A Message from BCHA President & CEO Ingrid Jarrett
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Dear Accommodation Community,
It is a critical time for our industry as families navigate the stress of insolvency in every community in our fair province. The BCHA continues to advocate for the sector specific relief that is desperately needed. We are in crisis, unable to access support for our accommodation sector. Small and Medium sized businesses are reporting difficultly in accessing the relief funds through the small and medium sized business grant, while an overwhelming number of accommodators across British Columbia are completely ineligible for these relief measures.
The current restrictions to provincial relief are as follows:
- Accommodators with more than 149 Employees
- Accommodators with ownership outside BC
- Businesses that have opened within the past 18 months
- Businesses closed for renovation in 2019
- Seasonal businesses
In addition to liquidity, the accommodation sector urgently needs relief from property taxes, energy costs and mortgage, debt payments.
You, our accommodation owners and operators, have done everything humanly possible to support the need for housing, for safe shelter, for training and investing in safety equipment and new protocols in your operations. Now we have to stand together and ensure we are compliant with the orders, and, at the same time work with Government to communicate our needs and allow seamless access to financial relief.
It is now more important than ever that our industry communicate the dire realities that accommodators across the province are facing. Your voice, as a voter, an employee, an owner is vitally important for your MP, your MLA and for our governments to hear. We have created letter templates profiling our industry’s current requests: see MLA here and MP here. Please also see the following links to reach your local MP or MLA. We encourage you to use these templates while also sharing your personal stories.
This week in response to concerns regarding safety plans and the safety of our residents and workplaces, we would like to acknowledge and thank Minister Kahlon for all his ongoing work with industry. At his recent engagement table, his focus was on WorkSafe BC, safety plans, and the health and safety of our employees. We had outlined earlier this week the importance of ensuring your safety plans are up to date, available on your website, and your team is trained in accordance with all updates. If you have any questions about safety plans, please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of our team.
Thank you for making your voice heard, and for supporting our efforts to reach out to MP’s and MLA’s.
Stay Safe,
Ingrid Jarrett
BCHA President & CEO
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Todays industry update includes:
- MLA & MP Letter Requests
- BC Extends State of Emergency
- HAC: Petition on Sector-Specific Tourism Recovery Plan
- Hospitality Saskatchewan - New Industry Voice!
- TOTA Regional Domestic Tourism Skills Training Program
- GVBOT - A Conversation with Minister Joly
- Save the Date! BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference
- Upcoming Education - Royal Roads University
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For any questions please reach out to our team.
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BC’s State of Emergency Extended |
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The Province of British Columbia has formally extended the provincial State of Emergency, allowing health and emergency management officials to continue to use extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act (EPA) to support the Province's COVID-19 pandemic response.
The State of Emergency is extended through the end of the day on Feb. 2nd to allow staff to take the necessary actions to keep British Columbians safe and manage immediate concerns and COVID-19 outbreaks.
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HAC: Petition on Sector-Specific Tourism Recovery Plan |
The Hotel Association of Canada is actively working with its industry partners and the Federal Government on a plan to ensure the survival of our sector and enable the recovery of Canada’s tourism economy.
As part of this plan, HAC continues to advocate for targeted, sector-specific relief measures, as well as a further tailoring of key support programs including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy. We are also working with senior government officials on the rollout of the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program and will share more details just as soon as they are available.
As we look towards recovery, Tony Baldinelli, a Conservative Member of Parliament and avid supporter of hotels, has sponsored a petition calling on the Government of Canada to present a sector-specific tourism recovery plan on or before the 2021 Federal Budget. The petition is also calling for the Government to:
- Ensure this tourism recovery plan addresses the specific needs of the many travel and tourism sectors across Canada;
- Ensure this tourism recovery plan supports the urgent and complete development, implementation, and deployment of Health Canada approved vaccines and rapid testing devices;
- Ensure this tourism recovery plan includes sector-specific health guidelines, which enable sectors to resume work operations in a safe and responsible manner; and
- Use this tourism recovery plan as a tool to begin restoring public confidence in travel and tourism.
As a key tourism stakeholder, we encourage all hoteliers to support this effort and sign this petition to push for government action as soon as possible. Please also distribute widely to your networks. The deadline to sign the petition is 5pm on February 7th.
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Hospitality Saskatchewan: New Industry Voice
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The Saskatchewan Hotel and Hospitality Association (SHHA) announced January 19th that it has rebranded to become Hospitality Saskatchewan and enhanced its mandate to now serve as the tourism industry association for the province.
The Province of Saskatchewan will now have its own broader industry voice representing tourism and hospitality.
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TOTA Regional Domestic Tourism Skills Training Program |
TOTA is Offering a Fully Funded Skills Training Program for Tourism Workers to Start or Expand Their Career |
With many weeks before winter is truly behind us, spring and the idea of economic recovery are top of mind. This is a perfect time for individuals interested in employment in tourism to upgrade skills and take steps to be well-positioned for the tourism jobs market as it re-emerges.
TOTA has recently received funding to deliver a 13-week domestic tourism skills training program for unemployed or precariously employed individuals, designed to help entry-level seasonal, casual, or part-time employees interested in growing into full-time tourism employment.
Beginning on February 8, the program will focus on domestic tourism, including local and regional tourism priorities and identifying a potential career path. Participants will learn about Tourism and Hospitality trends, regional experiences, and the delivery of day-to-day guest service, including an overview of Indigenous tourism, accessible tourism, and sustainable tourism. Participants will receive guidance on starting a tourism career and ongoing professional development through the program's industry mentorship component and a virtual job fair.
Program delivery will be 100% "live" online learning guided by industry facilitators, tourism professionals, and guest speakers, that will enable us to support as many individuals as possible and reach those in smaller and remote communities.
All participants require is a reliable internet connection and a strong desire to expand their employment value within the tourism industry.
This is a fully funded program, and we encourage anyone interested in expanding their employability within tourism in the Thompson Okanagan region to learn more and consider registering. Priority will be given to marginalized and underrepresented groups. Anyone ages 15 and above is eligible to apply.
The February 3 deadline for applications is fast approaching, and seats are limited.
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GVBOT: A Conversation with Minister Joly on BC's Economic Future |
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Minister Joly will be joined by Greater Vancouver Board of Trade’s President and CEO, Bridgitte Anderson and local economic leaders for a moderated conversation on the future of British Columbia’s economy and how the federal government can best support it through the creation of a new Regional Development Agency.
Friday January 22nd
10:30am to 11:30am PST
Learn more at:
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Save the Date - BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference! |
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TIABC and the BC Hotel Association will be co-hosting the BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference (virtually) during the week of March 8th to 12th, 2021.
Stay tuned for more details soon.
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Professional and Continuing Studies at Royal Roads University
- Sales Strategies During Times of Uncertainty
External market impacts often require that companies and their sales professionals engage with traditional and new markets differently. Economic factors may have substantially changed the competitive landscape and the dynamics of the client – vendor relationship. The hospitality and tourism industry, specifically, has unique challenges during these periods and with perishable inventory, sales professionals will be under pressure to increase volume when the market may be restricted or hesitant to travel.
Course runs February 8 - March 7, 2021
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