THUNDER BAY — The COVID-19 pandemic has caused Thunder Bay hotel occupancy rates to plummet below 10 per cent.
That's the estimate of Paul Pepe, the tourism manager for the City of Thunder Bay, who says occupancy is normally more than 70 per cent at this time of year.
The pandemic has also impacted preparations for at least one of three new hotel projects in the city.
A spokesperson for Choice Hotels' new Quality Inn & Suites on Oliver Road says "things have been delayed."
Developer and part owner Harinder Brar still plans to put up a four or five-storey building containing 90 rooms, on the north side of Oliver between Golf Links Road and the Thunder Bay Expressway.
It's to include an indoor pool and fitness centre.
Graham Marsh, the director of franchise development for Choice Hotels Canada, says the location is close to both the hospital and the university, so the guestrooms will be equipped for long-term clientele from the two facilities.
In a statement to Tbnewswatch, Marsh said the project may still break ground sometime in the fall.
He said work on the final architectural drawings and site plan approval will continue through the spring and summer.
On Thunder Bay's south side, it's not clear yet how the construction of another long-term-stay hotel will be affected by COVID-19.
Work on the six-storey, 90-room Home2Hilton, adjacent to the Hampton Inn on Arthur Street, was originally targeted to start in June.
Developer Mario Figliomeni could not be reached this week for comment.
The third project is also on Arthur Street, on the site of the former Bob's Motel.
It's set to be demolished and replaced by a multi-storey Motel 6, with a scheduled opening by August 2021.
The developer, Horizon Hospitality, expects to provide an update on the status of the project next week.
Pepe said there's considerable uncertainty over when hotels will see business improve as normal travel patterns resume.
The Delta Marriott and the Days Inn and Suites on Sibley Drive both remain temporarily closed.
Pepe noted that other hotels in the city have closed some floors.
But he believes the sector's built-in strengths leave it in a position to "stabilize" faster than the national recovery rate.
Pepe said the proliferation of new hotels and brands in Thunder Bay in recent years results from the city enjoying one of the highest occupancy rates in the country.
"In the last couple of years we've seen an enormous increase in revenue per room as well, moreso than the provincial and national averages. The hospitality sector has done very well over the last six or seven years," he said.
Pepe cited multiple contributors including leisure travel, medical travel, conferences, sports events, the mining sector, and Indigenous clientele.
"That really keeps our market traditionally stable. In spite of what we're going through right now, globally, when we do rebound, those sectors will come back and will support the accommodation industry with robustness again," he predicted.
In an email message to Tbnewswatch on Wednesday, Pepe cautioned that "the accommodation sector recovery will not be quick," adding "there will be a new normal. Recovery will take two or three years."
A study released Tuesday by Destination Canada forecasts that 57 per cent of tourism businesses may be permanently closed by the end of May.
"That's new information," Pepe said.
He said it paints a more accurate picture than saying "everything is gong to be rosy or going to be an easy road to recovery, although we will get there if we're patient and focused."
