Calgary’s hotel construction market is heating up, driven by convention growth, a pipeline of brand-name projects, and clear updates to Alberta’s building and payment rules. The BMO Centre’s expansion at Stampede Park officially opened on June 5, 2024, taking the venue to more than one million square feet and making it the largest convention centre in Western Canada. That program added over 100,000 square feet of exhibition space, 38 meeting rooms, two ballrooms totaling 70,000 square feet, and a major public plaza, all of which raise the ceiling for large-scale events that fill rooms throughout the city.

Demand signals are strong. Calgary’s Chamber has tied the convention expansion to a near-term need for thousands of additional hotel rooms, estimating that the city may require up to 3,000 more to capture future event traffic.

CBRE’s 2025 outlook also points to steady fundamentals, projecting Calgary RevPAR around 122 dollars as new supply arrives, with urban markets outperforming.

Supply is responding. Marriott and Calgary-based developer Truman announced three hotels for the Culture and Entertainment District at Stampede Park, including a W, a JW Marriott, and an Autograph Collection property. Early concepts include towers that would rank among the tallest in Western Canada, a strong brand statement for the downtown skyline, and for premium convention business.

A second growth lane is adaptive reuse. The City’s Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program now funds conversions of vacant offices not only to housing but also to hotels, schools, and other uses. The first office-to-hotel project under the program, Element Calgary Downtown, delivers 226 rooms with extended-stay amenities. This format pairs well with multi-day events. Council refreshed program guidelines in July 2024 to keep conversion momentum going.

On the technical side, code and compliance changes are crucial for every hospitality job. Alberta declared the National Building Code 2023 Alberta Edition and the National Energy Code for Buildings 2020 to be in force as of May 1, 2024. Designers must meet the province’s adopted energy performance framework, with Tier 1 as the baseline, while coordinating new Part 3 updates that affect fire protection, alarms, and other life-safety systems common to hotels.

Materials and methods are evolving, too. Alberta accepts encapsulated mass timber for taller buildings under the national code pathway, opening doors for lower-carbon structural solutions on select hospitality projects where the program and brand standards allow it.

Project delivery has also shifted under provincial payment law. The Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act applies to all new construction contracts in Alberta, with firm payment timelines and a fast-track adjudication process. Transition periods have ended, so hotel owners, GCs, and trades should align contract administration and invoicing to avoid disputes and keep schedules intact. More here: https://www.alberta.ca/prompt-payment-rules-for-construction-industry

What this means for hotel developers and operators in Calgary: programs linked to the BMO Centre are expanding the addressable market, conversions can reduce delivery risk and time to key count, and branded luxury plus extended-stay flags are positioning for both event and corporate travel. Pair those drivers with current codes, energy requirements, and prompt-payment compliance, and the city presents a clear, buildable path for new inventory that meets today’s guest expectations and tomorrow’s regulations.