HLT Advisory

What HLT Advisory does

HLT Advisory Inc. is a privately held, Canadian-based boutique advisory firm founded in 2005 and headquartered in Lincoln, Ontario. The firm provides professional advisory and consulting services to the hospitality, leisure, tourism, gaming, and convention centre sectors, with documented project work across 27 countries. It is led by two Managing Directors, Rob Scarpelli (formerly MD of PwC's Canadian Hospitality & Leisure practice) and Matthew Klas, who together bring more than 54 years of specialized industry experience.

The firm organizes its practice around three sector verticals (Gaming, Convention Centres, and Lodging/Tourism/Sports Recreation) and offers 15 service modules spanning policy and strategy development, RFP process management, expansion assessment, operational benchmarking, transaction support, asset management, revenue maximization, and litigation support. Its core proprietary technology is the Convention Centres of Canada annual benchmarking database, built over a 10+ year exclusive partnership covering 19 Canadian member venues and benchmarked against 50+ international AIPC members. It also maintains custom gaming market assessment models that incorporate over 4.0 million annual player card data points across 100+ sub-markets.

HLT generates revenue through project-based, quote-driven advisory engagements billed primarily to public-sector clients (provincial gaming regulators, municipal governments, crown corporations) and private-sector operators, owners, lenders, and industry associations. Go-to-market relies on industry reputation, conference participation, published research, and senior-level referral networks rather than traditional sales channels, with engagements ranging from single mandate RFPs to multi-year transformation programs. No public revenue, headcount beyond the two named partners, or institutional investment is disclosed.

Name

HLT Advisory

Legal name

HLT Advisory Inc.

Website

https://hlta.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HLT Advisory Inc. is a Canadian boutique advisory firm founded in 2005 that provides project-based consulting to the gaming, convention centre, hospitality, and tourism sectors across 27 countries, serving public-sector regulators, private operators, and industry associations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Beamsville

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Advisory Services: Advisory and consulting fees for strategic advice to the hospitality, leisure and tourism industries, including gaming, convention centres, lodging, tourism, sports and recreation sectors. Revenue is generated through project-based engagements with public-sector and private-sector clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

HLT Advisory Inc. is a specialized advisory firm that delivers strategic consulting and market analysis to the hospitality, leisure, and tourism industries, with primary focus on gaming, convention centres, and lodging/tourism/sports recreation sectors. The firm provides services to public-sector gaming regulators, private-sector operators, convention centre boards, and hospitality investors across Canada and 27 countries worldwide. Core service offerings include policy and strategy development, RFP process management, market assessments, transaction support, asset management, expansion assessment, and operational benchmarking, anchored by proprietary assets including the Convention Centres of Canada Benchmarking Report and Canadian Gaming Association economic impact studies.

Product overview

HLT Advisory Inc. is a specialized advisory firm serving the hospitality, leisure, and tourism industries since 2005. The company operates as a consulting practice rather than a software product platform, offering advisory services organized around three core sector practices—Gaming, Convention Centres, and Lodging/Tourism/Sports Recreation—and a comprehensive suite of service modules including Development Advisory, Policy/Strategy Development, RFP Process Management, General Business Advisory, Operations Support, Transaction Support, Asset Management, Revenue Maximization, Expansion Assessment, Operational Benchmarking, Needs Assessment, Investment Opportunity Assessment, Strategic Planning, Industry Support, and Litigation Support. The firm's proprietary assets include the Convention Centres of Canada Benchmarking Report (conducted annually since 2006) and Economic Impact Assessments of the Canadian Gaming Industry. The company serves public-sector gaming policy leaders, private-sector operators, owners, boards, lenders, and industry associations across 27 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gaming Advisory Services Strategic consulting and market analysis for the gaming industry, including policy development, RFP process management, operations support, and transaction advisory for public-sector regulators and private-sector operators across full-service casinos, racinos, VLTs, charitable gaming, and igaming.
• Convention Centres Advisory Services Strategic consulting for convention and exhibition centre development and operations, including expansion assessment, marketing strategies, and operational benchmarking for venues across Canada.
• Lodging, Tourism, and Sports Recreation Advisory Advisory services for hotel development, tourism attractions, and sports and recreation facilities, including development advisory, asset management, revenue maximization, and operational planning for mixed-use projects.
• Convention Centres of Canada Benchmarking Report Annual comprehensive benchmarking and operational evaluation of Convention Centres of Canada members, including market size analysis, event profiles, and performance criteria related to business volumes, covering 19 Canadian convention centres.
• Economic Impact Assessment of Canadian Gaming Industry Comprehensive assessment of the economic contribution of the gaming industry to the Canadian economy, covering gross output, labour income, employment, and provincial-level breakdowns (2011 study showed $31 billion gross output, $14 billion in goods/services purchases, $12 billion in labour income, and 250,000+ jobs).

