Best Western Hosts 2008 Travel & Leisure Lunch

TORONTO— Senior travel experts representing Best Western International, CAA, Hotel Association of Canada and Aeroplan headlined an informal and interactive panel to address questions related to new trends and current issues affecting leisure travel at the Annual Leisure Travel Summit Roundtable held on Tuesday, June 17 at Canoe Restaurant in downtown Toronto.

Moderator Tony Pollard of the Hotel Association of Canada started the discussion by noting that hotels produce $17.9 billion in revenue, including $3.5 billion for the government.

He pointed out that occupancy is up for hotels, rates are up, and the industry has just come off of two or three good years.

The economy—the manufacturing sector in particular— is slowing down. The dollar is affecting operators who are not getting the same number of American visitors. Over the past five years American visitors have dropped by 18 per cent. The Canadian travel deficit is more than $10 billion, compared to $1 billion in 1999. Canada faces challenges with borders and air travel, but there is still 65 per cent occupancy in Canadian hotels.

Pat Rotz from CAA Niagara Falls said her region is challenged because the area is heavily tourism based, the American dollar is “not advantageous” and the casinos on the American side are luring travellers. “Business has slowed, but just in the last two months,” she said. “It has started to pick up again in June—requests for triptiks are up.” She noted that trips are shorter, and covering less distance, but adds that for families driving is still a relatively economical vacation choice.

Rudy Maxa, who hosts his own show, Rudy Maxa’s World, says driving makes more sense when there are four people looking at a minimum air fare of $250. He noted that more people are travelling in groups, and that the “900-pound gorilla” is the boomers, who have more time to travel. They also have more friends to visit and more money because they’re older, he noted.

Nathalie Belanger of Aeroplan said her company has seen good growth—they haven’t seen a slowdown from a rewards perspective yet. “Canadians are passionate about their miles,” she said. “They love getting something for free.”

Dorothy Dowling, senior vice-president of marketing for Best Western said that March and April were the first indication of a slowdown after three boom years in Canada. People aren’t taking fewer trips. They consider vacations “a right, not a privilege.” She too noted the average length of stay has decreased from three nights to two.

She added that Best Western, which has 182 hotels in Canada, is in the $100 per night “sweet spot”. Canadians understand the cost of travel, and they know that with Best Western there is no sticker shock. “With other brands, the costs sneak up—we have Internet and breakfast included in our package—customers hate being nickled and dimed to death.”

Left to right: Dorothy Dowling, Rudy Maxa, Pat Rotz and Nathalie Belanger.