New hotel expected to bring more opportunities
Business Spotlight
Candace Webster, the general manager of CKL Hotel Inc. Properties, says she is excited for more long-stay opportunities through Lindsay’s newest hotel, which will open in the fall of 2025.
Best Western Plus will be located right beside the Days Inn Hotel and Suites on Angeline Street South.
The new hotel, which has been in the works since late 2018, will have 76 rooms including a mix of extended stay, accessibility and standard rooms. The facility will have a family-friendly main floor pool, meeting rooms, a gym and a full-service restaurant.
“Approximately 50-60 staff will be hired for the hotel,” Webster told the Advocate. “There will be a variety of (jobs available) including part-time, full-time, managerial, housekeeping, front desk, event coordination, maintenance as well as cooks and servers for the restaurant.”
Local builder MVW will be responsible for erecting the $20 million structure where work has already begun.
Webster is pleased with the role played by the municipality so far. “The city has been helpful. There were certainly slowdowns because of COVID but overall, it has been a positive relationship.”
When asked if CKL Hotel Inc. is concerned about their two properties directly competing against each other, Webster said the two hotels would complement rather than compete.
“The Best Western brand will bring new demand as this is a different loyalty group,” Webster said. “Currently Lindsay has only one Wyndham hotel branded property, so we expect to see an increase of travellers specifically wanting to stay with Best Western who are not currently staying in Lindsay.”
“The Best Western Plus Kawartha Lakes will differ from the Days Inn Lindsay as it is considered an upper-midscale brand which is currently not an option in Lindsay,” Webster said.
She noted the option of long-stay rooms at the new hotel they are constructing will be beneficial as currently there are no long-stay hotels either in Peterborough or Lindsay.
“Days Inn continually has demand for it,” Webster said, “but (we) are limited as no rooms have cooking facilities and many sold out nights at the Days Inn makes it hard to accommodate long stays.”
Webster believes both facilities will be busy, fueled by Lindsay’s predicted growth over the next decade.
“The new subdivisions popping up and planned for Lindsay alone will bring new customers to both hotels,” Webster said. “These soon to be residents of Lindsay have friends and families who will need accommodations to visit and will bring new business to our area, drawing in more accommodation demand.”
Webster hopes that the increase in the number of hotel rooms in Lindsay will also lead to more sporting tournaments and business meetings in Lindsay which will benefit all the hotels across the city.
The property will also have a full-service restaurant with patio as well as an indoor pool and gym. “The new offerings will attract customers who currently are not staying in Lindsay due to the market only offering limited-service brands.”
