Just in time for Halloween, Banff Springs Hotel has been declared Canada’s “most haunted” tourist destination — at least, that’s the finding of a poll by the on-line travel service, FlightNetwork.com.

“I don’t know if it has a reputation for being haunted,” said Jenny Dunbar, communications representative for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, which operates the Banff Springs.

“I think it has an enormous history behind it that people are very familiar with because it’s built in Canada’s first national park, and it was built in 1888. Wherever you have history, you have stories.”

One of the more notable stories is about a long-time bellman at the hotel, named Sam McCauley.

“The story of someone who was a bellman at the hotel, and when he retired he indicated that he loved the hotel, and that he would come back,” said Dunbar. “Apparently, there have been sightings through the years of ‘Sam, the bellman.’”

Already with a solid reputation, Dunbar went on to say the hotel will “roll with the survey” this weekend. She pointed out how a hotel historian, who entertains guests during the week, will be making a special presentation Saturday night called “Is Banff Springs Hotel haunted?”

The Delta Sherbrooke is offering an Omaterra Package, which includes one night’s accommodation, a ticket for Omaterra, a full breakfast at Le Murville and gratuities on meals. Rates start at $106 per night, per person, based on double occupancy now through Aug. 27. To book: Call 819-822-1989 and quote rate code FMJ.

The Delta Quebec in Quebec City has a Discovery Package that includes one night’s accommodation, a full buffet breakfast, complimentary hotel parking and admission to the Musée de la civilization de Québec starting from $207 per room, per night now until Jan. 29. To book, call 1-888-884-7777 and quote rate code FMB.

Smithsonian Tours earlybird savings

Smithsonian Tours offers savings on some of its 2012 trips if you book early. For example you can save $1,000 U.S. when you book the Venice and Medieval World luxury cruise of the Eastern Mediterranean trip by Dec. 1. The trip is April 26 to May 8 aboard the luxury, 114-suite Corinthian II vessel. Tickets for the 13-day voyage start at $8,595 U.S. Not included are two nights in hotels, airfare and taxes.

Similar savings are available if you book by Dec. 1 for other trips in 2012, including the Black Sea, Southern Italy and Sicily and the Legendary Cities of the Mediterranean journeys. Check out smith sonianjourneys.org and click on special offers and earlybird discounts for more information, or talk to your travel agent.

Alexandria, Va., hotel

The Kimpton-owned Hotel Monaco in Old Town Alexandria, Va., a 15-minute drive from downtown Washington, D.C., is offering last-minute getaways with a special Family Summer Fun Package, with prices as low as $199 U.S. per room (for two adults and two children) for stays now through Sept. 11. Along with the Family Summer Fun Package, the 241-room Monaco has tons of kid-friendly and family oriented amenities, including an indoor pool and a nightly Kids Hour with Wii and snacks in the hotel’s living room-style lobby. The hotel also has a Radio Flyer wagon for use by your young children. Book online at mon aco-alexandria.com or call 877-866-3070. Refer to promotional code FAMFUN.

The strengthening Canadian dollar continues to have an effect on tourism and hotel pricing in popular destinations throughout Canada.  Exchange rates are helping to curb international leisure traffic intoCanada, particularly from the United States, so certain hotels are keeping their prices down to attract visitors.

Halifax tops the list this month with an 11 percent drop. Larger hotels in the area are seeing higher vacancy rates this month and are discounting accordingly. This drives down hotel prices across the board.  However, with plenty of conventions coming in the next four to six weeks, we don’t expect this trend to continue through June.

Calgary and Kitchener make their 2011 debut on the list this month with a four percent drop in each city.Calgary has struggled to see tourist traffic stabilize as places like Whistler and Vancouver continue to offer attractive rates throughout the first half of the year. Kitchener rounds out the top five and is a great place for travelers looking to avoid the high rates of nearby Toronto, with this metropolitan hub just 60 miles away.

Hotwire is able to find great deals because it works with hotels, airlines and car rental companies to fill unsold inventory. This means customers can find incredibly low deals on Hotwire, especially in cities like those on the Hotel Rate Report where prices are unseasonably low.

