Guest services
Vancouver outshone much of Western Canada as a destination for travellers from the U.S. and elsewhere over the past year. Throw in investors, and it’s tough to figure out who doesn’t want to spend the night – or a few million – here.
“B.C. is well above the national average,” reported Carrie Russell, a partner and managing director of valuation and advisory firm HVS Canada, in Vancouver at the recent Western Canadian Lodging Conference. “The differences between how B.C. is performing relative to Saskatchewan and Alberta are like nothing I’ve seen in the 20 years I’ve been doing this.”
With strong demand from guests and little new supply from developers, downtown Vancouver hotels are exceeding expectations for revenue growth. Average daily rates rose from $201 a night to $221 a night over the past year. They’re set to stage a further rise to $235 a night in 2017. Underpinning this are occupancies in the range of 79%. (By comparison, occupancies in Calgary and Edmonton are hovering in the mid-50s, with average room rates below $150.)
The strength of the market has investors who are seeking a safe haven for capital putting their money into the local market. Among the most notable recent trades was Oxford Properties Group’s sale of the Fairmont Vancouver Airport to InnVest REIT, a deal that officially closed in September for $90 million.
Okanagan knock-on
Attractive exchange rates and a good U.S. economy have been a boon to lodging places from Banff to Brentwood Bay. Canadian travellers have also helped boost occupancies in the B.C. Interior, where demand is up 7.5%, according to HVS Canada.
The activity is encouraging to Joey O’Brien, who is forging ahead with plans to open the Mount Baldy ski hill in December.
Backed by a consortium of Chinese-Canadian investors that includes Vancouver lawyer Victor Tsao, O’Brien said he’s working to ensure the hill has a solid foundation of support to avoid depending on holiday business. He’s sold more than 370 seniors’ season passes at $20 a pop and aims to top 5,000 passes total this winter. He hopes to boost traffic to 20,000 “active participants” by 2020.
“If I can get it to 20,000, then I know that we have a very stable company,” O’Brien said.
Vail Resorts Inc.’s purchase of Whistler Blackcomb and the pending sale of Grouse Mountain Resorts Ltd. suggest shifting times for ski hills, but O’Brien is encouraged by the response to Baldy’s renewal.
“They’ve all seen what train wreck looks like, and they’re so thrilled to be here,” O’Brien said, noting that he’s been fielding calls from developers seeking opportunities on the hill in the resurgent Okanagan market.
“It’s the mountain that makes the difference, and we have a beautiful mountain,” he said.
Mail order
The completion of Austeville Properties Ltd.’s makeover of 475 West Georgia Street will create new digs for Canada Post, which is set to relocate from the old main post office a block east to the corner unit, 495 West Georgia, formerly occupied by Blenz.
Without a sorting plant backing it up, what will the city’s new main post office look like?
“We don’t want to divulge too much at this time as the grand opening is scheduled for November,” Phil Legault, a Canada Post spokesman, said.
However, Legault noted that the outlet “will have ‘some’ elements of the new concept stores we opened this summer in Edmonton and last fall in Richmond Hill, Ontario.”
While a drive-thru window isn’t likely in the cards for Vancouver, the Richmond Hill store featured a dressing room for customers to try on mail-order goods and immediately return those found wanting.
Self-serve facilities and space for pop-up locations of other retailers were also part of the plan in Richmond Hill, alongside the usual bank of post office boxes and counter service. •
