Among the latest signs of a recovery in B.C.’s hotel sector, Victoria International Airport is considering a proposal for a new 129-room Marriott hotel.
Proposed by Kothari Group as its first B.C. project, the hotel will be a TownePlace Suites project by Marriott. The TownePlace brand is described as “an all-suite extended stay upper midscale hotel experience.”
“We see the addition of a hotel at this location as a logical fit and a great new amenity for the airport and community,” said Victoria Airport Authority’s president and CEO Geoff Dickson. “It is an opportunity for Victoria International Airport to further diversify its revenue base which has been dramatically impacted by the pandemic. We look forward to working with the Kothari Group to hopefully see this exciting proposal come to fruition.”
The Kothari Group was established in Canada in 1996 with a focus in real estate related investments. Kothari’s hotel group works with international brands such as Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt to develop and manage hotels across Canada.
“We are excited to work with Victoria Airport Authority and Marriott International to bring the first true extended stay hotel in this growing tourist and business market. This project is our group’s first of what we hope are many investments in British Columbia and the Greater Victoria region,” said Anupam Kothari, president of Kothari Group, in a statement.
The proposal is on federal land within the Town of Sidney’s boundaries. Sidney’s staff and council will have the opportunity to review and provide comment on the proposal.
If approved, construction could begin in early 2023. It is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete the hotel with plans that call for a restaurant, 1,500 square feet of meeting space, a swimming pool, and a fitness center.
There are currently more than 400 TownePlace Suites properties across the United States and Canada.
Carrie Russell, senior manager at hotel industry consultancy HVS International, does not expect Canadian hotel revenues to fully recover to pre-COVID levels for at least two years.
“This year we expect a 44 per cent increase in RevPAR (revenue per available room, a key industry metric) to almost $80 with continued recovery until 2024 when it has fully recovered. Since the health restrictions have started to lift across the country, we are seeing booking activity increase and hoteliers are optimistic about performance this summer. Corporate travel is also starting to resume, albeit at a very moderate pace right now,” she added.
Colliers, in its 2022 Canadian Hotel Investment Report states, “The recovery is underway but will be a journey.” The agency notes there is pent-up demand for travel, particularly for leisure/business travel.
After near-zero construction of new hotels in Metro Vancouver over the past three years, at least three new hotels are being planned.
Peterson Group and Coromandel Properties have bought a 0.73-acre site in Vancouver’s Oakridge area for a joint-venture new hotel as part of a residential complex.
Landa Global Properties announced last June it plans a major hotel as a keystone of a mixed-use development on a 3.5-acre site near Richmond’s Oval Village waterfront.
Meanwhile, developer Marcon and QuadReal Properties have released plans for a 150-room hotel "comparable to a Hilton or Marriott,” as part of a large mixed-use proposal in Coquitlam Town Centre on Pinetree Way and Lougheed Highway.
