Tanya Leafloor in Ottawa on Aug. 16.Blair Gable/Blair Gable Photography
Canadians swarming to vacation spots this summer are finding that while their hotel rooms are much pricier than before, services such as daily housekeeping and a change of towels can be hard to come by.
What you can call “hotel shrinkflation” – inflated rates for a shrinking level of service – reflects a variety of factors. Soaring travel demand and increased costs for the hospitality industry have pushed up rates. Meanwhile, lingering COVID-19 policies and labour shortages still often result in pared-down room cleaning and restricted access to pools, gyms and other amenities.
But there are also signs some standard prepandemic hotel perks may never come back.
“During the pandemic, hoteliers kind of trimmed down their service levels to maintain profitability,” said Laura Baxter, director of hospitality analytics for Canada at CoStar Group, a U.S.-based real estate information provider. For budget-friendly accommodations, that may become the norm, she added.
Despite a predicted return to seasonal patterns – vacation spots being cheaper in the fall than in the summer, for example – pricier hotel rates are also likely to stay, according to Ms. Baxter.
Prices for traveller accommodations, which cover hotels and motels, were up nearly 48 per cent Canada-wide in July compared with the same month last year, and up by an even starker 70 per cent year over year in Ontario, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. By contrast, Canada’s overall annual consumer price inflation rate was 7.6 per cent.
Sharp average rate increases at hotels partly reflect a rebound from two very difficult years in 2020 and 2021. In Ontario, for example, average daily rates plunged nearly 30 per cent from 2019 to 2020, partly because of much lower occupancy rates in pricey Toronto hotels, said Tony Elenis, president and chief executive officer of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association (ORHMA).
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But amid loosening COVID-19 restrictions and a boom of bookings from leisure travellers, nominal prices have now shot past prepandemic levels, according to Ms. Baxter. Preliminary data also indicates occupancy rates last month were in line with those recorded in July, 2019, she said.
Guests, meanwhile, are left to swallow the price increases and the service reductions.
During a recent weekend stay at a Super 8 hotel in Ajax, Ont., for example, Tanya Leafloor of Ottawa said she paid $325 a night only to find there was no daily housekeeping, and the gym and the pool were both closed.
“I chose the hotel because I wanted to be able to use the hot tub,” said Ms. Leafloor, who accompanied her daughter to a lacrosse tournament and thought a warm plunge would help relieve sore muscles.
Super 8 locations, which are franchised, must provide daily housekeeping if guests request it, Stefanie Petropoulos, manager of global communications at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc., whose portfolio includes the Super 8 brand, said via e-mail. Franchisees must also service rooms every third night of a guest’s stay, unless the guest asks otherwise, she added.
Staffing shortages are a major reason for reduced services and access to hotel facilities, ORHMA’s Mr. Elenis said. The pandemic exacerbated a labour crunch that was already dogging the industry, and prolonged COVID-19 disruptions have spurred many workers to permanently leave the hospitality sector, he said.
The industry is now going through a transition as hoteliers weigh how customer preferences evolved through the pandemic, he added.
At Hilton brand hotels, for example, daily housekeeping remains available free of charge, but you may have to ask for it.
“Recognizing some guests may have varying levels of comfort with someone entering their rooms after they have checked in, Hilton offers guests the choice and control to request the housekeeping services they desire,” a spokesperson said in an e-mail.
Marriott International Inc. said guests staying at its premium and luxury brand hotels receive daily cleaning service. However, “guests staying at Marriott’s select brand and extended stay hotels will receive every-other-day cleaning service,” Noelle Perillo, senior director of public relations for U.S. and Canada, wrote via e-mail. “Guests may personalize their housekeeping preferences during the booking process,” she added.
Both companies said travellers should check with their specific hotel to verify what amenities are available.
The paring down of hotel services is hardly a Canadian-only phenomenon. The pandemic forced hoteliers to cut expenses to a minimum during record-low occupancy, Ms. Baxter noted. In the process, the industry may have also found “efficiencies” it wants to preserve, she added.
Consumers, though, won’t necessarily see those cost savings reflected in their nightly rates. That’s partly because hotel price increases reflect burgeoning expenses, as the industry struggles with inflation hitting everything from food and beverage costs to utilities, Ms. Baxter said.
For budget-conscious travellers who are also feeling the inflation squeeze, personal finance writer Jordann Kaye recommends booking early and parsing hotel reviews to spot low-cost options that offer good value.
Ms. Kaye is based in Halifax but travelled extensively throughout the pandemic to be with her partner, who works in civil construction and moved frequently for work. The experience taught her to include lower-rated accommodations in her search and carefully examine customer reviews. If negative ratings lament a lack of amenities and you’re simply looking for a clean room, you may have found yourself a deal, she noted.
Locking in the best rates often requires making a reservation months in advance these days, she added. That said, don’t pass up the chance to make a flexible booking.
With all the flight disruptions Canadians have endured this summer, “that specific extra cost is worthwhile,” Ms. Kaye said.
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