Meeting Places 2022-2023

MEETING PLACES

meeting and event planning i 2022–23

Centre field global sport-hosting profile brings events indigenous spaCes investment and demand support space

The City of Burnaby features some extraordinary venues with catering packages that are perfect for meetings, corporate events, workshops, conferences, staff parties and holiday celebrations.

With many locations to choose from and a range of packages to fit your budget, let us make your event one to remember.

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Email food@burnaby.ca or phone us at 604-297-4888.

PRESIDENT: Alvin Brouwer

PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER ; VICE-PRESIDENT, GLACIER MEDIA: Kirk LaPointe

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Hayley Woodin DESIGN: Petra Kaksonen

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ADMINISTRATOR: Katherine Butler

Meeting Places is published by BIV Magazines, a division of BIV Media Group, 303 Fifth Avenue West, Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1J6, 604-688-2398, fax 604-688-1963, biv.com

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Cover:

MPI BC  |  CELEBRATING A MEETINGS AND EVENTS REVIVAL

There was a sense of celebration out on the streets this past summer and in our hotels, convention venues and stadiums. I hope you too can see and feel the revival of our hospitality and meetings industry.

This year our Meeting Professional International BC Chapter will be celebrating our 35th anniversary. When our chapter was founded in 1987 we had just hosted the World’s Fair or Expo ’86,

drawing more than 22 million visitors to Vancouver.

Since then, our members have championed many notable global events like the Winter Olympics and TED Talk Conferences, and industry events like the MPI World Education Conference and PCMA Convening Leaders. In the near future, we’ll be an official FIFA World Cup 2026 host city.

These events and so many more take an army of talented teams to procure and orchestrate, and at times it can be several years or even a decade before we get to experience the fruits of our labour. I hope that when you’re downtown or near a venue and you see a

diverse group of individuals proudly wearing a conference badge or showing off their team-branded attire that you will take time to say ‘Hello,’ flash a smile and show your appreciation to them for coming to experience what we already love about our city and province. Each of these visitors represents the dedicated hard work of our local hospitality and meeting community.

We welcome you to come on the journey with us and imagine what the next 35 years will be.

Terri Russell MPI BC Chapter president 2022-2023

CENTRE FIELD

Vancouver’s rising global profile as a sporting host builds on years of groundwork

Vancouver’s BC Place stadium has played host to a number of significant sporting events over the years, including the 2019 NHL

I HAVE BELIEVED FOR A VERY LONG TIME THAT VANCOUVER IS AN EVENTS CITY, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN JUST BEING A SPORTS CITY

Scott Rintoul Vancouver sports journalist

Within months of each other, the city – which made its debut on the global sporting stage with the 2010 Winter Olympics, to be followed five years later with the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup title game – was able to secure a trio of high-profile events: the 2025 Invictus Games, the 2023 Laver Cup tennis tournament and matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

For one of the top officials working behind the scenes to bring these major events and others to Metro Vancouver, the trio of announcements was a sign that the team’s dedicated hard work has successfully pushed the city’s profile as a global sporting host to a new echelon.

“We’re excited to share our story,” says Michelle Collens, senior manager of Sport Hosting Vancouver – a municipal group tasked since the mid-2010s to execute the city’s strategy on drawing and hosting large-scale sporting events.

“These conversations haven’t just been going on for three or four months; it’s been five years in the making for both [the Laver Cup and FIFA World Cup], and for something like this

to fall in place, it takes some time to court the relationship, to understand the logistics, to understand your city’s ability to respond and to be entrusted by the event rights-holders to bring their events. So I would say there’s almost a sense of relief and happiness that the effort was rewarded.”

Collens notes that the 2010 Winter Games and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup did do wonders for raising the profile of Vancouver and its ability to host big sports events. However, Sport Hosting Vancouver was founded to create a more holistic vision of creating a plan for what future events to pursue, how to do so and how to make bringing such events to the city as attractive and seamless to event rights-holders as possible. That involves a multitude of conversations – internally within the City of Vancouver, with stakeholders such as the city’s Hotel Destination Association, Destination Vancouver and others and externally with sporting event organizers – to create a cohesive network that facilitates major games in the Lower Mainland.

CHUCK CHIANG

It has been quite the year for Vancouver’s profile as a host city of major international sporting events.

The 2010 Winter Olympics put Vancouver on the global sport-hosting map • CHUNG CHOW

“I feel so privileged that many events [after 2015] contacted us to say they would like us to host their events,” Collens says. “But we didn’t have a process to evaluate what’s a good fit that will be mutually beneficial to both the destination and the event.… This partnership [with Destination Vancouver and the hotel association] allows us to identify what events we could host based on our capacity and the needs of community.

“Some events are turn-key, when they approach us and there’s a fit for us to respond right away. Then there are others that we identify – and those relationships take two, three years. For the Laver Cup, for example, it’s never been to Vancouver before – and it was a proactive call from us to say, ‘Hi, we are interested and would we be able to get into a conversation to understand what your needs are?’”

Prior to the Laver Cup, Invictus Games and FIFA World Cup announcements, the city had successfully built steady event momentum, hosting a number of HSBC World Rugby Sevens tournaments at BC Place over the years, as well as the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and the 2019 IIHF World Juniors tournament.

