which designers, contractors
and subtrades to use, though
they will make recommenda-
tions and warn owners of poten-
tial problems if they’ve had bad
experiences in the past.

Hotel construction requires
both speed and quality control;
the longer it takes to build the
hotel, the less revenue the oper-
ator can earn, while increasing
carrying costs. As well, since
hotels are often built to tem-
plates with standard room types
and sizes, they can be among
ideal candidates for efficient
modular construction. In fact, a
Home2Suites in San Francisco
area is the first modular-built
hotel in the area.

The Home2 Suites in Bramp-
ton was constructed with “total
precast” technology and its
completion was incredibly quick
– about 30 days.

While Hilton wouldn’t discuss
the actual construction costs or
project value, one manager said
“we’re looking at about $200 a
square foot in hard construction
costs.” Of course, there are land costs and other ex-
penses – and these will vary by location.

Hotel management/brand companies and developers
seek to develop symbiotic relationships; the hotel brand
collects management fees and ongoing revenues, while
the developer benefits from the hotel company’s brand
recognition and operating systems. Since Hilton has sev-
eral different brands serving different categories, devel-
opers can (depending on the site), combine more than
one brand on the site with common facilities and ameni-
ties. merk@merx.com
(The Home2 Suites and Hilton Garden Inn in Brampton
for example share a common convention/meeting area.

While the Home2 Suites offers a free breakfast for
guests, if they want to eat a more substantial evening
meal or have a drink, they only need to walk down the
corridor to the restaurant at the Hilton Garden Inn.)
Overall, Hilton says it has 65 Hilton properties under
construction across the country, in the various categories,
including Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hampton Canopy and
Tru. Internationally, the company would like to open 100
Home2 Suites properties every year, and could have
1,000 by 2025.

www.merx.com www.merx.com/events
The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Summer/Fall 2019 – 9