Vancouver's OPUS Hotel sets sights on North American expansion with new partnership

The OPUS Hotel may have its roots in Yaletown, but it is about to become a continental enterprise with the help of a new international partnership.

It was announced today that Opus Hotel Corporation (OHC) is partnering with British-based luxury chain YOO Hotels and Resorts (YOO) to develop and operate a number of new hotels in the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere in Canada. These new hotel properties will be branded as the OPUS by YOO Collection or OPUS by yoo2.

Under the deal, OHC will have exclusivity within the Canadian and Mexican hospitality markets, and the original OPUS Hotel Vancouver in Yaletown will not be included in the partnership.

“Opus Hotels Corporation is a perfect match for us. They complement our design-led philosophy with their market knowledge and hotel development experience,” said John Hitchcox, CEO and co-founder of YOO, in a statement.

“The partnership between YOO Hotels and Resorts and OPUS Hotels has created the perfect platform for growth and operational excellence of the OPUS by YOO brand across Canada, Mexico and selected markets in the US. This expansion in key markets will ensure even more travellers can experience our unique designs and guest experiences. We look forward to developing this strategic partnership with OPUS Hotels and continue our growth journey.”

Artistic rendering inside the new OPUS Hotel in North Richmond. (International Trade Centre)

OHC will open OPUS Versante, its second location, near Vancouver International Airport – next to the site of the Richmond Night Market – in early-2019. The 110-room hotel, part of the International Trade Centre office and retail complex, will use the OPUS by YOO brand.

This will be followed by the opening of the six-star, 30-room OPUS Hotel Desolation Sound, a YOO Hotel, in Squirrel Cove, BC.

At this time, no specific developments have been publicly announced for the other markets the chain intends to expand into.

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

See also

• Two new Executive Group hotels planned for downtown Vancouver
• Revised plans for under-construction Exchange Tower consist of 202-room hotel
• Hotel proposed for Edward Chapman building site in downtown Vancouver
• 30-storey hotel and residence proposed for former Vancouver archdiocese headquarters
• Fun City: 18 photos of Parq Vancouver casino hotel resort
• Vancouver's Coast Hotels chain acquired by Japanese company
• Vancouver entrepreneur acquires downtown's Rosewood Hotel Georgia