A key component to recognize, Collens says, is that most events – in fact, every one except the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup – happened or are scheduled for late fall, winter and early spring, time periods that are usually considered “shoulder seasons” for Vancouver’s tourism industry, which is driven by cruises and conferences in the summer.

“There are not a lot of business conferences booking in November, December, January, February and March,” Collens says. “So we are trying to complement that, because there’s a totally different market that will travel for sports when business won’t travel. This allows us to bring in events in order to build out an entire portfolio of year-round offerings.”

Vancouver sports journalist Scott Rintoul, who has been a veteran of the city’s sports scene for two decades, says the city’s global sporting profile can best be seen in the Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) decision to bring its World Cup games to Vancouver, despite Edmonton once being considered as a host city shoo-in.

“As we know, Vancouver and B.C. in general opted out of hosting the World Cup many years ago, but there was a change in attitude with government,” Rintoul says. “FIFA had something to do with that, them wanting to come to Vancouver. But it does speak to where Vancouver is located, the events we’ve put on in the past that have been world-class and – unfortunately for Edmonton – also says something about the state of their facility relative to the one in Vancouver.”

Rintoul does note that Vancouver’s reputation as a sports town isn’t as strong as some others – but that isn’t as much of a factor when it comes to events that happen once in a blue moon.

“I have believed for a very long time that Vancouver is an events city, which is different than just being a sports city,” he says. “When the city believes it has a big event, people in Vancouver turn out. Now, we can argue the pros and cons of that, but we’ve seen it dating back to David Beckham and the LA Galaxy coming to Vancouver when the Whitecaps weren’t even an MLS

(Major League Soccer) team. We had 50,000 packed into BC Place for a friendly, and that’s just one example.”

The timing of this rise in Vancouver’s sport-hosting profile (after years of slow and steady build) comes at a crucial time for the tourism sector – especially economically, says Royce Chwin, president and CEO at Destination Vancouver.

“These big events give us a level of attention that you’d never be able to afford if you tried to do a media buy,” Chwin says. “There’s a real opportunity to jump-start the visitors economy here in Vancouver.… It’s important because of all the baseline economic reasons. It’s the ability to rebuild confidence in the visitor economy and in tourism. It’s the ability to showcase Vancouver as not a follower city, but a leading city in areas like reconciliation and sustainability.

“It’s a proven fact in our experience in talking to people who have relocated to Vancouver,” he adds. “Whenever we ask how many of them once visited here for a sporting or business event, invariably at least half of the hands in the room go up. And it’s exactly these events that allow for a broader application of the Vancouver brand – to showcase it as a great place to set up shop, to live, to invest.”

THERE’S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT MARKET THAT WILL TRAVEL FOR SPORTS WHEN BUSINESS WON’T TRAVEL. THIS ALLOWS US TO BRING IN EVENTS IN ORDER TO BUILD OUT AN ENTIRE PORTFOLIO OF YEAR-ROUND OFFERINGS

Michelle Collens Senior manager Sport Hosting Vancouver

Hosting big events gives Vancouver the ability to showcase its leadership in areas like reconciliation and sustainability, says Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Destination

Vancouver • CHUNG CHOW

RECOVERY

Companies continue

tap tech

TYLER ORTON

“We had a lot of contracts signed and our customers were just cancelling their events,” Jeff Sinclair, CEO of Eventbase Technology, recalls of the first few weeks after COVID-19 paralyzed much of the global economy.

Prior to the pandemic, his Vancouver company cut its teeth tailor-making mobile apps for large events, such as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver or the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival. For SXSW, the firm at one point deployed 1,000 beacons – wireless devices that detect when a smartphone running an appropriate app is in close proximity – to help festivalgoers connect to each other.

“We were on a really good path. And COVID just really stopped that in its tracks for a long period of time,” Sinclair says.

Schedules, maps and speaker profiles are all mainstays of the apps Eventbase develops. Even as the company transitioned to developing apps for virtual events, Sinclair says that particular market did not remain as lucrative since people were sitting in front of their desktop computers at all times.

But with COVID-19 restrictions loosening across the globe, renewed demand for event technology is re-energizing the industry.

A January 2022 report from events marketing platform SplashThat acknowledged that an expected return-to-form for the industry never quite materialized in the prior year.

But the latest outlook found 59 per cent of respondent event professionals planned to invest more in technology in the coming year.

“As event restrictions ease, interest in large-scale, traditionally in-person events like trade shows and industry expos is rising,” the SplashThat report concludes, noting 60 per cent of respondents plan to hold conferences this year and 51 per cent plan to hold networking events.

“Companies participating in these events will benefit from hosting smaller, more targeted ancillary events that are revenue-generating machines.”

But virtual and hybrid events are not going away. The report notes 46 per cent of respondents plan to host more virtual events this year than they did last year.

Amid the pandemic, some West Coast companies are even turning to the metaverse to facilitate those types of events.

Matt Burns, founder and chief innovation officer of BentoHR, organized the Global HR Summit that saw all 60 speakers don Oculus Quest headsets to engage with audiences in an artificially rendered environment.

