The Exchange | 115.7m | 31fl, 13fl | 400,000sqft. | Completed

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Architype

I think it's about irony in architecture, it's so obviously fake that it's art.

I suggest putting a few "ghouls" in the windows, like "The Scream" character by Edvard Munch.

[SpongeG]

I actually ended up walking past that place today, it doesn't look as bad in person but it does look stupid. Side note we walked through Bentall Centre and wow is that place ever deserted.

[officedweller]

Pics by me today:

[C3YVR]

The hotel crane finally came down today.

[officedweller]

The adjacent hotel opens this summer as 'AZUR Hotel' one of the 'Leading Hotels of the World' branding.

http://azurhotelvancouver.com/?fbcli...FSXbYZjLuIO-ib

[Klazu]

Yikes, starting at $900/night. Just no. This property and those rooms are far from being that nice.

Hotel situation in Vancouver is currently a joke.

[C3YVR]

As the only downtown hotel constructed through COVID it has been a long time coming, but it is looking close to finishing. Except for the front entry most of the exterior work is done, and the rooftop patio should be popular. About half of the rooms are now furnished, so it looks like it is the common areas that need the most work.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Yikes, starting at $900/night. Just no. This property and those rooms are far from being that nice.

Hotel situation in Vancouver is currently a joke.

It depends when you book for. It's $842 for 1 September, but 1 November is $383 for a room.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by Changing City

It depends when you book for. It's $842 for 1 September, but 1 November is $383 for a room.

That’s still a joke.

Was in Osaka with my wife and kids a few weeks ago, was $150 bucks a night and that included the indoor wave pool / water slides / onsen (bathhouse) and all you can eat buffet dinner.

How overpriced Vancouver has become boggles my mind.

One night in a hotel in downtown Vancouver… or a month and a half of my rent, hmmm.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

That’s still a joke.

Was in Osaka with my wife and kids a few weeks ago, was $150 bucks a night and that included the indoor wave pool / water slides / onsen (bathhouse) and all you can eat buffet dinner.

How overpriced Vancouver has become boggles my mind.

One night in a hotel in downtown Vancouver… or a month and a half of my rent, hmmm.

You've been away a long time. Downtown Vancouver hotel prices are pretty much in line with large cities around most of North America and Europe. They may be expensive, but so is the western world in general. I was in a very good hotel in Prince George last week, but it was over $200 a night, with a pool, but no waves, and a breakfast buffet (and I was paying that to be in Prince George!)

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Yikes, starting at $900/night. Just no. This property and those rooms are far from being that nice.

Hotel situation in Vancouver is currently a joke.

Originally Posted by Changing City

It depends when you book for. It's $842 for 1 September, but 1 November is $383 for a room.

Originally Posted by Metro-One

That’s still a joke.

Was in Osaka with my wife and kids a few weeks ago, was $150 bucks a night and that included the indoor wave pool / water slides / onsen (bathhouse) and all you can eat buffet dinner.

How overpriced Vancouver has become boggles my mind.

One night in a hotel in downtown Vancouver… or a month and a half of my rent, hmmm.

One thing that plays a huge (and surreptitiously subconscious role in hotel pricing) seems to be the style, name, and associated image. This hotel Azur is based in France, as are many others.
The formerly Canadian chain of Fairmont Hotels was bought by ACCOR Hotels of France in 2016, and their roster ranges from super upscale, to budget hotels. Accor, by the way, is a giant hotel conglomerate.
https://group.accor.com/en/hotel-dev...are-our-brands
Metro, perhaps part of the reason you got such a great deal was the type of hotel you were at, Plus that it was in Japan if that has anything to do with it. Accor Hotels are European, and rather more restrained, dare I say elegant, in style than what you describe you had. That seems almost like a resort hotel with a lot of fun stuff, and that's great, but it seems totally absent in French elegance and concomitant prestige.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by Changing City

You've been away a long time. Downtown Vancouver hotel prices are pretty much in line with large cities around most of North America and Europe. They may be expensive, but so is the western world in general. I was in a very good hotel in Prince George last week, but it was over $200 a night, with a pool, but no waves, and a breakfast buffet (and I was paying that to be in Prince George!)

Meanwhile in Japan, business class hotels for my overnight stays in various cities across the country on work trips range from 60 to 90 bucks a night (and they include buffet breakfast)

Japan, even with the declining population, is still an industrialized first world nation continually in the top 10 for safety, health care, etc… with an extreme population density, yet shit is far less expensive here.

My question is, who is keeping all that money from the extreme gouging going on in North America?

[zahav]

It is an absurd experiment happening right now where the prices of everything are out of whack and yet people (some people, at least) are still paying it... I have no idea how though. Classic economics dictates that prices will rise until people are unwilling to pay and the asking price drops. Seems like there are people still paying outrageous hotel prices, rent prices, and everything else that has become horrendously overpriced, which is a bad thing because it sets the standard that the market is adjusting to higher prices and willing to pay. The flip side would be demand drops hugely, and that destroys the economy, but would likely lower prices for things. No shock that Japan has cheap hotels still, it has suffered from deflationary pressure in many sectors for years. Which has not been a positive for the country overall, but is nice when it means certain things are still affordable. In Vancouver proper, so many budget hotels have been converted to social housing (the old Ramada on Pender, the Howard Johnson, etc.), so the hotels that are left are all pricer ones. I am glad to see the Ramada on Granville and Davie converted to Quality Inn and didn't become social housing, it has some surprisingly good deals.

[Klazu]

One must be tripping or never leaving their mother's basement to think Vancouver hotel prices are or even should be aligned with major cities of the world. Vancouver is a medium size resort town and absolutely pales in comparison to global Alpha Cities, which are busy destinations for business travelers.

Our prices are very much inflated for what we are and $900/night gets you a room in almost any 5-star hotel around the world, which are world's apart in terms of luxury from this hotel.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Klazu

One must be tripping or never leaving their mother's basement to think Vancouver hotel prices are or even should be aligned with major cities of the world. Vancouver is a medium size resort town and absolutely pales in comparison to global Alpha Cities, which are busy destinations for business travelers.

Our prices are very much inflated for what we are and $900/night gets you a room in almost any 5-star hotel around the world, which are world's apart in terms of luxury from this hotel.

One must be living in a negative echo chamber, or clinically depressed, to not recognise that Vancouver is consistently rated as one of the world's cities to visit. It was one of only two Canadian cities in the top 50 world's greatest places to visit selected by Time magazine this year. The only other was Churchill, Manitoba.

[officedweller]

I would expect that the $900 is full price, which no one would pay and there would be deals.
i.e. no one pays full price airfare.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Changing City

You've been away a long time. Downtown Vancouver hotel prices are pretty much in line with large cities around most of North America and Europe. They may be expensive, but so is the western world in general. I was in a very good hotel in Prince George last week, but it was over $200 a night, with a pool, but no waves, and a breakfast buffet (and I was paying that to be in Prince George!)

Not true, even London, UK has way better accommodation pricing than Vancouver. Fact is, the lack of hotel construction through lousy City regulations and restrictions has exacerbated the problem here in Vancouver. The lack of competition also allow the few hotels here to raise room price to incredulous levels during peak seasons. Like it or not, Viewcones is one of the reasons why we are experiencing such high prices here.

Vancouver is now a total rip-off for tourists, IMO.

[TwoFace]

Stats show normal occupancy rate till 2021, I guess the latest stats aren't available yet. Lots of rooms available.
https://avison-young.foleon.com/ca-m...1-performance/

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by TwoFace

Stats show normal occupancy rate till 2021, I guess the latest stats aren't available yet. Lots of rooms available.
https://avison-young.foleon.com/ca-m...1-performance/

The 2022 report is available. It showed Vancouver recovered better than all of the Canadian cities, with an average room rate of $234, and 72.9% occupancy.

The better prospects for hotel occupancy is presumably why we've seen proposals for a new 270 bed hotel at Oakridge, two hotels by Westin on Seymour (Moxy and Element) with 393 rooms and a 32 storey project with 578 rooms on West Pender at Richards. There's also conversion by Onni of a condo building on Seymour, and they were proposing to build one on False Creek Flats, but are revising that project. There's a boutique hotel conversion proposed on Water Street.

Amacon are building one on Robson at Beatty, (under a condo tower), there are two approved on West Broadway, and of course whatever replaces the Four Seasons, when that project completes. And of course, Azur has joined the other at the Exchange, under the same ownership. So it would seem City policies aren't preventing developers from building hotels.

[TwoFace]

With all the proposed new rooms in the pipe, I wonder at what annual occupancy % rate a hotel becomes profitable.