The brick-and-stone Commercial Block building in Vancouver’s Gastown was built in 1893 and originally served as a trading hub for wholesale merchants and distribution businesses.

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Now, the Kalido Hospitality Group is getting set to open 19 loft-style suites on the top floor of this historic building — dubbed “Block House” — featuring kitchenettes or full kitchens that make them feel more like mini-apartments.

“I’m passionate about anything architectural and walking into this building that dates back from 1893, all the brick and the beams, it’s just beautiful,” said Kalido managing partner Javier Cepeda.

It’s one of the newest additions to the city’s hotels at a time when the city is preparing for the influx of thousands of soccer fans coming for the World Cup in mid-June. But while projects like this signal growing interest in developing more hotel rooms in Vancouver, the number of projects that are actually under construction is still low, experts say.

Carrie Russell, senior managing partner at HVS, a hotel consulting and appraisal firm, said she has calculated 42 sites in the city have been considered for hotel development. There hasn’t been this much interest and activity in downtown Vancouver hotels since the 1990s, she said, with many proposals, applications and approvals underway.

In addition to Kalido’s Block House suites opening in the coming weeks, there’s the Arden Hotel on Burrard Street — an office-building conversion that will add over 60 rooms — that should be opening in May. Also, the dual-branded Element/Moxy Hotel and the proposed Unbound Collection Hotel have also broken ground downtown.

“It seems like interest in hotel development continues to grow,” Russell said.

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But there still aren’t a large number of properties under construction. One reason is because hotels require more equity to develop than other classes of real estate, she said. Developers are kind of “shying away” because they have to put 30 to 40 per cent equity into a project, even though developers initially turned to hotels because there was less demand for office and condo projects.

“Projects are slow to get off the ground,” she said.

And even some projects that are close to completion could miss the the World Cup. The Arts and Crafts Hotel on Seymour Street, for instance, is slated to add 73 rooms and had been scheduled to open in 2026, but probably will not, Russell said.

Still, the trend in the hotel-development landscape is encouraging.

Vancouver was one of the country’s strongest-performing markets with a hotel occupancy rate of 78.4 per cent, an average daily rate of $284 and revenue-per-available-room of $223, according to commercial real estate adviser Avison Young. Toronto was the next with an occupancy rate of 75.6 per cent, an average daily rate of $260 and revenue-per-available-room of $197.

With a few months to go until the Cup, hotel bookings at existing properties are still coming in.

Kalido also has two other hotel properties that similarly have apartment-like suites within a short walking distance of the games at B.C. Place. One is Smithe House in Yaletown and the other is Keefer House in Chinatown.

“A lot of people haven’t figured their flights and tickets yet,” Cepeda said. “If you really ask any hotel in the city, unless FIFA has a big block with them, every one is seeing a slow pick up. Everyone knows and understands and is certain that the demand is going to be there. It’s going to be a very busy summer.”

The Sunset Hotel on Burnaby Street in the West End is another hotel that is offering apartment-style rooms with larger spaces and kitchens within a short walking distance from the Cup.

It was one of the two former Sonder properties in Vancouver. In November 2025, the short-term rentals company, with a 20-year licensing agreement with Marriott Bonvoy, abruptly shut down and guests had to leave their rooms immediately. It’s now relaunching under independent, local management with 50 refurbished, apartment-style suites ahead of the Cup.

“We’ve been focusing on retooling the property and getting back on track and relaunching the property,” said Steven Snowling, general manager at The Sunset Hotel.

It’s been accepting bookings for the weeks of the Cup.

“We’ve seen some good demand so far, but by no means are we completely full at this stage,” he said.

jlee-young@postmedia.com