“It’s going to take some time for SMBs (small- and medium-sized businesses) to wrap their heads around it, but inside of three years, I would say a significant portion of organizations are going to have some abilities,” Burns says about the potential for more widespread metaverse adoption.

Handshakes, elbow-rubbing and overall schmoozing at events and corporate conferences went out the window at the outset of the pandemic, and the industry quickly transitioned to virtual meet-ups.

Jeff

Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel

Attendees at the Global HR Summit had the option of putting on their own headgear to watch speakers, who appeared as cartoon-like avatars they created for themselves, or attendees could plug in using the less-immersive environment of a 2D computer monitor. Ultimately, about 25 per cent of the 800-plus attendees opted for the VR environment, while the remainder watched the 2D livestream.

Burns says there are still notable barriers to entry for businesses getting on board with the metaverse, such as the perceived high cost of the hardware involved. A top-of-the-line headset such as Meta Platforms’ Oculus Quest 2 goes for US$300.

Meanwhile, the return of in-person events is being driven mostly by large enterprise, according to Sinclair.

Eventbase spent a sizeable chunk of the pandemic diversifying its offerings, creating apps for universities and partnering with other companies on a COVID-19-related project facilitated by the Digital Technology Supercluster.

Sinclair describes it as 18 months of “walking through the wilderness” after laying off one-third of its staff in the early-goings of COVID-19.

But a big push for a return to in-person events began in September 2021 when Silicon Valley giant Salesforce tapped Eventbase for its annual Dreamforce conference, which normally attracts 170,000 or so attendees in San Francisco.

Salesforces reports that around 1,000 attendees made it to Dreamforce 2021, but Sinclair says “that one broke the ground

for other events to follow.”

“Salesforce was so adamant about going back to the in-person event at that time, dealing with some of the restrictions and health checks on-site, and all the hoops you had to jump through to host a safe event,” he says. “They did that and that gave all their customers confidence that they could do that as well.”

Since then, Eventbase has hired another 50 workers to keep up with increasing demand and revenue is close to where it was pre-COVID-19.

“But we expect to blow past that this fall and be profitable this year,” Sinclair says.

“It’s a return to normal, but all of our customers are open to reinventing the way events work.”

Jeff Sinclair CEO Eventbase

Images from the 2020 Global HR Summit, which was organized by BentoHR and allowed attendees to experience the conference in a v irtually rendered environment • SUBMITTED

IT’S A RETURN TO NORMAL, BUT ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE OPEN TO REINVENTING THE WAY EVENTS WORK

Tech conference provides multimillion-dollar bump to downtown Vancouver economy Event was the city’s largest conference since the pandemic began

Downtown Vancouver got an $15.7-million economic bump in August from the 5,000-delegate Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Technologies (SIGGRAPH) conference.

The Vancouver Convention Centre calculated the $15.7-million figure by including direct spending by organizers and delegates during the conference – held August 8-11 – and on two extra days of sightseeing.

The economic bump could be larger, if delegates brought along family members or extended their trips to visit the Okanagan or other places in B.C.

This is the fourth time that the computer graphics and interactive techniques convention has visited Vancouver since its inaugural visit in 2011, when it set the record as the largest convention held at the Vancouver Convention Centre, drawing 16,000 delegates from 74 countries.

SIGGRAPH rotates its annual conference between cities.

“We love coming to Vancouver,” conference chair Munkhtsetseg Nandigjav tells BIV.

“The computer graphics industry in Vancouver has certainly made a global impact, and it’s a privilege to hold our annual conference in one of the world’s most beautiful cities.”

Earlier this year, the Vancouver Convention Centre hosted its largest in-person conference since the pandemic began • SUBMITTED

The Vancouver Convention Centre has hosted other large events recently, such as the Anime Revolution conference held July 29-31, and the TED2022 conference back in April.

MEET GREEN, MEET SUSTAINABLY

Planning a meeting or event? Victoria Conference Centre (VCC) is an ideal place to host eco-friendly meetings and events. From energy-efficiency to water conservation and waste management, the VCC will help ensure your event is as sustainable as possible. Since 2009, the VCC has been working with Synergy Enterprises to measurably reduce environmental impacts.

Book Today! tourismvictoria.com/meetingss

Glen Korstrom

INDIGENOUS SPACES

New investments and demand for Indigenous experiences support development of Indigenous meeting places

GLEN KORSTROM

Increased interest in Indigenous tourism and Indigenous experiences at corporate events is fuelling an expansion of what had been a small part of B.C.’s hospitality and meetings sector.

Increased interest in Indigenous tourism and Indigenous experiences at corporate events is fuelling an expansion of what had been a small part of B.C.’s hospitality and meetings sector.

In part, this renewed interest has come from tragedy.

Indigenous Tourism BC chair Brenda Baptiste says news of 215 unmarked graves discovered last year at the former Kamloops residential school reverberated around the world. Subsequent finds at other sites of former Canadian residential schools similarly helped provide increased awareness.

“What that’s led to is a hunger for knowledge around Indigenous culture, languages, ceremonies and experiences,” she says.

