Heads in Beds
We reached out for a comment from CBRE's EVP, CBRE Hotels Bill Stone on the state of the GTA's hotel market currently. Smith Travel Research shows that as of this October, hotel occupancy and the average daily rate in the region have improved 2% and 2.5%, respectively, year-to-date. Improved convention activity, business travel and airline traffic have helped boost those numbers, Bill says. "Full planes mean heads in beds and the downtown office construction boom bodes well for future business travel," he adds. (It also bodes well for companies who make little soaps.) On the investment side, there is an ample number of hotel buyers in the market. Some owners are paring down their portfolios, especially non-core and non-strategic hotels, many of which are in need of capital injections. However, Bill adds pricing often sits "well below" replacement costs.
