The Kamloops Sandman Hotel.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/ Sandman Hotel Group

Kamloops hotels were close to full occupancy last summer and more rooms were occupied by customers in 2022 than during the pre-pandemic boom in 2019.

Kelowna, on the other hand, still didn't reach the 2019 occupancy levels in 2022.

Hotels in both Kelowna and Kamloops, along with the rest of B.C., brought in more revenue than in 2019, according to data provided to iNFOnews.ca by the CoStar Group, a company that analyzes the hotel industry.

“A lot of segments that have been lagging in other parts of the country have certainly returned in Kamloops,” Laura Baxter, CoStar’s director of hospitality analytics, said. “Group travel is down slightly in demand (nationally) but in Kamloops it’s way ahead of pre-pandemic times.”

READ MORE: Hotels in Okanagan, Kamloops recovering from COVID-19 faster than rest of Canada

A number of factors contributed to the rebound in Kamloops.

For one, sports tournaments returned big time to the city, she said. Secondly, but related, room rates are substantially lower than in many tourist destinations in B.C.

The average room rate for a Kamloops hotel in 2022 was just under $142 compared to around $190 in Kelowna.

“Kamloops is a good price conscious alternative to many other places within B.C. that have quite high room rates,” Baxter said, adding B.C. has high room rates compared to other parts of the country at about $218.

Another factor is the lack on any new hotel properties being developed in Kamloops.

In 2022, Kamloops had 50 properties with 3,067 rooms, which is only four more rooms than at the end of 2019.

Kelowna on the other hand added three properties and 400 rooms during the same time period and now has 38 properties with 3,686 rooms.

In terms of room occupancy, Kamloops hit 72.6% for 2022, up from 63.6% in 2019. In July, 87.8% of hotel rooms in the city were booked. That peaked at 88.4% in August, which is “pretty much fully booked” Baxter said.

“I think there have been quite a few developers that notice those high occupancy rates,” Baxter said.

While high rate of inflation and rising construction costs have forced developers to back away from some projects, Baxter is expecting to see new projects coming forward by the end of the year.

Kelowna had a 2022 occupancy rate of only 60.4%, which is down from 63.7% in 2019. The provincial occupancy rate last year was 66.5% compared to 69.6% in 2019.

Even with lower occupancy rates in Kelowna, total revenues were up, reaching $156.6 million in Kelowna in 2022 versus $124.7 in 2019.

Kamloops hotels took in $115.2 million in 2022, compared to $81 million in 2019.

“The rebound (nationally) has been really remarkable, although there are few segments that are still lagging such as corporate travel and international travel,” Baxter said. “Once those segments do return, we should be in good shape compared to 2019.”

Large corporations don't seem to be returning to pre-pandemic travel levels now that they've discovered the advantages of online networking, Baxter said.

But small- to medium-sized businesses with more of a local focus are responding to Zoom fatigue by getting back into corporate travel. That may be impacted by the looming recession, depending on how deep and long that recession lasts. Most economists are expecting a short shallow recession.

In terms of tourism, Baxter doesn’t see the recent relaxation of travel restrictions in China as having much of an impact because, at least initially, most Chinese travellers are likely to stay with family. On the other hand, she sees a bright future for travel from the U.S.

“This year will be a great year for international visitation, especially from our American neighbours,” Baxter said. “There are fewer restrictions on entering the country. They haven’t been able to visit without filling out forms and not necessarily having any clear indication of how to enter the country.”

On another positive note, the dramatic labour shortages that hit hotels as the country emerged from the pandemic seem to be easing, Baxter said.

“The industry, in general, is in really good shape,” she said.

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