Indigenous meeting spaces are in communities across B.C., and reflect a diverse range of cultures from those areas, she says.

Because larger Indigenous meeting spaces tend to be few and far between, Baptiste says one vision could be for the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations to team up to build – perhaps with some government funding – a large Indigenous venue in Metro Vancouver.

If that facility gets built, it would help Destination British Columbia in its efforts to do what the organization’s vice-president of global marketing, Maya Lange, tells BIV is a goal: to “more deeply reflect Indigenous values, stories and storytellers in the Super, Natural British Columbia brand.”

The Klahoose First Nation spent an untold but significant amount to buy land and build the new Klahoose Wilderness Resort during the pandemic

SUBMITTED

The Native Education College has a fireside lounge large enough to accommodate 120 people • ROB KRUYT

Lange says Indigenous tourism experiences in the past have often been “add-on” experiences for visitors from international markets.

“Now it’s becoming a driver, or a motivator, for why one would choose to visit B.C.,” she says.

NEW VENUES LURE CORPORATE MEETINGS

More demand for Indigenous experiences is encouraging more investment in Indigenous venues.

During the pandemic, the Klahoose First Nation spent an untold but significant amount to buy land and build the new Klahoose Wilderness Resort, says that resort’s tourism manager Chris Tait.

“We’re still doing lots of investments,” he says. “There’s renovations or larger investments, such as a new boat, a new dock, a new sauna or a new hydro system, which is being built right now.”

The lodge has four rooms that have a total of seven queen-sized beds. Three stand-alone cabins have three queen-sized beds each.

Tait says the lodge has so far hosted two corporate retreats. One group was with an Indigenous nation, while the other was a group of managers and directors who were with a private company, he adds.

Bookings from leisure travellers have been rolling in to such a degree that renting the entire resort for a corporate retreat would not be possible until fall, says Tait.

Other investment in Indigenous tourism and corporate meeting spaces came from the Ahousaht First Nation, which in April completed a transaction for its Ahousaht Hereditary Chiefs to spend an undisclosed amount through the Maaqtusiis Hahoulthee Stewardship Society to buy the Tofino Wilderness Resort – a 126-acre property that includes a 16-room floating lodge, a spa, trails, lakes, staff accommodation and a longhouse.

The remote venue is not accessible by car, and is a 25-minute boat ride from Tofino, Hereditary Chief Tyson Atleo says.

“We just finished a few corporate retreats over the last four weeks,” Atleo told BIV in July.

In June, the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation opened the Nemiah Valley Lodge on its territory at the south end of Vedan Lake, which is approximately a two-and-a-half-hours’ drive southwest of Williams Lake.

The resort has seven cabins that each have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and are equipped with Wi-Fi.

These getaways now compete with longstanding Indigenous resorts.

Elijah Mack recently opened his second Kekuli Cafe Indigenous Cuisine, in Kamloops, after finding success with his first such café in Merritt. A third Kekuli Cafe Indigenous Cuisine operates in Kelowna under different ownership.

LONGTIME DESTINATIONS CONTINUE TO ATTRACT VISITORS

The St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino in Cranbrook has long been a destination for corporate gatherings.

Its golf course opened in 2000, with a casino added in 2002. The hotel, added in 2003, now has 125 rooms.

St. Eugene Mission Holdings Ltd. acquired the site in 2017. The venture is owned by the four Ktunaxa communities: ?aqam, ?akinkumasnuqiit (Tobacco Plains), yaqan nukiy (Lower Kootenay) and Kyaknuq+i?it – the Shuswap

Indian Band.

Another established destination is on Osoyoos Indian Band land, where the Hyatt-flagged Spirit Ridge Resort & Spa has 226 condos, suites and villas. That site has nearly 16,000-square-feet of event space, and meeting rooms that can hold more than 700 people.

The nearby Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre has one conference room that can hold 30 people. General manager Jenna Bower tells BIV that a facility with a fire pit and capacity of 60 people is set to be complete

by the end of the summer.

Some spaces for corporate gatherings in Vancouver include the Bill Reid Gallery, the Musqueam Cultural Centre and Gallery, the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre and the Native Education College – all much smaller than what Baptiste says a city the size of Vancouver can accommodate as a marquee Indigenous venue.

The Bill Reid Gallery, at 639 Hornby Street, has two floors of event space that can accommodate receptions with up to 200 people, and dinners with up to 120 people.

NOW IT’S BECOMING A DRIVER, OR A MOTIVATOR, FOR WHY ONE WOULD CHOOSE TO VISIT B.C.

Maya Lange Vice-president, global marketing Destination British Columbia

The Klahoose First Nation spent an untold but significant amount to buy land and build the new Klahoose Wilderness Resort during the pandemic • SUBMITTED

INDIGENOUS

Inez Cook owns what she calls the only Indigenous-owned-and-operated restaurant in Vancouver that serves Indigenous food

ROB

Theatre-style seating for up to 90 people is possible on the gallery’s main floor.

The gallery has a note on its website that it is fully booked for much of the summer and is not accepting rentals at this time.

