includes a 

number of our franchisees, [which] 

is currently looking at our breakfast 

offerings to make recommendations for 

adjustments based on guest demands.” 

The company has found that while 

guests have responded positively to 

grab-and-go breakfast offerings introduced 

during the pandemic, they still 

miss the traditional offerings. “We’re 

noticing that many guests are asking for 

the return of the full breakfast buffet,” 

says Leon. “We will likely see a shift 

The hospitality industry is facing 

significant challenges on the labour 

front, and this is influencing all 

aspects of operation, including 

foodservice strategies. In fact, 

according to Statistics Canada 

job-vacancy data for September 

2021, 14.4 per cent of jobs in the 

accommodation and foodservices 

industry were unstaffed, representing 

196,050 job vacancies. 

“Restaurant operators in hotels 

have to be creative to find ways to 

operate leaner than they have in the 

past,” says Brian Leon, president, 

Choice Hotels Canada. “This might 

mean scaling back their menus or 

hours, or [making operations] more 

practical and cost effective.” 

“We’ve increased wages and 

are using tools like Daily Pay to 

attract talent, but we still need to 

change our operating model in 

this new environment to depend 

less on F&B-specific personnel,” 

shares Brittany Hattingh, director 

of Operational Standards, Sonesta 

International Hotels Corporation. 

The Conrad Washington D.C., 

a Hilton property, offers unique 

on-property F&B experiences 

back in areas where it complies with 

local health regulations.” 

Looking more broadly, convenient 

F&B offerings that guests can enjoy 

in the comfort of their room are being 

leveraged to meet guest needs across 

segments. “During the pandemic, mini 

bars were a success and saw a real resurgence 

in guest use,” says Hattingh. 

Leon also notes that pantry and 

marketplace solutions “have been 

very well received by our guests.” In 

fact, due to their success at Choice’s 

Clarion Pointe properties, “Even our 

legacy brands like Comfort and Quality 

are looking to include these options 

moving forward,” he adds. 

And, while pandemic-driven market 

shifts have driven the evolution of 

offerings, they’ve also led operators 

and brands to consider entirely new 

approaches. 

“Previously, we’ve not been overly 

LAURA FORD 



BEN HIDER 

involved in the operation of hotel 

restaurants, but we know how great 

foodservice can elevate our guest 

experience, so we’ve identified it as 

an area of opportunity to provide 

more value to our franchisees,” shares 

Leon. “The situation involved us 

looking into different areas than 

in the past…For example, working 

on developing relationships with 

foodservice companies that could be 

a good fit with our hotels.” 

Hilton has already made strides to 

leverage the power of existing foodservice 

brands. In October, the company 

announced a unique new partnership 

that could shape its F&B strategies going 

forward. Tempo by Hilton has partnered 

with Australian-inspired, U.S.-based 

café brand Bluestone Lane to co-create 

unique on-property F&B experiences. 

“This unique collaboration unites 

two lifestyle brands to enable an 

elevated on-property food-and-beverage 

experience that will meet the 

evolving needs of today’s guests who 

are seeking more progressive fare 

with healthier options,” says Crocini. 

“Through the partnership, Bluestone 

Lane will develop the comprehensive 

program operating model; training 

and staffing guides; and design development 

guidance to deliver easily 

executable yet thoughtfully presented 

food and beverage.” 

Crocini also points out that 

Bluestone Lane’s “made-to-order menu 

focused on sophisticated, clean and 

natural foods that can be consumed 

all day,” makes the brand an ideal fit 

for Tempo and Hilton’s F&B strategies. 

“The collaboration combines the 

knowledge of an on-target, cutting-edge 

industry expert with the exciting development 

of Hilton’s youngest brand,” he 

adds. “[And] from a strategy perspective, 

both Bluestone Lane and Hilton 

brands target ambitious, digital-savvy 

consumers seeking delicious, fresh, 

clean food and premium beverages.” 

