At least 1,600 new hotel rooms across 13 developments planned for Metro Vancouver

Artistic rendering of the International Trade Centre in North Richmond, with the new OPUS Hotel occupying the tower on the right. (International Trade Centre)

Nearly 1,600 hotel rooms are under various stages of development in Metro Vancouver, according to the most recent analysis by Lodging Econometrics.

The hotel real estate intelligence company says 13 hotel projects are clearly underway in the region, with the projects in various stages of progress ranging from early planning to near completion.

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The most significant project is the new Courtyard By Marriott Vancouver Airport property with 201 rooms, located in North Richmond near the south end of the Oak Street Bridge.

Construction began earlier this year on Cascades Casino Delta Hotel, which includes a 124-room hotel and 42,000-sq-ft casino floor. The project, near the south end of the George Massey Tunnel, is set to open by the end of 2020.

Artistic rendering of Bridgeport Business Centre at 9466 Beckwith Road, Richmond. (IBI Group / Chunghwa Investment)

Artistic rendering of the new Cascades Casino Delta. (IBI Group Architects / Gateway Casinos & Entertainment)

But the nearest term completion is slated to be the new OPUS Versante in Richmond’s Bridegeport area, next to the site of the Richmond Night Market. This property with 110 rooms is slated to open by the middle of next year.

Only two projects are identified for Vancouver; the 97-room Hyatt Place Vancouver Airport in South Vancouver is set to begin construction within 12 months, and a Homewood Suites by Hilton property with 154 rooms is in the early stages of planning, but the precise location is unclear.

Here is Lodging Econometrics’ rundown:

Under construction
- OPUS Versante, Richmond: 110 rooms
- Cascades Casino Delta Hotel, Delta: 124 rooms
Construction begins within 12 months
- Hyatt Place Vancouver Airport, Vancouver: 97 rooms
- Courtyard by Marriott, Langley: 120 rooms
- Four Points Hotel, Langley: 125 rooms
- Residence Inn, Langley: 109 rooms
- Residence Inn By Marriott Vancouver Airport, Richmond: 112 rooms
- aloft Vancouver Airport, Richmond: 88 rooms
- Courtyard By Marriott Vancouver Airport, Richmond: 201 rooms
- Best Western Plus, Hope: 103 rooms
- Best Western Executive Residence, Surrey: 110 rooms
- Hampton Inn by Hilton: 110 rooms
Early planning
- Homewood Suites by Hilton: 154 rooms

This is not an exhaustive list, as it does not include a number of major projects that are in the extreme early stages of the planning pipeline, including a number of major upcoming hotel developments within Vancouver. But some of these projects are replacements that may create a net loss in rooms — not necessarily additional accommodations capacity for the region’s booming tourism industry.

Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver is set to end its long-running tenancy at CF Pacific Centre by the end of January 2020. The hotel is expected to relocate to another location within downtown over the coming years, and its property at the shopping mall is expected to see a redevelopment into a new luxury hotel tower with a mall retail expansion in the base.

A sizeable hotel property is planned for a new mixed-use tower redevelopment at the north end of the Burrard Street Bridge, replacing a portion of the Anchor Point complex.

Over the longer term, the Westin Bayshore Hotel could be redeveloped as well. Concord Pacific is envisioning a mixed-use development with a massive redevelopment with a new hotel, market residential units, and a new home for the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

In March, Spanish luxury hotel chain RIU Hotels & Resorts indicated it was looking at options to open a presence in downtown Vancouver.

Artistic rendering of the hotel redevelopment at 878-898 West Broadway, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture)

New hotel properties are planned for the Central Broadway Corridor as well, specifically a new 438-room hotel on West Broadway — replacing Park Inn & Suites by Radisson — near Vancouver General Hospital.

For smaller projects, Sonder plans to open a number of boutique hotel properties in the city over the short-to-medium term, and the YWCA Hotel near BC Place Stadium is currently undergoing a modest 65-room expansion.

Construction is also underway on a new 13-storey, 106-room Executive Hotel property in downtown Vancouver, replacing the former Edward Chapman building site.

In New Westminster, a mixed-use tower redevelopment next to SkyTrain’s New Westminster Station will include a 120-room hotel.

833 West Pender Street Vancouver Executive Group Hotel

Artistic rendering of the Executive Group hotel building at 833 West Pender Street, Vancouver. (Studio One Architecture)

But many of these projects are on a timeline that is at least several years away, perhaps after the mid-2020s. There will be few interim gains in hotel capacity, despite the record growth in overnight visitation, which is also reflected by record passenger volumes at both Vancouver International Airport and the Canada Place cruise ship terminal.

Within the City of Vancouver, there was a net loss of 1,105 hotel rooms between 2008 and 2018, with the gains in the years leading to the 2010 Winter Olympics now lost.

Of the 23,000 hotel rooms that currently exist in Metro Vancouver, 57% are located within Vancouver. This amounts to 13,925 rooms in the city, down from 15,030 in 2008.

Over the last 10 years, the gains from the construction of 1,457 new hotel rooms were erased by 2,562 hotel room conversions and demolitions, mainly for residential redevelopment. This includes the closure of low-end properties such as the Pacific Palisades Hotel (233 rooms), Coast Plaza Hotel (199 rooms), Empire Landmark Hotel (357 rooms), and Quality Inn Downtown (157 rooms).

The municipal government’s recent policies to regulate short-term rentals such as Airbnb have also limited overall accommodations options in the city, especially lower-cost options.

Vancouver’s hotel room stock. (City of Vancouver)

Vancouver’s hotel shortage compared with rising overnight visitation. (City of Vancouver)

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