The gallery at the Musqueam Cultural Education Resource Centre features 1,300 square feet of space, where Musqueam people share their history and culture. The gallery features exhibitions highlighting historic cultural objects and contemporary arts, and is on Musqueam land near the University of British Columbia.

The Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre’s Chief Simon Baker room, with cedar carvings and a skylight, can hold up to 75 theatre-style seats or 60 seats at tables. The facility’s gymnasium can hold up to 450 chairs.

The Native Education College rents space to community groups, with bookings required at least four weeks in advance. Its fireside lounge is large enough to accommodate 120 people, while classrooms are large enough for 25 people. This was a venue used to host Indigenous dinners during

the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The Skwachàys Lodge Aboriginal Hotel and Gallery has 18 rooms. It is distinctive in that it also houses on-site housing and studio space for 24 Indigenous artists.

Salmon n’ Bannock, at 1128 West Broadway, bills itself as Vancouver’s only Indigenous-owned-and-operated restaurant that serves Indigenous food.

Owner Inez Cook serves bison and venison, as well as salmon, bannock and other traditional Indigenous foods. She is not able to sell moose because meat wholesalers such as Hills Foods Ltd. are not allowed to sell it, she says.

Health Canada requires federal meat inspections for meat and poultry that is sold or transported in Canada for local consumption or export, and those inspections are not available for moose.

Cook says she can close her restaurant and rent it to corporate groups up to 34 people as long as the booking is made far in advance.

Salmon n’ Bannock requires reservations and is often fully booked days in advance.

The Douglas makes Michelin’s hotel guide

The boutique hotel and meeting place venue was selected for its uniqueness and local know-how

With its iconic elevator, eclectic furnishings, scenic terraces and luxury suites, The Douglas – part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection of boutique hotels – is a beautifully appointed meeting space.

Now, the hotel – an homage to the Douglas fir trees that lined the banks of False Creek for thousands of years – has made the Michelin Guide’s “trusted selection of unique hotels.”

Launched in 2021, Michelin says its hotel guide is curated with the same high standards as its restaurants.

The list includes hotels that “inspire discovery or adventure” and are selected by a community of travellers and Tablet Hotels – the Michelin Guide’s hotel experts since 2018.

“We’re honoured to be a part of the Michelin Guide’s hotel selection,” says Graeme Benn, dual property general manager of JW Marriott Parq Vancouver and

The Douglas.

“The Douglas aims to spark curiosity, and we’ve designed several programs to that end. From the hidden lounge in D/6, to the revolving ‘Storyteller in Residence’ series and the elevated sixth-floor park which breathes life back into the city, we invite guests and locals to discover something new with every visit.”

Michelin searches the globe to find hotels that accommodate a variety of tastes and budgets. The Douglas joins seven other Vancouver hotels who made the book, including properties such as L’Hermitage Hotel, the Fairmont Pacific Rim and Opus Hotel.

The Douglas was selected for its “uniqueness, excellence in all areas, local know-how and the art of living.”

FROM VANCOUVER IS AWESOME STAFF

The D/6 lounge is one of several meeting and events spaces at The Douglas • SUBMITTED

Elana Shepert

Montreal

NEW ENVIRONS

Outdoor meetings can inspire and foster collaboration

ALBERT VAN SANTVOORT

While meetings are a part of most people’s corporate lives, it is no secret they can get a little boring. A meeting in a stale and formal boardroom environment, disrupted by interruptions and stunted by office politics, can reduce productivity and, ultimately, a meeting’s effectiveness.

Many are looking for ways to break the meeting routine, enhance employee engagement, boost employee communication and elevate focus to not only make meetings more effective, but also create a happier workforce.

Heather Pelletier recently started Nature’s Boardroom with the goal of transforming corporate team meetings and events. The company prioritizes the use of nature to help develop talent, foster teamwork and increase

employee engagement.

“I knew that there would be an appetite to have a new format of gathering and I felt it would be compelling for that to be in nature because I think nature has a lot to teach us,” says Pelletier.

Through her programs, Pelletier offers organizations a chance to take their meeting out of the corporate box – literally and figuratively – and into the woods.

”It’s a breathe of fresh air,” she says. “When you get out of your regular space and typical roles, you become just a group of people hiking in the forest.” It allows people to get out of not just the office’s physical structure, but some of the hierarchal and social structures that exist as well. In nature’s environment, those traditional office hierarchies melt away, says Pelletier.

So, why outside? Simply put, its restorative. Studies have shown that spending time outdoors in nature can help reduce stress, foster creativity, restore mental energy and even increase creativity and productivity –things that traditional, less stimulating meetings may inhibit.

Not only does the physical act of gathering in the forest for a hike help promote better cooperation, communication and understanding within a workforce or team, but the more technical, biological happenings within a forest can offer important lessons about teamwork and achieving common goals. Pelletier points to the cooperation between birch trees and Douglas firs, and a fungal network that allows trees to transfer energy to each other. In the winter, when birch trees are bare and the needles of Douglas firs are able to photosynthesize, this fungal network allows one tree to send energy to the other. During the summer, when birch trees’ leaves cover fir trees’ needles, birch trees can reciprocate and transfer carbon and energy to firs. Taking the time to reflect on and learn from these kinds of relationships can provide payoffs for organizations.