Leon also notes that the rise in 

online ordering within foodservice has 

the potential to influence hotel’s F&B 

operations. “We could see F&B facilities 

in hotels being used as delivery 

hubs for the local area,” he explains. 

And, as Hattingh shares, Sonesta is 

already making strides on this front. 

Tempo by Hilton 

has partnered with 

Australian-inspired, 

U.S.-based Bluestone 

Lane to elevate its onsite 

F&B offerings 

EDITORIAL 

The company’s Sonesta Select brand is 

piloting mobile-ordering technology — 

powered by Crave Interactive — that 

allows guests to order and pay for F&B 

items through an app. 

Hattingh also notes Sonesta plans 

to leverage the growth of delivery 

platforms and virtual kitchens. “We’ll 

be exploring our own virtual F&B 

brand at Sonesta Select and our two 

full-service brands, which will allow 

us to serve new customers utilizing 

the outlets and staff we already have 

in place,” she explains. “Our virtual 

brand will deliver via a third-partydelivery 

platform and, in many cases, 

be able to operate late into the night, 

piggybacking off of our existing 

in-room dining programming.” 

Sonesta also sees the potential to 

leverage delivery within the meetingand-events 

space. “We’re exploring a 

catering partnership, where you can 

order food for your events via an app 

and have it delivered to the meeting 

space or lobby,” Hattingh adds. 

Overall, Leon sums up, “We believe 

what we’re going to see long term is 

a continuation of the trends we saw 

pre-pandemic,” pointing to an increase 

in branded F&B and third-party operation 

of F&B outlets. “Hotels are going to 

continue to look for opportunities to 

drive up ROI and, in some cases, the 

best way to do that is to rent their 

spaces to restaurant operators.” ◆ 

In 2021, Hilton introduced a new perk for its loyalty members that provides guests 

with added control and flexibility. “Hilton surveyed its most loyal guests to gather 

feedback around the concept of a daily food-and-beverage credit and found that the 

vast majority of members rated it to be appealing in lieu of continental breakfast,” 

shares Adam Crocini, senior vice-president and global head, Food and Beverage 

Brands, Hilton. The Daily F&B Credit benefit is part of the MyWay benefits offered 

by the Hilton Honors program and is currently available to Gold and Diamond 

members staying at Hilton’s luxury, lifestyle and full-service hotel brands in the U.S. 


DECOR & DESIGN 

TIMELESS 

The COVID-19 

pandemic is 

re-shaping hotel 

architecture and 

design 

BY NICOLE DI TOMASSO 

Solutions 

W MONTREAL 

In spring 2020, Montreal-based Sid Lee 

Architecture completed renovations to 

W Montreal’s EWOW Suites, check-in 

area, lobby, bar and restaurant as part 

of a re-positioning project. Drawing 

inspiration from Montreal’s cultural icons 

and heritage, the final product revealed 

museum-style decor. W Montreal’s 

design elements include bespoke metrostation 

furniture, carpets resembling 

street art, suspended light fixtures 

inspired by the Mount Royal Cross 

and illuminated artwork inspired by the 

Quartier des Spectacles and Red-Light 

entertainment districts. 



AS 

the tourism-and-hospitality 

industry continues to 

re-build in 2022, keeping 

up with the latest hoteldesign 

trends is paramount. After many 

months of cancelled vacations and Zoom 

meetings, travellers are eager to venture 

out again, but they have new expectations 

about health, safety and cleanliness when 

it comes to selecting hotels. That said, 

hoteliers are re-considering design 

choices to not only differentiate themselves 

from competitors, but also attract customers 

in a safe and appealing way. Here, Hotelier 

unveils three post-pandemic design trends 

from the creative minds of architects and 

designers, in addition to a few of their recent 

work for the pandemic-driven new normal. 

