Hotel construction pulls back in Q1
The pace of hotel construction across the country slowed in the first quarter of the year.
Industry analysis Lodging Econometrics reported that at the close of the first quarter, Canada’s hotel pipeline included 259 projects and 35,432 rooms. Those figures are 15 percent and 12 percent lower, respectively, than a year ago. Compared to pre-pandemic totals reported at the end of the first quarter in 2019, however, they are 2 percent and 7 percent lower.
Not surprisingly, the lodging industry has been hit hard by the CPOVID-19 pandemic. Leisure travel has dropped to historic low levels, while stay-at-home orders and inter-provincial travel restrictions have further curbed hotel use.
Projects under construction stand at 78 projects and 9,887 rooms. Scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months are 74 projects and 8,312 rooms, while projects in the early planning stage hit a peak at 107 projects and 17,233 rooms.
Ontario continues to lead Canada's construction pipeline with 144 projects and 19,399 rooms, or 56 percent of the projects and 55 percent of the rooms in the country. British Columbia follows with 39 projects/5,738 rooms, then Quebec, at a record-high project and room count, with 28 projects/3,857 rooms, followed by Alberta with 23 projects/3,788 rooms.
The top five cities with the largest construction pipelines are Toronto with 59 projects and 8,145 rooms. Montreal follows with 18 projects/2,750 rooms, then Niagara Falls with 13 projects/1,897 rooms, Vancouver with 12 projects/1,658 rooms, and Ottawa with 9 projects/1,576 rooms.
Those five cities combined account for 43 percent of the projects and 45 percent of the rooms in Canada's total pipeline.