Could a new hotel be built in one of Penticton’s fastest-growing neighbourhoods?
If Coun. Isaac Gilbert gets his way, it could soon become reality.
The first-term councillor will present a notice of motion on April 16 directing staff to look into what it would take for a hotel to be attached to the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre (PTCC).
“A hotel attached to the convention centre will help continue and create long-term agreements with organizations to bring conventions to Penticton,” Gilbert’s motion reads. “The convention business has evolved over the years and the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre must stay relevant to those changes.”
Gilbert adds that he wants the hotel’s construction to be incorporated into the city’s North Gateway plan, which calls for the addition of 2,250 new residential units and close to 350 hotel rooms in the northern end of the city. Those numbers were drafted before the Four Points by Sheraton opened on Vernon Avenue.
The neighbourhood — best known for being home to the South Okanagan Events Centre — currently serves as tourists’ “first impression” of Penticton, city officials have previously said.
Gilbert cited the B.C. government’s new legislation on short-term rentals among the reasons the city needs to add more hotel rooms.
“The city’s accommodation inventory will drop with the new legislation and must increase its hotel stock to supply rooms for conventions and vacationers,” he said.
The 105-room Four Points by Sheraton, which opened in September 2023, is located near the PTCC.
The fact it is not directly attached to the convention centre, however, makes it uncompetitive when organizers choose where they want to hold events, Gilbert claims.
“Convention organizers use apps that filter out convention centres by their attributes,” the councillor said. “The PTCC is filtered out by these apps when organizations ask for a hotel attached to the convention centre. There are missed opportunities to host more conventions because a hotel is not attached to the PTCC.”
Gilbert’s fellow councillors and Mayor Julius Bloomfield will review the motion at a meeting on Tuesday, April 16.
READ MORE: Penticton makes ‘bold plan’ for first live, work, play neighbourhood