Quantifiable outcome

• Conducted economic impact assessment showing $31 billion gross output, $14 billion in goods/services purchases, $12 billion in labour income, and 250,000+ jobs in Canadian gaming industry (2011 study)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• KPMGminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008HLT worked initially in tandem with KPMG on the New Brunswick gaming restructuring project, assisting with province-wide market analysis and strategic advice to the Government of New Brunswick.
• Convention Centres of CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006HLT has maintained a 10+ year partnership with Convention Centres of Canada, annually undertaking comprehensive benchmarking and operational evaluation of its 19 member convention centres. The benchmarking report is described as one-of-a-kind in the international convention centre industry given its comprehensiveness, insight and applied learning.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• HVS: HVS is a global hospitality-focused consulting and valuation firm advising hotels, resorts, and lodging assets. Highly comparable to HLT's lodging/tourism practice and shares the boutique senior-led advisory model with deep industry specialization.
• Eilers & Krejcik Gaming: Eilers & Krejcik Gaming is a specialized research and advisory firm focused exclusively on the gaming industry, covering casino operators, suppliers, and equipment manufacturers. Closest direct competitor on gaming market intelligence and strategic advisory.
• Spectrum Gaming Group: Spectrum Gaming Group is a regulatory and policy advisory firm serving government gaming commissions, operators, and suppliers worldwide. Directly comparable to HLT's public-sector gaming policy work and regulator-side engagements.
• Applied Analysis: Applied Analysis is a Nevada-based economic and financial consulting firm serving the gaming, hospitality, and entertainment industries. Comparable niche-focus and public-sector/private-sector mix to HLT's gaming practice.
• The Innovation Group: The Innovation Group provides management consulting, feasibility analysis, and asset management specifically to the casino and gaming industry. Directly comparable on gaming feasibility, market assessment, and operator advisory.
• Union Gaming: Union Gaming is a boutique advisory firm providing capital markets and strategic advisory to the global gaming industry. Comparable boutique scale, sector specialization, and senior-led client engagement model.

Emerging players

• Newzoo: Newzoo (now part of Sensor Tower) is a market intelligence firm focused on video games and mobile gaming. Adjacent to HLT's gaming advisory, particularly relevant as HLT expands into iGaming/digital gaming verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte (Hospitality practice): Deloitte's Hospitality & Leisure sector serves global hotels, gaming operators, and tourism boards with consulting and assurance services. Broad incumbent competitor on large multi-disciplinary hospitality and tourism mandates.
• KPMG (Hospitality practice): KPMG's Hospitality and Leisure practice delivers advisory and audit services to hotels, gaming, and tourism sectors. HLT has co-engaged with KPMG on the New Brunswick gaming restructuring, demonstrating direct overlap on mandate profiles.
• PwC (Hospitality & Leisure practice): PwC's Hospitality & Leisure practice is a Big 4 advisory serving hotels, gaming, tourism, and leisure clients globally. Comparable capability set at much larger scale; notably, HLT's founder Rob Scarpelli previously led this practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hlt-advisory-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HLT Advisory