The Toronto Star looks at the entrepreneurs behind
Toronto's Making Waves Boatel, the city's only floating hotel. Docked at Harbourfront, just west of HT0 park, the 65-foot boutique hotel is owned and run by Ted and Diane Green.
"They used to work in the business sector — Diane has a degree in hotel and restaurant management, and Ted was director of IT for York Region — but had always dreamed of getting a boat. They bought their boat in 2004 and ran a charter business in the Bahamas for a few years but found it draining for a two-person crew. The boatel — "We came up with the name literally on the back of a napkin over drinks one night" — is much easier to manage, although it still presents water and weather challenges that a bricks-and-mortar structure does not."
"They're not considered a hotel in the formal sense and don't have to pay hotel taxes. But Greene says he does have a business licence and pays property taxes and other fees. They're not licensed for tours, however, so don't expect a tour of Lake Ontario."
"They get a fair bit of Ontario business, but also a lot of Europeans and Americans."
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Toronto Star