Brand New Hotel For Thunder Bay: Home2 Suites by Hilton
by Scott A. Sumner
Thunder Bay has an impressive, brand new hotel on Arthur Street just minutes from the airport- Home2 Suites by Hilton! It is located next door to their other Thunder Bay property, the Hampton Inn.
Dominic Figliomeni is the Area General Manager/ Director of Sales and Marketing for Home2 Suites by Hilton and the Hampton Inn. The 35 year old grew up in Schreiber, Ontario and started working with his dad since the age of 6 or 7 years old.The family owned two hotels in the Schreiber/Terrace Bay area and still own the Red Dog Inn there. Other family members in Schreiber own a Ford dealership and water company with a long history of business.
Dominic left Schreiber when he went to Lakehead University taking the Commerce program. He worked for 1 1/2 years as a labourer during the Hampton Inn construction.
“ The Hampton Inn Thunder Bay, with 104 rooms, opened in 2017 and has been very successful. We are very grateful.The Covid period were very tough years but it seemed after the pandemic kind of ended things sort of skyrocketed, so we are very fortunate. It was a long couple of years but we were busy before and just as busy afterwards with the Hampton Inn. During Covid it was hard to keep staff on and people weren't traveling but we made it through.” said Dominic.
“My dad had purchased the lot next to the Hampton and always wanted to build another hotel. He wasn't sure we were going to be able to do it but things came together nicely and we are fortunate to be able to build a second property, add some more jobs in the community and provide a great service.”
The Home2 Suites by Hilton, with 90 rooms, started construction in the April/ May period and the total construction was about 1 year 8 months which was good.There are always delays and we had delays at the Hampton as well in terms of supplies like dry wall or tiles but overall things went pretty quick according to Dominic. The hotel has a full basement and it was a bit difficult at the start, with the water table, getting the footings poured which put the build behind for about two months. The official opening date was January 4, 2024.
“ We chose Home 2 Suites because my father approached Hilton about building another hotel and they felt Home2 Suites would best suit the city and the demands that Thunder Bay has right now. There is only one other long term stay hotel in the city. So they felt that is a market that hasn't really been tapped in to in Thunder Bay but the hotel also appeals to the everyday customer coming here for just one night. We have the same breakfast set up here at Home 2 Suites as the Hampton with a hot breakfast including bacon, eggs, waffles, fresh fruit, oatmeal, pancakes you name it.” said Dominic.
“ We got very lucky with this location as we corner two major highways and are a 3 minute drive from the airport so definitely appeals to the average person coming in. We have shuttle service for both hotels. The hotel is easy to find. We can have the long term stay type of client or the quick stay person coming and leaving from the airport.”
The Home2 Suites hotel has five meeting spaces including a large one on the main floor which can be devised into two.The guest rooms are all suite style and much larger than the average room in most hotels. It makes for a more comfortable stay for the customer. In a long term stay you have the option where you can cook for yourself and it makes you feel like you are a little more at home instead of having to go out and find food.You have that option if you want. There are separations in the rooms so say if you have young children along you can say watch TV if someone wants to sleep. It breaks the room up kinda nice according to Dominic.
Thunder Bay has one of the highest hotel occupancies in Canada. Summer months can have 100% occupancy although the winter is slower. In the summer things just seem to take off with many events happening as well according to Dominic.
“ Our room cost is competitive with everyone else.There is a computer generated system that takes all our competitors hotels and bases it off that.The Hilton computer system bases room rates off what they think will cause us to sell the most rooms. It is easier for us to operate.”
What does Dominic think of the local economy?
“ Thunder Bay's economy is looking pretty good to us. After covid things just skyrocketed out of no where with people moving again and travelling, having meeting. Thunder Bay is the central hub for Northern Communities where people do come in for meetings and what not.”
“ We have an incredible staff. They are meticulously clean, hard workers and we would be nothing without them. It is definitely a team effort and they do the bulk of the work and I just oversee it.” said Dominic. “ Most of the people we see are business travelers Monday to Friday in for meetings. Weekends it is more families travelling from
point A to point B.”
Dominic has a brother who is a chemical engineer in Ottawa and two sisters who live here and help out at the hotels.
Be sure to check out this impressive new hotel for Thunder Bay!
