By Teresa McDonald
After the seventh straight month of declining occupancy rates, Ottawa hoteliers are offering complimentary services to entice corporate guests back to the city.
Free voice mail,local calls,Internet service, and access to web television are several ways local hotels are making business travel not only affordable but also convenient for doing business.
“Every hotel is different but there is a move to add services we feel our business clients will appreciate,” explains Roger MacKinnon, spokesperson for the Best Western Victoria Park Suites.
Guests at the Marriott Hotel are provided with a one-stop shop business centre equipped with a fax machine, photocopier and computers.
“I think guests really like having everything they need in one location,” says Jennifer McCue manager of the centre. “Some guests are quite upset when the centre is really busy and they have to wait for the equipment, so I think that’s an indication the service is valuable,” she says.
According to the Hotel Association of Canada, the city’s hotels are filling two-thirds of their rooms, compared to two years ago when occupancy rates hovered around 70 per cent.
Tony Pollard, president of the HAC, points to cost cutting in corporate budgets to explain the decline.
“When the economy sours, business travel and tourism is the first thing to go because companies deem it unnecessary. They can use conference calls to hold meetings,” he says.
John Cosentino, president of the Ottawa Hotel Association suggests the best remedy is to “be patient and ride it out, it is all a cycle that we’ve been going through since Sept. 11 last year.”
But when business travel accounts for more than half of tourism in Ottawa, tourism industry leaders are promoting leisure travel to compensate for a weaker business market.
In the summer, the Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority launched a new marketing campaign aimed at drawing vacationers to the region from across Ontario, the North Eastern United States and within Ottawa itself.
“We want tourism to be well-rounded and to equalize the balance between business and leisure tourism. We are working in tandem with our members, including most local hotels, to make Ottawa an attractive place to visit,” explains Scott Barfoot, spokesperson for OTCA.
After a less than golden summer tourism season, Pollard is looking to a cold winter to heat up the market. “We expect 2003 to be a better year, but what we need is a good winter season when the canal freezes over,” he says.