VERSANTE 

HOTEL 

Designed by CHIL Interior 

Design, the Versante Hotel 

is a bright and bold luxury 

boutique hotel located within 

the International Trade Centre 

in Richmond, B.C. Completed 

in July 2021, the 14-storey 

new build features smart 

technology that allows guests 

to customize window tinting 

while conserving energy. Its 

lobby resembles a Chinese 

market, with vibrant colours 

and unique furnishings. Versante 

Hotel’s 100 guestrooms 

and suites also pay tribute to 

Chinese culture in the form 

of five decor schemes, each 

suggesting a different personality 

with various colours, 

textures and patterns. 

(clockwise from top) guestroom at the Versante Hotel 

in Richmond, B.C.; the mezzanine at the Versante 

Hotel, W Montreal, and the Park Hyatt Toronto 

Traditional Comfort with a Twist 

Many guests gravitate toward spaces that resemble 

residential homes, with warm palettes and natural 

expression of materials evoking a sense of comfort and 

relaxation. This is especially true for guestrooms. While 

coziness is still a major factor to consider, hotels are starting 

to increase colour and texture to animate spaces. 

“Hotels are putting a real premium on interior design 

to create memorable experiences for guests,” says Adèle 

Rankin, managing principal at B+H Architects and 

principal and global design lead at its Vancouver-based 

hospitality studio CHIL Interior Design. “We’ve spent 

so much time inside, confined to select private spaces, so 

we’ve become [more] mindful about what’s important to 

us in these spaces, [which is typically] emotion, comfort 

and delight. In these times, you need so much of it.” 

Now more than ever, customers are seeking an engaging, 

social-media worthy hotel experience, giving rise to 

themed guestrooms and hotels. The days of minimal 

decor are over as design firms prove comfort and safety 

can still be accomplished in conjunction with accent 

walls, funky furniture, stylish rugs and more. 

“Beyond creating a holistic, multi-faceted guest 

experience, this complex combination allows for a truly 

memorable journey that can be enjoyed over and over 

while never feeling boring and outdated,” says Alessandro 

Munge, founder and design director at Toronto- based 

Studio Munge. 

“Playing it safe and trying to appeal to everyone has 

GILLIAN JACKSON 


PARK HYATT 

TORONTO 

After roughly four years of extensive renovations, 

the re-imagined Park Hyatt Toronto re-opened 

in September 2021. Designed by Toronto-based 

Studio Munge, Park Hyatt Toronto honours 

Canadian heritage and natural landscapes in 

its luxurious and sophisticated design. Its 219 

guestrooms, including 40 suites, successfully 

balance comfort with contemporary design. 

“We focus on escapism and optimism by 

creating immersive, experiential, uplifting and 

purposeful spaces. Our recently opened Park 

Hyatt Toronto is a great example illustrating that 

concept,” says Alessandro Munge, founder and 

design director at Studio Munge. As soon as 

the guest enters the property, they’re instantly 

welcomed by a deep sense of warmth, discovering 

the glowing hickory wood contrasting the dark 

granite and bronze exteriors. We also added two 

fireplaces on the ground floor and cozy lounge 

furniture to evoke a comfortable sense of home. 

Those elements all evoke emotions that positively 

condition the mind.” 

become the only sure way to appeal to no one,” reads the 2022 

Hospitality Trends Report produced by af&co and Carbonate. 

Sustainability 

Eco-friendly design choices have been re-affirmed by the 

COVID-19 pandemic as more hoteliers, architects and 

designers strive to ensure environmental sustainability. 

“We were already in position where we wanted to help local 

production and local artisans, but once [the pandemic halted 

the supply chain], there was a re-discovery of locally sourced 

products and businesses,” says Martin Leblanc, architect and 

partner at Montreal-based Sid Lee Architecture. 

There are plenty of sustainable design options to incorporate 

into any hotel, from recycled wood flooring, restored 

furniture and energy-efficient lighting strategies to waterbottle 

refill stations, solar panels and green walls. While 

installation costs are higher, eco-friendly design choices are 

durable and will ensure lower costs over time. 

