With Covid-related travel and health restrictions easing, Canada’s hotel industry has the opportunity to continue its climb to recovery.

While Smith Travel Research reported that January 2022 saw a decline in Canada’s hotel performance, that drop had followed several months of improved performance before the Omicron spike in December 2021. With pre-entry testing for vaccinated travellers set to be no longer required after April 1, and provincial requirements for vaccine and mask mandates headed for virtual elimination, the pre-January positive trend can be expected to resume. That should be especially true as pent up demand for leisure travel combines with significantly increased Canadian savings rates. On October 28, 2021, RBC’s “Weekly Insight” reported that the IMF estimated that in October 2021, consumer savings amounted to over 10% of Canada’s GDP – enough to support around 3.5 years of pre-pandemic restaurant sales.

However, key challenges remain in play, and labour shortages are among the top of the list. Employment uncertainty has caused many workers to shift out of the hospitality industry, and the pandemic has caused others to retire early. The Monitor reported on October 13, 2021 that a quarter of a million food & accommodation workers had left those industries as of February 2021. With hotel volumes increasing, the challenge has become how to attract still-available workers back to the industry, and how to replace those who are no longer available. All of this is happening while workers are demanding higher compensation, increased autonomy, flexibility, and alignment with social values.

In addition, travel and event volumes remain lower than pre-pandemic levels. Business events are still a mix of virtual and live as health concerns continue. And the “2022 Deloitte Travel Outlook” predicts that increased familiarity with the use of videoconferencing both internally and externally will significantly impact demand for business travel. That is especially true as CEOs and CFOs have seen the impact of two years of reduced travel costs on the bottom line, and they will be vigilant about keeping travel costs down as much as possible. The Travel Outlook also predicts that familiarity with remote work will be both a plus and minus, as business travellers become more comfortable with extended stays but will also need more space to work.

With current performance still significantly lagging 2019 levels but now on a positive upward trend, it’s more important than ever for hotel professionals like you to be on top of the latest industry challenges and opportunities.

In just two days you will be able to network with hundreds of hotel executives, financiers, consultants and others to learn more about current and future trends in:

• Hotel industry transactions, capital, valuations etc., and where the recovery is most likely to be robust
• Recruitment, retention and human capital
• Creating value and setting your property up for success
• Post-Covid economics

And more...

We’re proud to be sponsoring the Canadian Hotel Investment Conference, learning and sharing alongside you and other Hotel industry professionals. It’s one of the ways we ensure we remain on the leading edge of recruiting for the Canadian Hotel industry from our offices across the country.