Ottawa hotels gearing up for busy 2017

In anticipation of Canada's150thbirthday, hotels in the National Capital Region are undertaking preparations to welcome thousands of additional tourists in 2017.

Among the hotels gearing up for the festivities is The Lord Elgin Hotel downtown, where a massive renovation is set to begin in May and last until the end of September.

All 355 rooms will be gutted and refurbished, according to the hotel's director of sales and marketing, AnnMeelker.

"There's a sense in the (hotel) industry that people are gearing up for 2017. Ottawa's going tobe hopping," she said.

The renovations mean several floors at the Lord Elgin will be closed at any given time this summer, during which time the city will host the popular Tulip Festival and Canada Day celebrations.

"It's always tough. But we wanted it done in time for the sesquicentennial," saidMeelker.

Rooms filling up

According toMeelker, the hotel has been receiving a steady stream of bookings.

"We have so much business already on the books. Everybody wants to have a meeting in Ottawa in 2017, so we're really excited."

While the Lord Elgin and other hotels will be busy, the president of theOttawa-GatineauHotel Association, Steve Ball, said with 10,000 rooms, the National Capital Region is still well positioned to handle the increase in demand in 2017.

"We're going to be a busy marketplace on Canada Day and during the marathon race week. But absolutely throughout the course of the year in 2017 they'll be lots of available inventory for people," said Ball.