THE MAGAZINE FOR HOTEL EXECUTIVES/ DECEMBER 2013 $4 THE 25TH ANNUAL PINNACLE AWARDS ISSUE SHINING STARS SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts CANADIAN PUBLICATION MAIL PRODUCT SALES AGREEMENT #40063470 CANADIAN PUBLICATION MAIL PRODUCT SALES AGREEMENT #40063470 hoteliermagazine.com is named Company of the Year KRUGER PRODUCTS : SUSTAINABILITY 2015 IN ACTION reduction1 in In 2010, we launched energy consumption Sustainability 2015 6.7% (7.1% reduction1 since 2009) and set to work on various initiatives to meet our nine targets. At the reduction1 in midway point of 2 our journey we GHG emissions are proud to share 7.5% (19.4% reduction1 since 2009) our progress. We have experienced challenges along the way, but they have helped us tackle situations in different ways and develop solutions in an ever-evolving industry. of fi bre third-party certifi ed This has truly been a company-wide effort. 96% Employees from every department and each of our sites—manufacturing and head offi ce—have contributed to projects and initiatives that are helping us achieve our targets. improvement in We are committed to sustainable growth and innovation. 3 I encourage you to visit sustainability2015.ca to keep logistics effi ciency up with our progress and learn more about how 3.4% (7.5% improvement since 2009) we’re building a sustainable future. increase in FSC®- certifi ed fi bre utilized 10.4% (FSC fi bre represents 53% of total fi bre) Mario Gosselin Chief Executive Offi cer ©2013 ® and ™ trademarks of Kruger Products, L.P. ®’ registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide used under license. EARTH DAY® and the DAY® EARTH used under license. Worldwide trademark of Kimberly-Clark ®’ registered L.P. ©2013 ® and ™ trademarks of Kruger Products, Canada (1991) Inc. Canada (1991) Inc. used with the permission of Earth used with the permission of Earth Day Day Canada (1991) Inc., Canada (1991) Inc., trademarks of Earth trademarks of Earth Day Day Leaf & Swirl Design™ are Leaf & Swirl Design™ are 3Cube utilization. 3Cube utilization. 2Scope 1. 2Scope 1. A.C 1Absolute based. A.C 1Absolute based. Council, Council, Stewardship Stewardship ®FSC—Forest ®FSC—Forest used under license. used under license. TerraChoice TerraChoice M trademark of M trademark of Became Offi cial Earth Day Canada Partner sustainability2015.ca CLIENT Kruger Products BLEED SIZE 8.375” x 11.125” PUBLICATION COLOUR INFORMATION DOCKET # 10157 TRIM SIZE 8.125” x 10.875” Hotelier 2013 PROJECT Sustainability LIVE AREA CMYK APPLICATION InDesign LANGUAGE English PROOF STAGE 1 SCALE 100% DATE October 18, 2013 1384 Cornwall Road T 905.339.3500 Account Manager Heidi Avery X 256 Oakville ON L6J 7W5 F 905.339.3556 Art Director Scott Raven X 227 Volume 25, Number 8 | December 2013 Contents 32 SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR BANKING ON INTEGRITY CBRE Hotels brings transparency to the table, leading to triple-digit sales growth and capturing more than half of all brokered deals in Canada By Denise J. Deveau 45 VIVE LA DIFFERENCE Independent hotel operators are working smarter to set Features themselves apart from the competition 10 CONFERENCE REPORTS By Lindsay Forsey A recap from Unisource’s Strategic Branding conference, Best Western’s convention, the Vacation Ownership 49 SUITE SENSATION Conference and The Western Canadian Hotel & Resort Today’s hotel suites appeal Investment Conference to the desire to be pampered with luxury, technology and 16 LOCAL INSPIRATION, GLOBAL APPEAL space to unwind Hotelier ends its retrospective series on HAC’s 100 years, By Iris Benaroia with a look at the last two decades By Brianne Binelli 57 PARKING POWER 17 THE 25TH ANNUAL PINNACLE AWARDS Are hotel managers Celebrating Excellence in Hospitality underestimating the revenue-generating potential 18 THE PINNACLE HALL OF FAME of their parking lots? Honouring 25 years of Pinnacle Award success By Laura Pratt 20 COMPANY OF THE YEAR 61 A NEW FRONTIER HEAVY METTLE Find out which technological SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts’ vigorous, thoughtful trends are taking over the and big-picture development wins attention in 2013 hotel’s front desk By Laura Pratt By Jennifer Febbraro 24 REGIONAL COMPANY OF THE YEAR WALKING THE WALK Departments Toronto’s Skyline Hotels & Resorts commands attention as a diversified company with blue-chip hotels, four-season 2 EDITOR’S PAGE resorts and real-estate holdings By Ian Harrison 5 CHECKING IN 64 HOTELIER: Jeff Waters, 28 HOTELIER OF THE YEAR The Omni King Edward Hotel, A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS Toronto Dimitrios Zarikos ushers Four Seasons Toronto into the 21st century By Jennifer Febbraro ON THE COVER: Steve Giblin, president and CEO, SilverBirch Scan to view our website Hotels & Resorts COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT