Investors, developers and owners from across the hotel industry came together this week for the 2025 Canadian Hotel Investment Conference.
The 29th iteration of the summit provided expert insight into how the hotel industry is performing, and where it’s headed, amidst current economic conditions and shifting travel patterns.
Here are Green Street News’ top takeaways from the event.
Uncertainty
Like the rest of the commercial real estate industry, and the country at large, the top-of-mind concern to hoteliers is U.S. President Donald Trump’s onslaught of tariffs and ever-changing trade policies.
The issue was raised by speakers across the industry, including Rod Clough, president of Americas at HVS and David Coletto, founder and chief executive of Abacus Data, with the former warning that American hoteliers should “brace for change.”
“Operators need to prepare for disruptions to their occupancy and [average daily rate], and hope for the best but prepare for the worst,” Clough said. But despite the chaos for some, others will find a silver lining: “Buyers of hotels should plan now for opportunity. There will be significant opportunity, particularly for those with cash.”
Opportunity
Acquisitions aside, the opportunity presented by Canadians’ heightened sense of pride is unparalleled. With the buy-Canadian movement extending to travel, vacationers are avoiding the U.S. and choosing to travel domestically instead.
However, the industry must do more to market itself to Canadians. Owners and operators should promote that, in the words of Adrienne Foster, vice president of policy and public affairs at the Hotel Association of Canada, “Hotels are a made-in-Canada business.”
“How do you reset and take advantage of this one moment where consumers are shifting their behaviours?” posed Abacus Data’s Coletto. “In a world defined by precarity … I think the brands that connect emotionally today, not just economically, are going to win in the long run.”
Moderation
While domestic travel is poised to pick up, the trauma from tariffs and looming recession fears will balance out any outsized boost to revenue per available room.
“The word of the year is moderation,” said Nicole Nguyen, senior vice president of CBRE Hotels valuation and advisory services group.
With the exception of Halifax, CBRE Hotels has revised its annual projections downwards in all major markets across the country. The pain is most notable in Niagara Falls: previously expected to see annual RevPAR growth of 6.1% in 2025, the tourist destination is now on track for a 2% decline. Ottawa and St. John’s are also forecasted to have negative annual RevPAR growth.
But the data, presented by Nguyen and Jessi Carrier, senior vice president of Colliers Hotels, does still predict national RevPAR growth of 1.7%. Should there be a “mild” economic downturn, though, CBRE Hotels projects a 3.4% annual decline in RevPAR; in a “significant” downturn, a 10% decline is forecasted.