“Following the themes that exist in the natural ecosystems of nature, we can get back to a more natural ecosystem within the company,” says Pelletier.

Organizations that try this new approach of meeting outdoors are often surprised by how employees are able

FOLLOWING THE THEMES THAT EXIST IN THE NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS OF NATURE, WE CAN GET BACK TO A MORE NATURAL ECOSYSTEM WITHIN THE COMPANY

Heather Pelletier Owner Nature’s Boardroom

to be themselves and have hard conversations that get to the root of a business’s or individual’s development, says Pelletier.

Surrounded by nature and away from deadlines and ringing phones, team members are able to work together in a way that fosters greater communication and cooperation than does a traditional office environment. Pelletier says that working in and learning about nature can also help challenge some of the misconceptions about business and organizational success, and help companies shift their culture dramatically from one that prioritizes a winner-take-all mentality to one that helps promote group success, teamwork and collaboration.

Heather Pelletier is the founder of Nature’s Boardroom

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Record-setting pricing for a Kelowna hotel made B.C. the priciest market in the country for hospitality properties in the first half of 2022.

The Kanata Kelowna Hotel & Conference Centre sold to Hollypark Hotels Corp. of Vernon in June, in what broker Mack Hair of Macdonald Realty in Kelowna described as “the second-highest price ever paid for a hotel in B.C. outside of the Lower Mainland.”

A purchase price for the Kanata was not disclosed, but the highest price ever paid for a hotel outside the Lower Mainland was $131 million.

Royal Host REIT’s sale of the Grand Okanagan Resort to Delta Hotels Ltd. in 2008 worked out to an average price of $404,320 a room.

Originally built in 1993 and expanded in 2010, the Kanata has a total of 190 rooms and 5,000 square feet of conference space. An average room price similar to the Grand Okanagan Resort would put the Kanata sale price in the range of $80 million.

The high price makes the transaction the largest single deal among all B.C. hotel sales in the second quarter of this year.

According to Colliers International, four properties worth $167.1 million sold during the quarter. The average price per key was $385,000.

This marked an intensification of the market from the first quarter, when seven hotels sold for just $32.2 million.

The hotel market continues to be plagued by the lingering effects of the pandemic. While occupancies are rebounding, Colliers noted that cross-border travel remains at 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. This will be critical to restoring the performance of hotels as revenue-producing assets.

Rising interest rates are another factor playing into the overall transaction market.

“What was anticipated to be a relatively strong year for hotel investment will likely be softened by a rising interest rate environment,” Colliers reported.

Similar to other sectors, however, the return to more normal performance levels will support revenues and strengthen the confidence of lenders when it comes to financing transactions.

The tourism outlook for the Okanagan is promising, and this gave Sam Dhillon, CEO of Hollypark, the confidence to add the Kanata to his portfolio, which also includes the Fairfield by Marriott hotels in Vernon and Salmon Arm.

“We’re excited about acquiring this hotel in such a prime location in midtown Kelowna,” Dhillon says.  “I believe that growth in tourism volume to the Kelowna area will outpace most Canadian markets over the next decade. We’re betting big on the hotel sector after two years of uncertainty in the industry.”

Kelowna hotel sale nabs top spot among this year’s deals

Kanata Kelowna ranks as the Interior’s second-largest hotel sale ever

KanataHotel • HOLLYPARK HOTELS

Peter Mitham

New 129-room hotel pitched for Victoria International Airport Airport authority in favour as B.C.’s travel and hotel industry recovers

Among the latest signs of a recovery in B.C.’s hotel sector: Victoria International Airport is considering a proposal for a new 129-room Marriott hotel.

Proposed by Kothari Group as its first B.C. project, the hotel will be a TownePlace Suites project by Marriott. The TownePlace brand is described as “an all-suite extended stay upper midscale hotel experience.”

“We see the addition of a hotel at this location as a logical fit and a great new amenity for the airport and community,” says Victoria Airport Authority’s president and CEO Geoff Dickson. “It is an opportunity for Victoria International Airport to further diversify its revenue base which has been dramatically impacted by the pandemic. We look forward to working with the Kothari Group to hopefully see this exciting proposal come to fruition.”

The Kothari Group was established in Canada in 1996 with a focus in real estate related investments. Kothari’s hotel group works with international brands such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt to develop and manage hotels across Canada.

“We are excited to work with Victoria Airport Authority and Marriott International to bring the first true extended stay hotel in this growing tourist and business market. This project is our group’s first of what we hope are many investments in British Columbia and the Greater Victoria region,” said Anupam Kothari, president of Kothari Group, in a statement.

The proposal is on federal land within the Town of Sidney’s boundaries. Sidney’s staff and council will have the opportunity to review and provide comment on the proposal.

If approved, construction could begin in early 2023. It is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete the hotel with plans that call for a restaurant, 1,500 square feet of meeting space, a swimming pool and a fitness centre.

There are currently more than 400 TownePlace Suites properties across the United States and Canada.

Carrie Russell, senior manager at hotel industry consultancy HVS International, does not expect Canadian hotel revenues to fully recover to pre-COVID levels for at least two years.