KARPA hoteliermagazine.com DECEMBER 2013 HOTELIER 1 EDITOR’S PAGE RAISING A GLASS innovative concepts in foodservice or hotel management as well as their contributions to the image of the indus- try through civic, educa- tional and community involvement. In lauding their efforts, we under- line the importance of excellence in foodservice and hospitality, recog- nizing that it’s through their innovation that we TOASTING SUCCESS: (standing, here has the time become stronger. l to r) Brianne Binelli, Steve Hartsias (F&H, account manager), gone? That’s one As the team at Kostuch Media Tina Alexandrou, Jackie Sloat-Spencer, question typically raises a glass to congratulate this Margaret Moore, Derek Rae, W Brenda James, Mark Spasaro asked at the end of a year. But, it’s year’s winners, we also salute a job (F&H, account manager); an even more relevant question well done on many fronts. First, we (sitting, l to r) Elsie Redekopp, at Kostuch Media Limited (KML) look back with pride, celebrating Rosanna Caira, Jim Kostuch, Maya Tchernina, Mitch Kostuch. where we are celebrating the the myriad achievements of the Not pictured: Wendy Gilchrist, 25th anniversary of our signature magazines and the industries we (F&H, account manager) Pinnacle Awards program. serve. Secondly, we pay homage to When Hotelier magazine’s sister the award-winning efforts of the publication, F&H, launched its remarkable individuals and compa- Man of the Year award (the precur- nies that have shaped this sector. sor to the Pinnacles) in December And, finally, we toast the future, 1988 — presenting the inaugural looking forward to the continua- PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARGARET MULLIGAN AT THE WESTIN PRINCE TORONTO award to George Cohon, then presi- tion of a time-honoured tradition of dent of McDonald’s Restaurants of excellence. Canada — we never could have In the spirit of the holiday imagined how one award would season, on behalf of our president, spawn several others. Today, it’s Mitch Kostuch, and the KML team, a program that encompasses a we’d like to wish our readers and collection of awards presented advertisers a happy and healthy annually (this year there’s seven holiday season filled with many for F&H magazine and four for special moments and, as always, a Hotelier magazine). touch of magic. With each award presented, we have shone the spotlight on ROSANNA CAIRA talented individuals and compa- Editor and Publisher nies distinguished for establishing [email protected] FOLLOW US: For daily news and announcements: @hoteliermag on Twitter and Hotelier magazine on Facebook. 2 DECEMBER 2013 HOTELIER hoteliermagazine.com MITCH KOSTUCH | PRESIDENT & GROUP PUBLISHER [email protected] ROSANNA CAIRA | EDITOR & PUBLISHER [email protected] MARGARET MOORE | ART DIRECTOR [email protected] BRIANNE BINELLI | MANAGING EDITOR [email protected] JACKIE SLOAT-SPENCER | ASSISTANT EDITOR [email protected] MAYA TCHERNINA | WEB COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST [email protected] DEREK RAE | MULTIMEDIA MANAGER [email protected] BRENDA JAMES | SALES & MARKETING MANAGER [email protected] JIM KOSTUCH | DIRECTOR [email protected] CIRCULATION PUBLICATION PARTNERS [email protected] (905) 509-3511 ELSIE REDEKOPP | ACCOUNTING [email protected] TINA ALEXANDROU | EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT [email protected] ADVISORY BOARD: David McMillan, AXIS HOSPITALITY INTERNATIONAL; Bill Stone, CBRE; Anthony Cohen, CRESCENT HOTELS — GLOBAL EDGE INVESTMENTS; Christiane Germain, GROUPE GERMAIN HOSPITALITÉ; Lyle Hall, HLT ADVISORY; Charles Suddaby, CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD LTD. — HOSPITALITY & GAMING GROUP; Scott Allison, MARRIOTT HOTELS CANADA; Ryan Murray, HARBOUR HOUSE HOTEL — NIAGARA’S FINEST INNS; Drew Coles, OXFORD PROPERTIES; David Larone, PKF CONSULTING; Geoffrey Allan, PROJECT CAPITAL MANAGEMENT HOTELS; Stephen Renard, RENARD INTERNATIONAL HOSPITALITY & SEARCH CONSULTANTS; Anne Larcade, SEQUEL HOTELS & RESORTS; Michele McKenzie, THE CANADIAN TOURISM COMMISSION; Michael Haywood, THE HAYWOOD GROUP; David Mounteer, THE THOMPSON HOTEL, TORONTO; David Whitaker, TOURISM TORONTO HOTELIER is published eight times a year by Kostuch Media Ltd., 23 Lesmill Rd., Suite 101, Toronto, Ont., M3B 3P6, (416) 447-0888, Fax (416) 447-5333. All rights reserved. Subscription rates: Canada: $25 per year, single issue $4, U.S.A.: $30 one year; all other countries $40 per year. Canadian Publication Mail Product Sales Agreement #40063470. Member of: Canadian Circulations Audit Board, the American Business Media and the Canadian Business Press. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Printed in Canada on recycled stock. hoteliermagazine.com CTHE LATEST hINDUSTRY NEWSe FORc HOTEL EXECUTIVESk FROMin CANADA g AND AROUNDI THEn