The owners of the Marriott Ottawa hotel said Tuesday the 489-room property – which opened in 1971 and last underwent significant renovations 15 years ago – is about to receive a “sweeping overhaul,” with work slated to begin immediately.
Ottawa’s second-largest hotel is getting major upgrades to its guest rooms, public areas and amenities – a move a prominent industry spokesperson calls a “good sign” for an industry that’s still recovering from the pandemic and bracing for economic uncertainty ahead.The owners of the Marriott Ottawa hotel said Tuesday the 489-room property – which opened in 1971 and last underwent significant renovations 15 years ago – is about to receive a “sweeping overhaul,” with work slated to begin immediately.Known for its distinctive revolving top floor that used to be a restaurant and is now an events space, the Marriott Ottawa was acquired by Toronto-based Manga Hotels Group from another Toronto firm, InnVest Hotels, in the summer of 2023 for $86.5 million.“Manga is excited to be investing in this cornerstone property in Ottawa and our goal is to provide an elevated and modern experience for guests,” Sukhdev Toor, president and CEO of the Manga Hotel Group, said in a statement, adding the new owners are “leaving nothing untouched” in the latest round of upgrades.Marriott Ottawa management did not immediately return requests for comment on Wednesday.Steve Ball, president of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association, said he expects other local lodgings to follow the Marriott’s lead. The Marriott Ottawa opened in 1971 and last underwent major renovations in 2010. Photo by David SaliMost hotels typically get renovated every 12 to 15 years, Ball explained. But he said many Ottawa property owners put projects on hold during the pandemic as tourism ground to a halt and they looked to cut capital expenditures.Now, he said, guests are coming back, and hoteliers are in spending mode again.“It’s just part of the business,” Ball said. “It’s a good sign, actually, because frankly wear and tear is what hotels expect if they’re busy. I think you’re going to find a number of hotels that are probably preparing, planning or in (various) stages of doing some kind of renos.”After several rocky years during the pandemic, the hospitality industry is beginning to regain its footing, officials say.While last winter was marred by a short season for the Rideau Canal Skateway and wet weather conditions, Ball said hoteliers have seen an uptick in bookings through the first few weeks of 2025, especially on weekends.Several factors have worked in the industry’s favour this winter, Ball said. The skateway had an extended run of more than a month until a recent stretch of warm weather, and Ottawa Tourism said Winterlude was expected to draw close to its pre-pandemic highs of more than 600,000 visitors as cooler temperatures kept the canal and other attractions open.Meanwhile, the world junior hockey championship attracted a total of nearly 300,000 fans to games at the Canadian Tire Centre and TD Place arena in late December and early January, the eighth-highest attendance in the event’s history.At the same time, Ball said, hoteliers continue to face their share of headwinds.“I think we’re going to see a very mixed (outlook), partly because of the short-term booking windows now for all kinds of business,” he said. “Leisure (travel) has always been that way, or more so that way, but now even meetings and conventions are booking on much shorter windows.”As with so many aspects of life in Ottawa, politics plays an outsized role in the hotel industry, Ball added – whether it’s the federal government’s actions or the uncertainty surrounding what will happen with U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods and the impact that may have on the local and national economies.“Predictability has become much more of a challenge, and then when you look at the political landscape, nobody really knows the influence of what may or may not happen,” he said. “Whenever you have uncertainty in the world – and we have a lot of that – it trickles down to many different industries, including travel.“Even proroguing Parliament costs some hotels some business because from a corporate travel perspective, people visit Ottawa to do business with the federal government. In election years, that always creates more of a challenge. What’s going on south of the border is a challenge. There’s more challenges than we’d like to see.”Ball thinks Ottawa’s hospitality industry and organizations such as the National Capital Commission need to encourage more visitors to experience Canada’s capital all winter, and not just during Winterlude. “It’s been a topic of discussion for years,” he said. “There’s no reason to promote winter just on weekends when the canal is open all month. I think there is plenty of opportunity to encourage extending (Winterlude), or … what Ottawa has to offer during the winter months.”Looking ahead, Ball said the hospitality industry is showing signs of growth. Three new Marriott-branded properties built by Montreal’s Rimap Hospitality – the AC Marriott on Rideau Street, the Moxy on York Street and the Marriott Renaissance on Slater Street – are in various stages of construction, and the new Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is slated to open in the city’s south end later this year. Meanwhile, development applications have been filed for new hotel projects in Nepean and Orléans.“That shows a whole lot of confidence, not only in the industry, but also our market,” Ball said. “I think we’re holding our own, but I do think there’s opportunity ahead. Really, it’s important to continue to grow and promote our core products – what we are as the nation’s capital.”As for the industry’s outlook for the rest of 2025, Ball says it’s too early to tell given potential disruptions such as a trade war with the U.S.“It’s just hard to predict. I wish I was able to be definitive, but frankly you just can’t right now. And anybody that pretends they know, I’m suspicious.”
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