“This year we expect a 44 per cent increase in RevPAR (revenue per available room, a key industry metric) to almost $80 with continued recovery until 2024 when it has fully recovered. Since the health restrictions have started to lift across the country, we are seeing booking activity increase and hoteliers are optimistic about performance this summer. Corporate travel is also starting to resume, albeit at a very moderate pace right now,” she says.

Colliers, in its 2022 Canadian Hotel Investment Report states: “The recovery is underway but will be a journey.” The agency notes there is pent-up demand for travel, particularly for leisure and business travel.

After near-zero construction of new hotels in Metro Vancouver over the past three years, at least three new hotels are being planned.

Peterson Group and Coromandel Properties have bought a 0.73-acre site in Vancouver’s Oakridge area for a joint-venture hotel as part of a residential complex.

Landa Global Properties announced last June it is planning a major hotel as a keystone of a mixed-use development on a 3.5acre site near Richmond’s Oval Village waterfront.

Meanwhile, developer Marcon and QuadReal Properties have released plans for a 150-room hotel, “comparable to a Hilton or Marriott,” as part of a large mixed-use proposal in Coquitlam Town Centre on Pinetree Way and Lougheed Highway.

There are more than 400 Marriott TownePlace Suites hotels across North America

• MARRIOTT

Frank O’Brien

Richmond is home to the best airport hotel in North America. The Fairmont Airport Vancouver, which is connected to Vancouver International Airport, ranked as one of the best airport hotels in the world this year.

According to a 2022 list of the world’s best airport hotels by the Skytrax World Airport Awards, the YVR-based hotel placed fifth in the world and took the No. 1 spot in North America.

“This award is a true honour and we dedicate it to our entire team who continue to deliver extraordinary experiences for our guests and colleagues every day,” said Randall Williams, general manager of Fairmont Vancouver Airport, in a press release.

“We are thrilled to be recognized once again amongst the top hotels in the world.”

The World Airport Awards are based on guest surveys, which are collected from airline passengers at 550 airports over a six-month period.

Hotels are then assessed through standards such as overall experiences, access to and from an airport, the professionalism of staff, cleanliness, services, food and the overall value for the cost.

Valerie Leung

YVR hotel deemed best in North America

Fairmont Airport Vancouver is the continent’s top airport hotel

Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel is the top hotel in North America in

SUBMITTED

BIGGEST DESTINATION RESORTS IN B.C.

of guest rooms

BIGGEST CONVENTION AND MEETING VENUES IN B.C.

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BIGGEST HOTELS IN METRO VANCOUVER/WHISTLER

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS FOR MEETING AND EVENT PLANNERS

Association of Destination Management Executives admei.org

BC Meetings and Events Industry Working Group bcmeetingsandevents.ca

Canadian Association of Exposition Management caem.ca

Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) canadianspeakers.org

Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners canspep.ca

Canadian University and College Conference Organizers Association cuccoa.org

Center for Exhibition Industry Research ceir.org

Connected International Meeting Professionals Association cimpa.org

Convention Centres Canada conventioncentrescanada.com

Corporate Event Marketing Association cemaonline.com

Destination Marketing Association of the West dmawest.org

Destinations International destinationsinternational.org

Event Service Professionals Association espaonline.org

Events Industry Council eventscouncil.org

Exhibition Services & Contractors Association esca.org

Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Association eaca.com

Experiential Designers and Producers Association edpa.com

Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals ficpnet.com

Global Business Travel Association - Canada gbta.org/canada

Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association hcea.org

Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International hsmai.org

Incentive Marketing Association incentivemarketing.org

International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) iacconline.org

International Association of Convention Centres aipc.org

International Association of Exhibitions and Events iaee.com

International Association of Fairs & Expositions fairsandexpos.com

International Association of Professional Congress Organisers iapco.org

International Association of Speakers Bureaus iasbweb.org

International Association of Venue Managers iavm.org

International Congress and Convention Association iccaworld.org

International Festivals & Events Association ifea.com

International Hotel & Restaurant Association ih-ra.org

International Live Events Association ileahub.com

Meeting Professionals International mpi.org

Meetings Mean Business (MMB) Canada meetingsmeanbusiness.ca

National Association of Consumer Shows (NACS) nacslive.com

Professional Convention Management Association pcma.org

Senior Planners Industry Network (SPIN) spinplanners.com

Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) - Canada sitecanada.org

Society of Independent Show Organizers siso.org

Wedding International Professionals Association wipa.org

PROVINCEWIDE TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES

AIRLINES

Air Canada Meetings/Conventions desk 1-800-361-7585 conventions.congres@aircanada.ca, aircanada.com/conventions

Central Mountain Air 6431 Airport Rd Box 998, Smithers, V0J 2N0 250-877-5000, f-250-847-3744, 1-800-963-9611 charters@flycma.com, flycma.com

Harbour Air Seaplanes

4760 Inglis Dr, Richmond, V7B 1W4 604-274-1277, f-604-274-1200, 1-800-665-0212 reservations@harbourair.ca, harbourair.com

