Sunray Group has acquired downtown Toronto’s Bisha Hotel from Lifetime Developments and INK Entertainment Group for an undisclosed price and will convert it into the first Canadian location for Marriott’s The Luxury Collection brand.

Sunray Group president and chief operating officer Kenny Gibson told RENX his company has largely focused on hotels in secondary and tertiary markets across Canada, but saw the 96-room Bisha as an excellent opportunity to enter the downtown Toronto market.

“There hasn’t been a lot of new supply of hotel rooms in downtown Toronto, so the barriers to entry are pretty high,” Gibson noted. “It's very expensive to develop a standalone hotel in downtown Toronto and you almost have to do it in conjunction with a condo building to make it pencil out and make sense.”

Bisha is part of a 44-storey building at 56 Blue Jays Way that also includes 355 condominium units. It was completed in 2017.

Bisha is a strategic addition to portfolio

Sunray Group, which is owned by the Gupta family, owns and operates more than 70 hotels with over 10,000 rooms across Canada.

Colliers was the brokerage marketing Bisha. Gibson said other offers were put forward before Lifetime and INK chose to sell to Sunray Group.

Gibson said Bisha is a strategic addition to Sunray Group’s portfolio -- as was the $43.2-million purchase of the Sheraton Ottawa Hotel in an off-market deal from Hong Kong-based Keck Seng Investments in February 2024. 

The 236-room Sheraton Ottawa at 150 Albert St. needed significant renovations, which are ongoing, according to Gibson. Bisha, which received a Michelin One Key Award in 2024, doesn’t require any renovations.

“Going forward, we want to look at more strategic assets that are in downtown urban markets,” Gibson said. “But that doesn't mean we're going to abandon buying in secondary and tertiary markets, or focused-service or select-service hotels.”

Sunray Group is also renovating and converting the 366-room Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto East at 2035 Kennedy Rd. to a Westin Hotels & Resorts location. Gibson said it would take 12 to 18 months for the hotel to fully reopen.

New addition to Marriott’s The Luxury Collection

Bisha was formerly operated under the Loews Hotels brand and was the only hotel in Canada affiliated with the company.

“We think there's a lot of upside in being on the Marriott system, particularly with the Marriott Bonvoy frequent guest loyalty program . . . Marriott has got wide distribution in Canada and The Luxury Collection has a great international appeal, and we think this is an international destination hotel,” Gibson explained.

“The Luxury Collection is at the upper end of the Marriott system. They’re very luxurious hotels, generally in urban areas. The average rate is significantly higher than what you would find in a typical Marriott hotel.”  

Bisha’s food and beverage options — including KŌST, Akira Back, Mister C. and French Made — will continue to be operated by INK under a management contract with Sunray Group.

Future acquisitions

North York, Ont.-headquartered Sunray Group is always looking for hotel acquisition opportunities, according to Gibson, but has become more selective where it deploys capital due to uncertainty in the economy.

“We have a number of assets in automobile markets so, depending on how the tariffs affect the automobile, it could have a negative impact on our business in some of those markets,” Gibson said. 

“We're not dependent upon those and we’ve got enough diversity in our portfolio where we could withstand some downturn, but we’re a bit more cautious in our investments than we were a year ago.” 

Wasaga Beach development update

Meanwhile, Sunray Group is advancing another hotel project. Town council in Wasaga Beach, Ont. announced on March 6 it had approved a purchase and sale agreement with the Sunray Group with these terms:

• Sunray Group will pay the Town $580,000 for a 1.5-acre parcel of beachfront land where a hotel will be built;
• Sunray Group will invest more than $45 million to build the facility;
• Sunray Group will pay full development charges;
• and Sunray Group will also invest $1.5 million to design and build a “Festival Square” near the beachfront, which will be used by the municipality for outdoor entertainment and special events.

The project across from Beach Area One, at 1 North St. and Beach Drive, is planned to include a full-service hotel with: 120 to 150 guest rooms; a restaurant; convention and wedding facilities; a fitness, spa or pool area; and shops.

Gibson said Sunray Group is working with Marriott regarding the Wasaga Beach hotel.

Sunray Group is also partnering with the town for a future second phase that, in plans revealed last fall, would include: about 290 residential units in three four- to six-storey buildings totalling approximately 180,000 square feet of gross space; and 38,000 square feet of space for retail and food and beverage outlets.