Ottawa’s hotel occupancy numbers increased, according to new report

Things are looking up for Ottawa's hospitality industry, according to a new report.

The report conducted by Avison Young shows a rise of 50 per cent in hotel occupancy since 2019, which also means that tourism, conferences, and business travel in the capital have been slowly recovering since the pandemic.  

Curtis Gallagher, Principal, Canadian Hospitality Lead at Avison Young, told The Sam Laprade Show on Monday, March 20, that this industry heavily relies on the different seasonal events held in the city, to the extent that the industry continues to grow and return year after year, to round up the overall annual occupancy. 

“If business travel comes back, and some of the largest groups anticipated come back, that will be a benefit and that will push towards that pre-pandemic occupancy,” said Gallagher.

He noted, that in 2019 hotel occupancy rate in Ottawa sat at just under 70 per cent, and 61 per cent in 2022.

But, one of the things that are hard to predict, he explained, is unexpected or unreliable weather changes which also impact the tourism industry.  “Unfortunately, when the (Rideau) Canal doesn’t freeze over, you lose that business, and you can't cash it (back) again and that piece is frustrating,” said Gallagher also pointing to this year's Winterlude.

Regardless, Gallagher is optimistic and is looking forward to a busy year hoping the trend will bring up numbers to pre-pandemic levels.  

Listen to the full interview with Curtis Gallagher below: