'Culturally rich' Ottawa the right spot for Andaz's Canadian debut, hotel chain says
By Jacob Serebrin , OBJ Contributor
Published on September 01, 2016
Cultural vibrancy – and the high number of visitors to the city – are what attracted boutique hotel brand Andaz to Ottawa.
“Andaz works best in vibrant, locally-focused, culturally rich communities and we feel like Ottawa is all those things,” says Matt Graham, the general manager of the Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market.
The hotel, which opened on Aug. 22, is the first Andaz-branded hotel in Canada.
“We hope that the brand will get a certain amount of larger representation being in the national capital, where you have those international folks coming in and also Canadians coming in,” Mr. Graham says. “That demonstrates that this is a really smart place to launch the brand in this country.”
He says the timing of the hotel’s opening was planned with the events around the 150th anniversary of Confederation – and the rest of the Ottawa 2017 celebrations in mind.
“I think the project was going to happen anyways,” Mr. Graham says. “But it made having the hotel open for it important.”
Those events – particularly the Canada Day celebrations – are already attracting inquiries.
The Andaz brand, developed by Hyatt brand, aims to give visitors a more local feel, Mr. Graham says.
“When you stay with a friend, they recommend the coffee shop that they use, they serve food from the local market. That’s kind of what we’re trying to convey to people who stay at the hotel,” he says.
Food served at the hotel is sourced locally, while the artwork comes from the Art Bank of Canada, he says.
Even the soaps in the bathroom and the beer, soft drinks and chocolate in the minibar come from local companies, Mr. Graham says.
“Oftentimes at a hotel, things like the bath amenities are the same across the chain, whereas we’re trying to appeal to that person that wants to experience the destination at a bit deeper level and so by using these local products, we’re able to achieve that,” he says.
The hotel’s local connection also includes monthly “salons,” Mr. Graham says.
“An Andaz salon is best-described as an open house where we partner with someone doing something culturally interesting in the community. It could be fashion, it could be theatre, it could be art, it could be music, it could be a farmer or a brewer,” he says. "The individual comes into the hotel and talks about what they do."
The events are open to the public as well as hotel guests, and there’s no admission fee.
Mr. Graham says it’s another way the hotel aims to show Ottawa off to his guests and to make visiting the hotel a bit more like visiting a friend than staying at a hotel.
http://www.obj.ca/Local/Tourism/2016...l-chain-says/1
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