Newfoundland and Labrador Product Development Strategy

- 173 -If this sort of advice is to be given, it should be more broadly-based that simply dealing withCanada Select criteria.Particular attention should be given to ensuring that rating advisors are fully trained and‘travelled’ and therefore fully conversant with the standards of accommodations generallyavailable to travellers.B&Bs that serve dinner should not be rated as B&Bs, but inns, and meet the standard for aninn.Also, consideration should be given to differentiating between ‘professional’ or ‘commercial’B&B properties and ‘residential’ B&Bs – the former being a facility in which all guest areasare dedicated to exclusive guest use, with the latter being a B&B in which family and guestsshare some or all of the common areas.The Canada Select definitions of accommodation categories should be put in the travel guideto assist travellers in understanding the differences.Accommodation Licensing Regulations and AdministrationThe above noted paper on Canada Select also briefly addressed a related issue, that ofaccommodation licensing.We are recommending that the Quality Assurance Council also take over the administration ofthe accommodations licensing system (Tourist Establishment Act and Regulations) under anagreement with the Province. Regulations would be passed to give the grading advisors theauthority to play this role. A fee would be payable by the Province to Canada Select for eachproperty under administration.As mentioned above, we recommend that licensing enforcement be provided by theDepartment of Government Services, based on direction from the Quality Assurance Council.The licensing inspection should be bundled with the Canada Select rating inspection and thelicense issued bi-annually, rather than only once when the property is built.The regulatory requirement to file room rates is problematic in this day of revenuemanagement. Operators should instead be encouraged to provide only rate ranges for thepurposes of the travel guide.Apartments need to be brought under the Act, as should all forms of accommodations rentedfor periods of less than one month at a time.All accommodations rented by a licensed property should be licensed (e.g. a friend orrelative’s spare bedroom being rented out).THE ECONOMIC PLANNING GROUP of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Product DevelopmentD. W. Knight Associates Strategy and Accommodation Needs Study