When compared to the same time last year, the top five hotel price reductions for May 2011 include:

1 Halifax, NS

2 Whistler, BC

3 Calgary, AB

4 Vancouver, BC

5 Kitchener, ON

“These cities are great spring-time destinations for those looking to squeeze in a trip before the summer brings larger crowds and higher prices,” said Clem Bason, President of the Hotwire Group. “With the best snowfall in decades keeping the mountains open longer than usual, and hotels trying to capitalize on last-minute opportunities, cities like Whistler and Vancouver are offering travelers some great deals this month.”

The strengthening Canadian dollar continues to have an effect on tourism and hotel pricing in popular destinations throughout Canada.  Exchange rates are helping to curb international leisure traffic into Canada, particularly from the United States, so certain hotels are keeping their prices down to attract visitors.

Halifax tops the list this month with an 11 percent drop. Larger hotels in the area are seeing higher vacancy rates this month and are discounting accordingly. This drives down hotel prices across the board.  However, with plenty of conventions coming in the next four to six weeks, we don’t expect this trend to continue through June.

Calgary and Kitchener make their 2011 debut on the list this month with a four percent drop in each city. Calgary has struggled to see tourist traffic stabilize as places like Whistler and Vancouver continue to offer attractive rates throughout the first half of the year. Kitchener rounds out the top five and is a great place for travelers looking to avoid the high rates of nearby Toronto, with this metropolitan hub just 60 miles away.

Hotwire is able to find great deals because it works with hotels, airlines and car rental companies to fill unsold inventory. This means customers can find incredibly low deals on Hotwire, especially in cities like those on the Hotel Rate Report where prices are unseasonably low.

When compared to the same time last year, the top five hotel price reductions for May 2011 include:

“These cities are great spring-time destinations for those looking to squeeze in a trip before the summer brings larger crowds and higher prices,” said Clem Bason, President of the Hotwire Group. “With the best snowfall in decades keeping the mountains open longer than usual, and hotels trying to capitalize on last-minute opportunities, cities like Whistler and Vancouver are offering travelers some great deals this month.”

About the Hotwire Hotel Rate Report

The Hotwire Hotel Rate Report will run results during the first week of each month. Results are calculated by looking at Hotwire stay dates for select regions in the current month, and comparing prices in the current month against Hotwire prices in the same month in the prior year. Prices are compared within the same star rating categories for consistency, and the percent change in price for each region is generated as an overall average of the changes in those categories. The prices in the chart above are examples for a particular star rating category within that market, and actual prices may be higher or lower than the example that is provided.

Masterbuilt Hotels Ltd. is a joint venture between JWI Investments LP, parent company of Western Canadian home builder Jayman Masterbuilt, and Superior Lodging Corp., master developer of Wyndham Hotel Group’s Super 8 brand in Canada. Masterbuilt is led by Jay Westman and Marc Staniloff.

“The Canadian market continues to show great potential and is on the upswing, making now the right time to bring the Microtel brand to the country in a big way,” Staniloff said in a statement on Thursday.

Accompanying the stunning scenery in the oceanside resort town are the highest hotel prices in Canada, according to the latest Hotel Price Index from Hotels.com.

Rooms in the Tofino area -which includes Ucluelet -averaged $230 a night in 2010, up seven per cent from a year earlier.

Tofino bumped out Lake Louise, home to the priciest rooms in 2009.

Lewis George, who runs Himwitsa Lodge in Tofino with his wife, Cathy, said the development and expansion of swank resorts is driving room prices in the area.

During storm season, rooms at Wickaninnish Inn range from $300 to $975, according to the firm’s website.

Several high-end bed-andbreakfasts have also opened recently in popular areas, such as along Chesterman Beach, George said.

“If you paid over a million dollars for the property and put a bed-and-breakfast there, you can’t be charging $60 a night for people to stay,” George said in an interview.

Rates for Himwitsa’s five suites range from $200 to $310.

In Vancouver, the average hotel room was $147 a night in the first half of 2010, the period covering the Olympic Games. But the yearly average was $140, meaning prices fell after Olympic visitors and athletes left town, said Taylor Cole, a spokeswoman for Hotels.com.