“Sustainability is a multi-faceted challenge that we tackle in 

many ways,” says Munge. “To ensure we do our part, we partner 

with the best suppliers globally with a proven track record on 

ethical practices and innovation while also favouring durable, 

long-lasting materials. Staying away from fading trendy design 

The newly renovated Park Hyatt 

Toronto features two fireplaces on the 

ground floor and cozy lounge furniture 

and focusing on timeless 

solutions also guarantees 

our project longevity.” 

Munge continues, “We’re 

also proud to be partnering 

with incredible artisans around 

the world, and we do our best 

to specify local manufacturers 

when possible. This infuses 

our spaces with a greater sense 

of authenticity while also 

dramatically reducing the 

carbon footprint generated by 

international logistics.” 

“We’re at a point now 

where most of our clients have 

environmental sustainability 

front of mind. Hoteliers are 

in a unique position because the green approach extends to 

how they’re actually servicing and operating the hotel,” says 

Rankin. “We’re big advocates for local sourcing. It’s always a 

fantastic opportunity, especially when we get back to engaging 

the community within a design space and how that makes 

it more successful in my eyes. There’s nothing better than 

being able to point to a local artist that’s created something 

for a hotel.” 

Co-Working Spaces and Robust Technology 

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption 

of innovative technologies and many hotels started rolling 

out online check-in and check-out, keyless room entry and 

digital hotel-guest directory via QR codes. Additionally, 

guests expect to see guestrooms and common areas with more 

electrical outlets, desks and faster Wi-Fi to accommodate the 

surge in remote working. 

“[Guests] want to be in common spaces, but still within 

their own private bubble. We’ve seen some beautiful integrations 

of partitions as an element of design [in common spaces.] 

That’s here to stay because people can still be in a common 

space with added privacy. People have been enjoying that,” 

says Leblanc. ◆ 

ART 

of 

DESIGN 

Installing sculptures, murals, tapestries, paintings and neon signs has become an increasingly popular 

way for hotels to spice up room design. Visual art radiates personality and acts as an experiential 

component of the hotel, enhancing its brand image and connection to local communities. 

“Art is integral to interior design and we use it to tell a story. It’s an important part of the concept 

behind a hotel property,” says Adèle Rankin, managing principal at B+H Architects and principal and 

global design lead at its Vancouver-based hospitality studio CHIL Interior Design. “Nothing is selected 

just because it matches the sofa next to it.” 




TECHNOLOGY 

FREEPIK.COM 

SETTING 

THE 

STAGE 

Hotel kitchens are bringing 

guests back with contactless 

technology 

BY ADAM MOUYAL 

The travel and tourism industry 

was greatly impacted in the wake 

of the pandemic, with more than 

two-thirds of hotel rooms across Canada 

unoccupied since March 2020, and hotel 

industry numbers hit rock bottom in Q1 

2021. Re-acquainting travellers with 

comfort, value, and – most importantly – 

safety is the key to re-filling hotel rooms, 

and contactless technology provides a 

pathway for a resurgence of success. 

SAFETY IS THE NEW LUXURY 

The contactless experience in hospitality 

is growing in popularity worldwide, 

and the act of placing and receiving 

orders with limited human interaction 

is becoming familiar. Hotel kitchens 

can look to the restaurant industry to 

understand consumer expectations and 

prioritize the safety of their patrons. 

According to Restaurants Canada’s 

2021 Discerning Diner Report, 37 per 

cent of Canadians would choose one 

restaurant over another if it offered 

contactless or mobile payment options, 

while 51 per cent of those 18 to 34 

years would choose one restaurant 

over another if they can order online 

through a website or app to pick up at 

a restaurant. The report also shows that 

32 per cent of Canadians are still tentative 

about eating on premise and plan to 

postpone their first in-person dining 

experience to sometime in 2022. 

While this research exposes a significant 

challenge, business is expected to 

boom in the new year. So, how can 

one be ready? 

RE-INVENT THE EXPERIENCE 

Over the last 19 months, the culinary 

world has received a digital makeover 

with contactless technologies have 

become commonplace. Hoteliers who 

introduce contactless tech not only 

provide a new level of convenience, but 

also help to restore travellers’ confidence. 

