One of our typical summer activities is visiting auctions in Muskoka. Sometimes there are great bargains for things you had no idea that you needed. Like snowshoes. In June.
Yesterday, there was an auction at the site of Bangor Lodge – a resort that changed hands last October. Everything was sold off to the highest bidder, even the cabins. You name it, they sold it. Golf carts, dishwashers, towel folders, lawn mowers, high chairs, air conditioners, etc. Even the fence that surrounded the old tennis courts.
It got me thinking about the upcoming auction of spectrum and how some folks think that Canada needs to provide incentives for new wireless companies to get into the business.
I get the sense that Canadian hotels are more expensive than US hotels. We don’t seem to have as many motels as the US. Maybe it is because there isn’t enough competition. Not as many advanced hospitality services as well. Where is the innovation? France has hotels with automatic check-in. The US has motels with marriages performed on-site. Not just in Vegas – but coast-to-coast – even in Anchorage.
Why was there no call for a new entrant set-aside at the auction yesterday at Bangor Lodge? Some simple mechanism to help competitors get into the hotel and resort business. The prices for golf resorts in Muskoka just don’t seem competitive compared to our major trading partners. There are all sorts of advanced hotel services available in the US that aren’t in Canada.
I would love to see an analysis of Canadian lodging rooms statistics compared to the US.
At least we will likely rank ahead of Ghana.