“When you average in the rates later in the year, they returned to pre-Olympic levels,” Cole said in a phone interview.

Last year marked the first time since the financial crisis that room rates rose globally, she said, suggesting an uptick in travel and a strengthening of the world economy.

Whistler hotel prices averaged $177 a night, up about 10 per cent from 2009, and Victoria booked in at $128.

Several Canadian cities had higher average prices than Vancouver, including Saskatoon ($152), Montreal ($147), Halifax ($143), Charlottetown ($152) and St. John’s ($151).

Hotel rooms are at a premium in Saskatchewan, which is enjoying a boom fuelled by potash, crops, and oil and gas. American author Bob Haber was recently in Regina promoting his investing book Go Canada and he found it hard to find a hotel room, which he took as a positive economic indicator.

“Things are really heating up here; business is quite good,” he said.

The hotel price index is based on 2010 prices paid by consumers who booked rooms through Hotels.com, a division of Expedia.

Other 2010 room rates for destinations in western North America (all figures Canadian) averaged $136 in Calgary, $123 in Edmonton, $124 in Seattle, $102 in Portland, $127 in San Francisco, $90 in Las Vegas and $96 in Phoenix.

As for Tofino, the town maintains its character and smalltown charm despite the rapid growth, George said. And the natural beauty and spiritual serenity of Tofino continues to be a huge draw for tourists around the world, particularly Europeans.

“We have trees that are 800 years old that have been protected,” he said.

“You have these old-growth trees that have never been touched. That’s the beauty of Tofino.”

Europeans and Canadians are increasingly filling the void left by Americans, who are staying home because of the weak U.S. dollar, George said.

Sales last year were up compared with 2009 at the firstnations-run lodge.

“We’re back on the upswing, even though the [weak] American dollar has really hurt us,” he said.

“The opening of the Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre is a significant milestone, as it’s not only the largest Holiday Inn in Canada, but also the largest opening in North America following the successful completion of the $1 billion Holiday Inn global brand relaunch” said Gopal Rao, regional vice president, sales and marketing, IHG Canada. “Toronto is a world class city and the ideal place to host Canada’s largest Holiday Inn. This magnificent hotel will cater to tens of thousands of visitors in its first year alone. All of whom will be able to experience on a grand stage Holiday Inn hotels’ global brand relaunch as well as what Toronto has to offer first hand.”

Heart of the City
Located at 30 Carlton Street in the Downtown Yonge neighbourhood, the hotel is steps away from Toronto’s historic landmark Maple Leaf Gardens and within walking distance of the Eaton Centre, Ryerson University and hundreds of restaurants and businesses.

To celebrate the hotel’s grand opening, Holiday Inn reached out to local businesses and partners with the support of the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Association (DYBIA) to participate in their Paint The Town Green initiative. As part of the Paint The Town Green initative, local business gave an early welcome to the Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre by rolling out the welcome mats and painting their doors in Holiday Inn hotels’ signature green in the weeks leading up to the grand opening. In a show of thanks and commitment to the community, Holiday Inn will make a donation to the BIA for every door painted. Holiday Inn will present a $10,000 donation to the DYBIA at the official Grand Opening Green Carpet event on April 6.

“To have the largest Holiday Inn in Canada opening in our neighbourhood will be an amazing boon to our local businesses and community,” said James L. Robinson, executive director, Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Association. “With the Paint the Town Green initiative, Holiday Inn has demonstrated a tremendous commitment to the Downtown Yonge neighbourhood and the business community welcomes them to our diverse and progressive corner of Toronto.”

A New Look and Feel
The Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre provides an intimate hotel experience that is unique to a large scale hotel property. The existing building was gutted and completely redesigned creating a modern design and decor by architect Ava Janikowski of Chase International Consultants in Design. Toronto-based visual artist Neil Young’s artwork was selected for the hotel lobby for his vibrantly colourful abstract visuals that accentuate the hotel’s modern design.

The hotel boasts a variety of dining options including the new urbane dining experience at The Carlton. Renowned executive chef Chris Moreland (formerly of White Oaks Conference Resort & Spa) brings his culinary vision of ‘glocal’ to life with exotic dishes created with locally sourced ingredients. While Thirty Bar & Lounge is the perfect modern and relaxed environment for both business and holiday travelers to enjoy cocktails and tapas. Guests will also enjoy the fitness centre and large indoor pool complete with stunning outdoor patio.

