Whistler Real Estate Blog

Owned by a Canadian Corporation under a Bare Trust, the buyer can purchase this block of suites in any manner as advised by their financial advisor.

1. Purchase the corporation itself as the only real estate asset it holds are these 14 suites. 

1. 1. Benefit from purchase costs savings of no Property Transfer Tax.
   2. In addition, as these suites are part of a Phase 2 nightly rental hotel, Goods & Services Tax is deferred on the purchase price.¹
   3. If you are legally able to purchase the Canadian Corporation, you may also benefit from an exemption under the Underutilized Housing Tax Rules.¹

       2. Purchase the suites through the buying of the corporation's shares or

           assets.

       3. Purchase the suites as an individual or group of individuals.

Whistler has very few opportunities to enter the luxury hotel market as the Resort boundaries have been fixed for many years as has the zoning.  Despite the Federal Government's desire to increase residential housing, this mandate does not include adding tourism accommodation.

This is an opportunity for an astute investor who is already aware of the attractiveness of Whistler Resort to have a hands-off, passive style investment in a luxury resort hotel with a solid history of income and capital gains over 23 years.  

The Westin Resort & Spa has 5 management 'partners' ensuring the success of the property and your investment:

1. The first in the form of the Strata Council which is made up of experienced owners, some of whom have been on the Board for the entire life of the property. 
2. The second being the Strata Management Company who also has over 30 years of managing Whistler and Vancouver properties.
3. The third being Evolution Hospitality which is only the second hotel management company (after O'Neill Hotels & Resorts) to operate the hotel under the "Westin" franchise flag since being built in 2000. 
4. The fourth being the actual Westin Hotel franchise which has always been in place.  The Westin transitioned from a Starwood Property to Marriott successfully a number of years ago. 
5. And the fifth being the Hotel management team already in place made up of the General Manager, Financial Officer, Asset Manager, Owner Relations, and others... several who have also been with the Westin for many years.

As an investor in 14 luxury suites in the Westin Resort & Spa, you get the opportunity to participate in the benefits of hotel ownership without the concerns of managing the day to day operations as these teams of experts are already in place. If you wish more involvement, there are opportunities through owner committees to help make decisions that impact hotel renovations and long term operations.

As well, as an owner there are of course many opportunities to use the suites as each individual suite is zoned Phase 2 nightly rental which permits an owner up to 28 days use in the winter and up to 28 days use in the summer (no full time use as a residence). Any time you use a suite personally it is out of the rental pool, not earning income, however, the suite is still being allocated a portion of hotel expenses.

The hotel management team and others have been actively managing the physical assets of the hotel and have a full depreciation report, knowing which areas of focus to keep an eye on.  In addition, Marriott standards set the schedule of updates of the physical assets to ensure the appropriate star ratings and AAA Diamond status remains. 

At no time has there been a special assessment to the owners to raise funds for capital improvements.  All funds for renovations have been raised through deductions from revenues over long periods of time with long term planning to minimize any hardship on owners.  The last update to suites was undertaken prior to 2020 and the next renovation cycle is anticipated in 2025/2026.  Continued growth in rooms revenue and asset valuation is anticipated post renovation.

The hotel generated a net return after all expenses of 5% in 2023 (excluding financing costs).  

A full package of information is available upon request. Please contact me at 604-902-2033 or denise@Whistler-realestate.ca

Regards,

Denise Brown

BBA, Associate Broker