The year 2009 has been among the most challenging in recent memory in terms of the performance of the lodging sector in Canada. PKF Consulting Inc. is providing assistance to clients across the country, being involved on over 100 accommodation projects representing in excess of $2.0 billion in hotel value. 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 large urban centres such as Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal to smaller communities such as Truro, Nova Scotia and Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Our projects in 2009 included a national engagement involving preparation of individual asset strategies and individual quarterly valuations on a 35 hotel portfolio strategy.
In addition to traditional hotel studies and appraisals, PKF Consulting undertook numerous other lodging and tourism related projects in 2009. These projects included an expansion feasibility analysis for a ranch resort in Alberta, a golf course feasibility study in Metro Vancouver, a strategic asset position evaluation for the owner of a group of resort properties in the Alberta Rockies and a compilation of historic operating results and trends for a group of casino operators. In the Fall of 2009, PKF Consulting partnered with another firm to prepare and conduct a series of 10 Tourism Investment workshops throughout Ontario on behalf of the Economic Development Council of Ontario, with a goal to educate economic development professionals, tourism officials and locally elected officials about the business side of tourism investment, including what it takes to make a successful accommodation development work.
ADVISORY SERVICES, MARKET STUDIES
AND OPERATIONAL REVIEWS
In 2009, PKF Consulting Inc. conducted assignments in a diverse mix of urban centres, resort destinations and communities across Canada as well as international projects in the Caribbean.
In October 2009, PKF Consulting Inc. hosted our seventh annual PKF Outlook Forum in Toronto and Vancouver, presenting a review of the performance of the Canadian hotel industry in 2009 and our forecasts for 2010. 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 2010. PKF Consulting is currently undertaking an Economic Impact Analysis of Canada’s lodging sector during 2009, with the results to be released at the HAC Conference to be held in Toronto from Feb 3-5, 2010.
David Larone, Director, Toronto Beth Walters, Director, Vancouver
Brian Stanford, Director, Toronto Fran Hohol, Principal, Toronto