But the drop was expected, says the head of Tourism Calgary, as the industry continues to be impacted by the fallout from the recession.

“Calgary was on such a high, leading the country in economic growth in 2007-2008,” said Randy Williams. “Back then our (hotel) rates were higher.

“The drop isn’t, I don’t think, something we didn’t expect. We thought we’d see 2009-2010 as adjustment years. We should be seeing a rebound in 2011.”

He added that Calgary also added a number of rooms to its inventory last year, which would affect prices, with Le Germaine opening and the Westin re-opening three or four floors that were being renovated.

“If you have more supply, demand is decreased and that affects pricing,” Williams added.

Hotels.com, a website where you can book hotel rooms and operated by travel site Expedia, used the prices actually paid by customers, rather than advertised rates.

Average room prices in Calgary were down three per cent in 2010 over 2009, the company said, to $136.53.

Average prices in Lake Louise dropped four per cent to an average of $213.99, by five per cent in Jasper to $159.16 and two per cent in Edmonton to $123.91, according to the site.

The average price of a room in Canada stayed constant at $136 a night, Hotels.com said, while Toronto, which hosted the G20 summit, saw a four per cent increase to $135.62 and Montreal saw a six per cent increase to $147.79 as F1 racing returned to the city.

Vancouver, which saw prices spike during the Olympics early in the year, experienced an overall two per cent drop to $140.41 in 2010 over the year before.

Williams said the travel and tourism industry is the “canary in the mineshaft.”

“We’re the first ones to feel the recession and the last industry to come out of it,” he said. “When there’s troubles economically, discretionary leisure travel is affected because citizens, Canadians, don’t travel as far or as often if they’re worried about their own economic well being. And business travel is cut.

“And I think we’re seeing that with the price of rooms, two years of the drop in average room rate.”

The online hotel reservation service, a unit of Expedia Inc., says average room prices fell two per cent in Edmonton and three per cent in Calgary in 2010.

Travellers paid an average overnight room rate of $123.91 in Edmonton and $136.53 in Calgary last year, according to Hotel.com’s Hotel Price Index (HPI).

The HPI data reflects prices actually paid by consumers for hotel rooms in cities around the world, rather than advertised rates, the company said.

Price drops were also seen in Jasper ($159.16) and Lake Louise ($213.99), where prices were down five and four per cent respectively, according to the HPI.

Nationally, average Canadian hotel room prices were unchanged at $136 per night in 2010. Prices were up four per cent in Toronto ($135.62), which hosted the G20 Summit, and six per cent in Montreal ($147.79).

Prices dipped by two per cent in Vancouver ($140.41) as rates declined to normal levels following the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympics.

Canada’s three largest cities were the most heavily visited Canadian centres among both international and domestic travellers, according to the HPI.

Of the top international destinations visited by Canadians, all were in the U.S., where Canadians paid six per cent less ($135.93) for rooms than a year ago. Las Vegas was the top destination, followed by New York, Seattle, Orlando and San Francisco.

Resort cities were the most expensive in Canada, with Tofino, B.C. topping the list at $230.11 per night (up seven per cent versus 2009). Hotel room rates in Mont Tremblant, Que., and Whistler, B.C. rose 10 per cent each.

Seats were scarce inside the conference room at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel where the panel was taking place, but one audience member standing at the back of the room was invited up to sit in an open seat.

“That’ll be five dollars,” joked Marc Rosenberg, president of consulting firm Marsalyn Creative.

Panelists discussed the importance of hotels finding ancillary revenue streams. One key opportunity lies in what Valyn Perini described as “the dark period.”

That’s the period guests spend between booking and check-in, she said. It’s an opportunity hotels could use to sell potential activities (such as spa and restaurant reservations, walking tours, etc.) because guests spend that time planning their trip.

“You want to make the hotel stay the center of the experience,” said Perini, executive director of the trade group OpenTravel Alliance that seeks to ensure communication between travelers and suppliers.