Iskwew Air

5360 Airport Rd S Richmond, V7B 1W4 604-273-7713, 1-877-273-7713 fly@iskwew.ca, s iskwew.ca

London Air Services 4980 Cowley Cres, Richmond, V7B 1B8 604-272-8123, f-604-233-0202, 1-877-399-8123 info@londonair.ca, londonair.ca

Oceanside Air

A5 - 1000 Ravensbourne Ln, Qualicum Beach, 250-594-6872 info@oceansideair.com, oceansideair.com

Pacific Coastal Airlines 4440 Cowley Cres Suite 204, Richmond, V7B 1B8 604-214-2358, f-604-273-6864, 1-800-663-2872 sales@pacificcoastal.com, pacificcoastal.com

Seair Seaplanes Ltd 4640 Inglis Dr, Richmond, V7B 1W4 604-273-8900, f-604-273-7351, 1-800-447-3247 contact@seairseaplanes.com, seairseaplanes.com

WestJet Meetings & Conventions 1-888-493-7853 conventions@westjet.com, westjet. com/en-ca/book-trip/groupscharters/index

BUS SERVICES

Cantrail Coach Lines Inc

1150 Station St Suite 220, Vancouver, V6A 4C7 604-294-5541, 1-877-940-5561 charters@cantrail.com, cantrail.com

Charter Bus Lines of British Columbia 8730 River Rd, Delta, V4G 1B5 604-940-1707, f-604-940-2955 sales@cbl.ca, charterbuslines.com

International Stage Lines

4171 Vanguard Rd, Richmond, V6X 2P6 604-270-6135, f-604-270-8162 charter@islbus.com, islbus.com/ groups/conference.asp

Luxury Transport Inc

Whistler

604-522-8484, 1-877-425-4692 inquiry@luxbus.com, luxbus.com

Universal Coach Line

11560 Eburne Way Suite 128, Richmond, V6V 2G7

604-322-7799, 604-322-7978 info@universalcoach.ca, universalcoachline.ca

Westcoast Luxury Coach Lines

7280 River Rd Suite 110, Delta, V6X 1X5 604-800-7720 info@wlcoachlines.ca, wlcoachlines.ca

CAR RENTALS

Avis Rent A Car Downtown (757 Hornby St), Vancouver 604-606-2869 avis.ca

YVR, South Terminal 604-606-2847, f 604-606-2830, 1-888-897-8448 or 1-800-525-7537 avis.ca

Victoria 1001 Douglas St, Victoria 250-386-8468, 1-800-879-2847  avis.ca

Budget Rent A Car

Downtown (416 West Georgia St), Vancouver 604-668-7000, 1-800-268-8900 conventions@bc.budget.com, budgetbc.com/conventions

724 Douglas St, Victoria 250-953-5300, f-250-953-5227, 1-800-668-9833 budgetvictoria.com/conventions

Enterprise Rent A Car

Vancouver International Airport, Richmond 833-619-3651, 1-866-799-7968 enterprise.ca

Downtown (1250 Granville St), Vancouver 604-688-5500, f-604-688-5505, 1-800-736-8222

Hertz Canada Vancouver International Airport, Richmond 604-606-3700, 1-800-654-3131 hertz.ca

Downtown (Fairmont Pacific Rim), Vancouver 604-606-1666

Victoria International Airport, Sidney 250-657-0380, 1-800-263-0600

FERRIES

BC Ferries

1112 Fort St, Victoria, V8V 4V2 250-386-3431, f-250-388-7754, 1-888-BCFERRY customerservice@bcferries.com, bcferries.com

HELICOPTER SERVICES

Helijet International 5911 Airport Rd S, Richmond, V7B 1B5 604-273-4688, f-604-273-5301, 1-800-665-4354 charters@helijet.com, helijet.com

TRAIN SERVICES

Rocky Mountaineer Vacations

980 Howe St Suite 1100, Vancouver, V6Z 0C8 604-606-7200, f-604-606-7201, 1-800-665-7245, 1-866-899-9679 groups@rockymountaineer.com, rockymountaineer.com

Via Rail

1150 Station St, Vancouver, V6A 2C7 604-640-3700, f-604-640-3757, 1-888-VIA-RAIL info@viarail.ca, viarail.ca/en/conference-fares

PENTICTON TRADE AND CONVENTION CENTRE

As one of the largest convention centres in the province and the Okanagan Valley’s only full-service facility, we offer you 60,000 sq ft of versatile, flexible space that can easily be configured to meet your meeting, convention, trade show, festival, or special event needs.

Additional 30,000 sq ft of special event and exhibit

900 boutique hotel rooms under 10 min walk

In-house food & beverage service Endless off-site experiences

In the heart of British Columbia's wine country

Direct flights from Vancouver, Calgary & Edmonton space through our attached sports arena

Dana Harlos | Sales Manager

Penticton Trade and Convention Centre

dana.harlos@penticton.ca | 250.490.2461

Karen Davy | Convention Bureau & Business Liaison Manager

Meet in Penticton

karen.davy@meetinpenticton.com | 250.328.4576

273 Power Street, Penticton BC V2A 7K9 www.pentictonconventioncentre.com