When Sukhdev Toor, a Sikh Canadian, first arrived in Canada in 1983, he carried the credentials of a civil engineer, but his path was not straightforward. His degree was not recognized in his new country, and work in his chosen field was difficult to find. Instead of letting those barriers define him, he turned to education and new opportunities. A leap of faith to acquire a small Ontario motel began what would become a lifelong career in hospitality. By the late 1980s, Sukhdev had already expanded the hotel business in British Columbia, operating four properties in towns including Nanaimo, Victoria, Courtenay, and Comox. In 1995, he returned to Ontario and began acquiring hotels in Kitchener, Scarborough, Toronto, and Niagara Falls. Just two years later, the foundation of what is now Manga Hotel Group had firmly taken shape. By 1997, the company owned nine hotels, six of them flagged under Comfort Inn and Travelodge brands. The pace of growth was steady, and by 1998 Manga was embarking on their first groundup development. That project, which opened in 1999, carried special significance: it was the first Hampton built in Canada. That pioneering spirit would come to define the company’s trajectory. Over the years, Manga Hotel Group has expanded their portfolio to include 34 hotels comprising more than 6,000 rooms across Canada and the United States, most of which are affiliated with flagship brands such as Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and InterContinental Hotel Group. Manga Hotel Group has more than 2,600 associates working in their properties, while the company’s Toronto head office runs lean with 30 to 40 employees overseeing functions such as finance, operations, accounting, sales and marketing, construction and development, and SEPTEMBER 2025
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