New Toronto Luxury Hotel Growth

Toronto, Ontario, Canada lies on the shore of Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. Toronto’s location is ideal for operations with a global focus. The city is 1.5 hours by plane to New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago. The major airport is Toronto Pearson International Airport which has flights available to most major world cities. Toronto is located in the Eastern Time Zone which allows for convenient communication with Eastern North America, as well as Europe. Toronto is also the world’s most ethnically diverse cities which provide international companies much access to multilingual assistants to operate in the market. The city also has distinctive shopping districts and markets that offer a wide range of unique shopping experiences.

Canada’s most exclusive retail district is located in the Bloor/Yorkville area of Toronto. International retailers offering high fashion designs, eclectic boutiques, fine jewelry, art shops, and superb restaurants are available in the village-like atmosphere of Yorkville and Hazelton Lanes.

The city's annual occupancy rate was 68.3 per cent last year, up 9.7 percentage points from a not-so-good 2009. Tourism folks say Toronto was sixth last year in terms of hotel occupancy in North America, and that's pretty impressive. Toronto was 10th in both 2009 and 2008, 13th in 2007 and way back in 16th spot in 2006.

Each of the hotels has a strategy for distinguishing itself based on style of service, location, and amenities. The Ritz-Carlton’s focus will be on its restaurants and their goal is to have restaurants so good even their guests will want to eat in them.

Tim Terceira, GM of Ritz-Carlton, said the Ritz is in a completely different neighbourhood from the Four Seasons but closer to the Shangri-La and Trump. “It’s perfect for a performing arts, sports and financial hub,” he said.

Brian Windle, Shangri-La’s VP of sales