The idea of ordering room service more 

autonomously is a welcome approach 

that instills a level of safety. 

With innovative online-ordering 

systems, hotel guests can place contactless 

orders and easily process secure contactless 

payments. Industry leaders in this 

space now offer hoteliers robust ordering 

software, customized websites and mobile 

apps that allow their guests to place direct 

orders to the hotel kitchen via mobile 

devices. Once an order is placed, the 

front- and back-of-house experts can 

communicate with the guest every step 

of the way. 

THE IMPACT OF CONTACTLESS 

TECHNOLOGY ON EMPLOYEES 

The hospitality industry is not simply 

looking to recover its losses by way 

of bookings; it needs to replenish its 

workforce, too. Since February, the 

number of Canadians employed in the 

tourism industry has fallen by 880,000, 

according to research by HUB International. 

Research also shows that returning 

hotel restaurants to their former staff 

capacities is not an easy feat.. 

With contactless ordering, the constant 

communication between the front desk, 

kitchen and guests becomes a streamlined 

operation. Guests can skip the traditional 

room-service call, alleviating wait times 

and miscommunication.This scalable 

support enables hotel staff to work smarter, 

not harder, to maintain their level of 

service. Contactless hotel solutions set 

the stage to create a perfect blend of 

automated and personalized interactions 

ultimately improving employee productivity 

and guest satisfaction. 

OWN ROOMSERVCE OPERATIONS 

Offering a QR-code menu in every 

room that integrates ordering and 

secure payments not only enriches the 

guest experience, but introduces myriad 

of operational benefits. A contactless 

system improves order accuracy and 

transparency, as well as staff efficiency 

by. Hungry guests ordering from their 

mobile device is a low stress, non-intrusive 

and frictionless experience leading 

to higher average tickets; boosting 

food-and-beverage sales and improving 

Revenue Per Available Room. Lastly, 

sales and customer data are a hot topic 

and accessing these insights through the 

online-ordering system opens the door 

to visualize and action on them. 

Providing convenience everywhere 

will become the mark of future success. 

To promote the offering of a contactless 

ordering service, QR codes can also be 

placed at the bar or on tables in the 

restaurant. Streamlining this side of 

hospitality operations eases pain points 

in the ordering process, alleviates 

staffing pressures, and empowers staff 

to re-define their jobs. ◆ 

As co-founder and CEO of Taliup 

Express, Adam Mouyal has merged his 

passion to improve small business success 

with a payment-technology solution 

designed to streamline and optimize 

business growth for all Canadian SMEs. 


HOTELIER 

LISTEN TO 

THE PODCAST 

INTERVIEW WITH 

JAMES HAGUE 

NESTLED 

CLICK HERE 

IN NATURE 

For James Hague, GM of the Baker 

Creek Mountain Resort in Banff 

National Park, there’s no place 

he’d rather be 

BY ROSANNA CAIRA 

James Hague is living the dream. As GM of the 

Baker Creek Mountain Resort, nestled in the 

idyllic Banff National Park, the affable hotelier 

has cut his teeth in some of Western Canada’s 

most beautiful resorts. After getting his start at the 

iconic Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino, Hague also 

worked at the Westin Resort & Spa in Whistler and 

at the Moraine Lake Lodge in Lake Louise, Alta. 

Since 2017, the dedicated hotelier has been 

overseeing the 19 standalone log cabins and an 

additional 16 suites located in two separate lodge 

buildings that comprise the resort, directing a team 

of 30. “Baker Creek was a dream job for me,” says 

Hague. “I love the intimacy of the property. There’s 

no place I’d rather be.” 

Not surprisingly, the pandemic has wreaked havoc 

on the property. Hague also had to deal with a 

devastating fire that wiped out the resort’s restaurant. 

But, says Hague, “we weren’t nearly as severely impacted as city properties. We are a remote 

wilderness location, so most guests viewed it as a safe alternative.” 

