Delta Hotels: A Canadian Hotel Management Success Story

It all began with a single 62-room motor inn in Richmond, British Columbia.

Founded in 1962, Delta Hotels and Resorts has grown to become Canada's leading first-class hotel management company. Today, we boast a diversified portfolio of 46 city-centre, airport and resort properties.

Widely viewed as the brand of choice for discerning owners and guests, we also take pride in being an exemplary employer to more than 7,000 people and an active corporate citizen building stronger Canadian communities from coast to coast.

Going beyond salary and benefits

At Delta, taking care of the communities we serve starts with taking care of our greatest asset – our employees. Noted for progressive employee service guarantees, Delta continues to maintain one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the hotel industry.

We guarantee employees, for example, that they will receive their performance review within one month of their anniversary or receive one week's pay. We also offer an employee and family assistance program, as well as countless career development opportunities.

The prestigious National Quality Institute (NQI) has recognized us with two Canada Awards for Excellence. We were the first hotel company in the Institute's history to be granted “Gold Trophy” awards for quality in 2000 and for our healthy workplace in 2004.  In 2007, we received the award program’s highest honour, the Order of Excellence. This distinction is Canada's top recognition for organizational excellence in the areas of leadership, performance, planning, and customer-, people- and supplier-focused operations. In October 2009, Delta was inducted into the NQI’s Canadian Hall of Excellence.

Delta is also consistently recognized as one of "The 50 Best Employers in Canada" by The Globe and Mail's respected Report on Business magazine (2001-2003, 2005-2009).

A tradition of leadership and vision

Our history is one marked by leadership and vision. After becoming the leading hotel operator in British Columbia by 1970, our company embarked on an aggressive eastward expansion strategy. By 1975, we had opened the Delta Chelsea in downtown Toronto - the largest hotel in Canada with 1,590 rooms - and in 1977, the Delta Ottawa Hotel and Suites was added in the nation's capital.
 
New properties were added to our portfolio throughout the 1980s, notably in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. While ownership changed in 1987, this pace of rapid expansion and revitalization continued throughout the 1990s.

As an innovator, we can proudly claim a number of firsts. We were among the first to offer a chain-wide family program and children's creative centres. In 1989, we introduced Delta Privilege, our signature loyalty and recognition program for frequent guests. The program's hallmark and most enduring feature - the famous "One Minute Check-In Guarantee" - is another industry first. Unmatched by the competition then or now, it guarantees members that they will be checked in within one minute, or the first night of their stay will be free.

Looking Ahead

While much may have changed over the course of our history, the basics of hospitality have remained constant. The same values of honesty, integrity, teamwork and empowerment that formed the core of our business in 1962 continue to guide us today.