The year 2008 proved to be challenging for many regions within the Canadian lodging and hospitality industry. Over the past 12 months, we have assisted our clients on over 100 accommodation projects across Canada representing in excess of $2.0 billion in hotel assets. The scope of these assignments has included asset evaluation and strategy, new development, acquisitions, refinancing appraisals as well as management and franchise agreement negotiation assistance on behalf of developers, owners, operators, purchasers and lenders. Our assignments have also included market studies for projects with fractional and condominium ownership, including mixed use developments. Our client base is diverse, including multinational corporations, public sector institutions, Aboriginal organizations and individual developers and investors. Projects were undertaken in a diverse range of markets, from Yellowknife to Windsor, from St. John’s to Vancouver Island.
In addition to traditional hotel studies and appraisals, PKF Consulting Inc. undertook numerous other assignments in 2008 within the tourism and hospitality sector including Business Plans for Convention Centres in Charlottetown (proposed); Niagara Falls (opening April 2011); and Fredericton (opening Spring 2011); a Festival and Event Attraction and Support Study, a component of Ontario’s Tourism Competitiveness Study; Accommodation Needs studies on behalf of a number of municipalities; market and financial projections for a retail/wholesale bakery operated within a private club; analysis of ancillary development opportunities for several casinos in the Greater Vancouver area, market feasibility studies for proposed hotels adjacent to convention facilities and a feasibility study for a destination resort that includes a culinary school and luxury spa in the Okanagan region.
APPRAISALS AND VALUATIONS
Appraisals and Valuations totalling over $1.0 billion in assets on behalf of lenders such as the ATB, BDC, Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal, and CIBC
ADVISORY SERVICES, MARKET STUDIES
AND OPERATIONAL REVIEWS
Market Studies & Operational Reviews totalling $2.0 Billion
in assets on behalf of owners, operators and developers.
In 2008, PKF Consulting Inc. conducted assignments in several major cities in Canada. Overall, our projects were located in a diverse mix of urban centres, resort destinations and communities across Canada as well as international projects in the Caribbean.
In October 2008, PKF Consulting Inc. hosted our sixth annual PKF Outlook Forum in Toronto and Vancouver, presenting a review of the performance of the Canadian hotel industry in 2008 and our forecasts for 2009. The events drew hundreds of guests, including developers, owners, lenders and representatives of various hotel companies.
PKF Consulting Inc. continues to be a major supporter of the industry as long time members of the Hotel Association of Canada, the Canadian Tourism Research Institute, the Tourism and Travel Research Association as well as numerous provincial and local associations, supporting the industry's initiatives, also participating and presenting at conferences and events. PKF has continued to make presentations for the major lending institutions, keeping them abreast of the status of the industry, and despite the challenges it has faced, its relative strength. As we remain committed to the industry, all these initiatives will continue in 2009.
David Larone, Director, Toronto
Beth Walters, Director, Vancouver
Brian Stanford, Director, Toronto
Fran Hohol, Principal, Toronto
