Resort shows steepest drop in average room prices in the country, Hotels.ca says
Derrick Penner
Sun
Hoteliers in Whistler have had a tougher time than their counterparts anywhere else in Canada during the recession, recording the steepest decline in average room prices in the country from January to June, according to Hotels.ca.
Using data from bookings made through its website, Hotels.ca found that Whistler’s average room rates declined 27 per cent in the first part of the year to $173 per night from $235 per night over the same period of 2008.
Tourist officials and hoteliers at the resort question Hotels.ca’s estimate of the depth of discounting, but put the dropping rates down to a need to draw local travellers to replace business from American tourists and corporate visitors that evaporated last fall and winter.
“We’re showing a 14-per-cent decline,” Arlene Schieven, vice-president of marketing for Tourism Whistler, said in an interview. “Their [estimate] is more dramatic.”
However, the discounting has allowed the resort to sell to a wider clientele, which might not normally visit, Schieven added, and that has helped hotels to mitigate the decline in business experienced by all resorts.
Hotel-night stays in Whistler were down eight per cent over last winter, Schieven said, which was less than expected.
Anita Chau, senior marketing manager at Hotels.ca, which provides a third-party booking service, said the survey shows that no destination area, particularly among resorts, has been immune to the recession.
After Whistler, Hotels.ca found that the mountain playground of Jasper saw the second steepest drop in average room prices — 22 per cent to $179 per night, compared with $229 a year ago.
Collingwood, in Ontario’s Blue Mountain area, saw the third steepest drop: 15 per cent to $182 per night, versus $214 a year ago.
Hotels.ca said Vancouver saw average room rates dip 10 per cent to an average $144 per night from an average $160.
“[The survey] says that right now is a great time for travellers to be travelling,” Chau said. “But we’re finding that it’s unfortunate for hoteliers in Canada in that the economic climate has hit them as well and, like the rest of the world, prices have declined,” Chau said.
In Whistler, Roger Soane, general manager of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Hotel, said he noticed a distinct drop in the amount of corporate business after last fall’s meltdown of the financial sector and “it wasn’t the trend to be seen meeting at a resort.”
“So when you lose that type of booking, you go out and try to replace it,” Soane said.
He added that Chateau Whistler tried to “add value” to its room rates by throwing in things such as free skiing during the winter and free golf or free food and beverage options rather than lowering prices.
“Of course you have to [also] reduce your prices and we’ve done that, the same as every other destination in the world,” Soane said.
Beyond room prices, Soane added that resort hotels have seen net revenue per room — this includes all money guests spend at a hotel, apart from the room — down 20 per cent overall.
Trevor Graham, general manager at the Westin Hotel in Whistler, said there has also been a noticeable decline in American visitors.
Graham said Westin’s average room-rate was down just nine per cent from January to June a year ago and his company has used “value-added” techniques such as throwing in attractions or offering three nights and get a fourth night free to draw customers rather than slashing rates.
“I think we would all agree that when you lead with price you lose,” Graham said.
“Because it just takes so long to recover from a rate war, and as much as its tough right now, the cost of goods and costs of labour are holding your own. You still want to be as profitable as you can.”
The Hotels.ca index is part of the Expedia-owned Hotels.com worldwide group of travel websites.
Hotels.com also noted that the average price of a hotel room around the world fell by 17 per cent in the first six months of 2009, the lowest levels in five years. The report found Canadian travellers paid up to 27 per cent less in the first half of 2009 for a one-night stay in some of the most expensive cities than they did in the same period in 2008.
Closer to home, Toronto topped the list of favourite domestic destinations for Canadian leisure and business travellers, followed by Montreal and Vancouver.
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