Rogers Place | ?m | ?s | Katz Group | HOK

[IanO]

^the numbers. Our RevPar and overall demand/occupancy simply does not pencil out new investment in this asset class.

In speaking with some hotel managers, renos are even hard to justify, let alone new builds.

Basically, opportunity cost when you look at Cap rates and what else you could do with said money.

 

[TAS]

^the numbers. Our RevPar and overall demand/occupancy simply does not pencil out new investment in this asset class.

In speaking with some hotel managers, renos are even hard to justify, let alone new builds.

Basically, opportunity cost when you look at Cap rates and what else you could do with said money.

So are you proposing the city should put public money into making a hotel more feasible?

 

[IanO]

Not at all, but it should continue to work on making Edmonton (and particularly the Downtown) more attractive to visit, businesses to grow/relocate and drive tourism opportunities.

 

[TAS]

Speaking of driving tourism, I'm guessing the $2million Explore Edmonton asked for related to a secret bid late in 2025 was the Hockey World Cup. I think I heard Calgary Tourism put in $2million as well.

 

[Kosy123]

I'm one of the biggest boosters/optimists on here, but IanO is pretty correct that our RevPAR is lagging behind a lot of other cities. Occupancy and RevPAR are growing though at a decent pace.

 

[TAS]

Not at all, but it should continue to work on making Edmonton (and particularly the Downtown) more attractive to visit, businesses to grow/relocate and drive tourism opportunities.

The city's committment to the Downtown Action Plan is a great sign for all those things as well as the money into parks and residential grants. Hope business community steps up to bring more retail to the area over the next few years. The retail space is there and ready to be occupied and more students, workers and people living downtown conrinues to be evident and will continue over the next few years.

 

[inclusion]

I'm one of the biggest boosters/optimists on here, but IanO is pretty correct that our RevPAR is lagging behind a lot of other cities. Occupancy and RevPAR are growing though at a decent pace.
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I'd like to see the distribution of hotels in urban and suburban areas. I think a lot of Edmonton's lower rates are because we have many economy and midscale hotels on the outskirts of the city, which drive overall revenue per room down. The density of hotels in the cores of other cities on the list is much higher than in Edmonton. I doubt there is an easy way out of this conundrum in the short term. Long term, it may change with sustained population growth and demand growth, but I don't see this changing any time soon.

 

[davcocom]

Should at least be 95% + complete, and in the testing phase by that point.

Ice district needs a Le Germain and an Alt.

Might be an unpopular opinion, but I think The Milner Building is a great candidate for an office-to-hotel conversion. And ALT has done a couple of those, so they might just need someone to pitch them the idea...

 

[BASE]

I'd like to see the distribution of hotels in urban and suburban areas. I think a lot of Edmonton's lower rates are because we have many economy and midscale hotels on the outskirts of the city, which drive overall revenue per room down. The density of hotels in the cores of other cities on the list is much higher than in Edmonton. I doubt there is an easy way out of this conundrum in the short term. Long term, it may change with sustained population growth and demand growth, but I don't see this changing any time soon.

Had a similar thought, similar to Edmonton's employment, the hotel landscape is much more dispersed.

 

[MakeYEGGreatAgain]

1) it's always a function of quality as well..Aside from the JW and Fairmont, hotels in Edmonton's core properties are tired (like really tired) with sub-par service. What you get is what you pay. If hotels want to charge more, then fix your rooms and justify the higher rate.

2) We need more white collar/corporate clientele. All the blue collars and trades are ok staying in the suburbs.

3) Too much supply of cheap cheap cheap which drags down the revpar

3) City lacks visionaries to leverage niche areas within the city: If I had the capital/access to land, I would develop at least one if not two boutique hotels along 124 street.

Demand can be created with the right product and developers can make money. This is a market of 13,000+ rooms. Adding 500 decent quality rooms would shift demand. Think of what has happened to the office market: New buildings lease pretty quick while the old ones sit empty.

 

[David A]

The city's committment to the Downtown Action Plan is a great sign for all those things as well as the money into parks and residential grants. Hope business community steps up to bring more retail to the area over the next few years. The retail space is there and ready to be occupied and more students, workers and people living downtown conrinues to be evident and will continue over the next few years.

The lack of much downtown retail must be a real damper for tourists visiting downtown. If I came here and saw the bleak and limited selection here compared to any other sizeable Canadian city, I might hesitate to come back.

Those of us who live here are used to it and tend to rationalize it or ignore it, but it is not a sign of a healthy city.

 

[David A]

Might be an unpopular opinion, but I think The Milner Building is a great candidate for an office-to-hotel conversion. And ALT has done a couple of those, so they might just need someone to pitch them the idea...

I agree, it is fairly well located in a decent part of downtown and as an older office building sure isn't bringing in rental revenue. So you would think the owners would be eager to do something with it, rather than continuing to sit on it.

 

[Markyeg]

The lack of much downtown retail must be a real damper for tourists visiting downtown. If I came here and saw the bleak and limited selection here compared to any other sizeable Canadian city, I might hesitate to come back.

Unpopular opinion on this forum, but the people who are visiting Edmonton solely to shop aren’t going downtown to do it.

 

[buildings]

this thread is officially dead.

 

[David A]

Unpopular opinion on this forum, but the people who are visiting Edmonton solely to shop aren’t going downtown to do it.

I am not surprised people who live in Edmonton may not get this, but I am not referring to those who travel here to shop, but those who travel here and are staying downtown, but who would like to shop nearby while they are here.