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Canadian Pacific Hotels

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Canadian Pacific Hotels

Canadian Pacific Hotels (CPH) was a division of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that primarily operated hotels across Canada, since passenger revenue made a significant contribution to early railway profitability. CPR restructured the division as a subsidiary in 1963. In 1988, CPR purchased the Canadian National Hotels chain, making Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts the nation's largest hotel owner. In 1998, all CPH properties were branded as either Fairmont or Delta.

In 2006, Kingdom Hotels International and Colony Capital purchased Fairmont, consolidating their hotel brands to form Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI), which in turn became a subsidiary of AccorHotels in 2016. In 2007, BC Investment Management Corp. bought Delta Hotels, which was purchased by Marriott International in 2015.

Since passenger revenue made a significant contribution to railway profitability, facilities, such as hotels, were essential for attracting passenger traffic. The three earliest locations (Mount Stephen House, Glacier House and North Bend) were initially only dining stops, necessary because steep railway grades made hauling a dining car uneconomical. Thomas Sorby's design for these three hotels was inspired by Swiss Chalets.

Hotels were established mainly at locations that connected with other passenger rail or ferry routes, but some rural locations, especially in the Canadian Rockies/Selkirk Mountains, became tourist destinations in their own right. After the success of the original Banff Springs Hotel, described as a "Tudor chalet in wood", CPR lobbied the government to create Banff National Park, the first in Canada. Indisputably, national parks protected CPH's commercial interests in such localities. The opportunity to participate in mountaineering excursions, led by professional Swiss guides, featured in CPH's promotion of the respective accommodation. Scenic images, often including a hotel, illustrated the CPH publicity brochures.

Urban and township land sales financed the construction of the early hotels. In the late-19th to early-20th century, CPH commonly adopted a châteauesque architectural style for building, or enlarging, significant hotels. The earliest example was Château Frontenac. Notable features included steeply pitched copper roofs, blue-green from oxidation, ornate gables, dormer windows, and an irregular placement of towers and turrets.

The visual appeal of this design prompted other railway companies to imitate it. CPR, or its later competitors, Canadian Northern Railway and Grand Trunk Pacific Railway that became Canadian National Railway (CN), built grandiose railway hotels in every major Canadian city. However, CPR quickly reverted to a simpler style of a flat roof and limited ornamental features when designing most city hotels.

With growing automobile traffic, and tourists seeking cheaper accommodation, CPH retained only the more profitable urban and destination hotels. The resort hotels opened in summer only. Year round opening began in 1969 for Banff Springs Hotel, and in 1974 for Chateau Lake Louise.

CPR restructured the division as a subsidiary in 1963.

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