While Hague laid off his entire team for the initial six weeks of the pandemic, he was able to 

bring them back in short order. “The team we had at the outset stayed with us for the entire year.” 

Though he says that may not sound like a long time, “living and working remotely with no cell 

service, limited Wi-Fi, 45 minutes to the nearest grocery store, and no public transport…turnover 

for us is accelerated compared to most businesses. During the first six weeks of the pandemic, the 

hotel offered complementary housing for staff and groceries at cost. 

Now, two years later, the hotel is working creatively to reduce the impacts of staff shortages. 

and address the challenges of the hotel’s remote location. 

Ultimately, Hague believes the industry would benefit from having the Temporary Foreign 

Workers program reinstated. “We’ve been involved with school programs and internships — they 

help — but without the influx of temporary workers on work visas, I just don’t know what can be 

done. Wages are their highest point ever, and it’s not had as much of an effect as you would think.” 

While the use of technology has been accelerated through the pandemic, Hague says the 

opposite is true at Baker Creek. The hotel still uses “real keys,” he quips, and guests “really love 

it. We don’t have the connectivity to allow apps on the phone.” But rather than being viewed as 

a hindrance, Hague says guests are happy to re-connect with their family and truly relax amidst a 

natural setting. “If anything comes out of this pandemic, it’s the focus back on human interaction 

— hopefully that survives,” says Hague. ◆ 


QUICK 

QUIPS 

Personal Status: 

Married and father of 

a year-old son. 

Affiliations: 

Baker Creek is part 

of Charming Inns & 

Hotels, a marketing 

collective of eight 

western-Canadian 

mountain and rural 

hotels 

Continuing 

Education: 

Currently completing 

the AHLEI CHA program 


The Propel Student Work 

Placement Program supports 

tourism and hospitality 

employers in offering 

post-secondary students paid 

work-integrated learning 

opportunities. 

Propel creates a direct link between 

students looking to enhance their 

workplace skills and employers who can 

provide valuable experience, while also 

showcasing the depth and breadth of 

career pathways in the industry. 

Students gain paid hands-on learning and 

mentoring in their field of study. 

Employers acquire much-needed early 

talent to help with the recovery of the 

industry, as well as assistance with wages. 

Post-secondary institutions complement 

their programming by connecting 

students and the workplace. 

WAGE SUBSIDY 

Up to 75% of a qualifying student’s 

wages, up to a maximum of $7,500. 

ELIGIBILITY 

Registered Canadian businesses, 

startups, and not-for-profits related to 

the tourism and hospitality sector. The 

position being covered must be a 

work-integrated learning opportunity 

for a post-secondary student. 

APPLICATION PROCESS 

Employers register on the Propel online 

portal, post the position they wish to 

fill, hire a student, and apply for a wage 

subsidy. 

For more on the Propel program and a link 

to the application portal, visit 

propelcareers.ca or email 

propel@tourismhr.ca. 

propelcareers.ca 

propel@tourismhr.ca

Red Lion Ridgewater 

Inn & Suites Polson 

Sonesta ES Suites 

Cincinnati Sharonville East 

YOU 

( 

FOR A CHANGE) 

OUR GROWTH WILL BE BUILT ON STRONG RELATIONSHIPS. 

For the first time, the legendary Sonesta brands are available to you as part of our 1200+ location portfolio. 

Distinctive brands renowned for exceptional guest service and memorable experiences. Powerful brands 

that enable you to stand out from the competition and grow. 

All brought to you by owners who know what it means to own, invest in and operate these properties, 

and who value relationships above all. 

Discover what it means to be part of a uniquely collaborative, flexible 

and supportive relationship committed to your ongoing success. 

At Sonesta, you are a top priority. 

FRANCHISE.SONESTA.COM 

Sonesta Bee Cave 

Sonesta Select Boston Stoughton 

Offering by Franchise Disclosure Document only. Void where prohibited. This advertisement is not an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any franchise. 

© Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc. & Sonesta RL Hotels Canada Franchising Inc.

Hotelier Jan/Feb 2022

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?