Hotelier June 2022

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“We know there’s incredible demand for indigenous tourism,” he explains, but as it stands, if travellers aren’t specifically searching for Indigenoustourism experiences during the idea phase of their planning, it’s very unlikely they will be presented with these products. This makes marketing support crucial in facilitating recovery and survival — especially given that we are entering what Bird deems “the most critical summer our industry [has] seen in a very long time.” This calls into focus a key issue Bird identifies within the current support systems (especially federally), which have a heavy focus on investing in product development. The issue, he explains, is “there’s no [support] dollars to actually market that product… Regardless of how many great products you develop, if our potential clientele doesn’t know about them, then they’re going to ultimately fail.” “[ITA’s] priority right now is pushing a very dynamic and efficient digitalmarketing campaign this summer,” Bird adds. “That’s the most important piece for us moving into the summer and, in my opinion, that’s how we should all be thinking right now.” On this front, industry partnerships are a fundamental avenue of support for the sector. Bird points to partnerships with DMOs such as Explore Edmonton and Travel Alberta as being “so monumental in providing the support [ITA’s] needed, from a customer perspective.” However, attracting guests is only one facet of the challenges that lay ahead of Indigenous tourism. Through the course of the pandemic, the concepts of market and export readiness have shifted as digitization accelerated and expectations around digital presence have changed. As Henry notes, these kinds of shifts are expected to have lasting impact “and a lot of our businesses are going to have to rely more heavily on online sales tools.” This poses a challenge, he explains, “[because] the truth is, of our 1,900 businesses, there are several hundred that have not built an effective strategy for digital presence.” To address this gap, ITAC has been implementing the Project RISE EDITORIAL With a few exceptions, Indigenous-tourism businesses have seen a massive decline in revenues in the past two years accreditation program (in partnership with Ottawa-based Tourism HR Canada) to help Indigenous-tourism businesses achieve market and export readiness. This solution both identifies gaps in businesses’ existing strategies and aligns supports to address these gaps. But the greatest hurdle to market readiness is having the staff in place to effectively operate businesses and facilitate experiences. “We need to replace 21,000 jobs and it’s not that there’s not people that could work in them,” states Henry. The problem, he explains, is that the tourism industry has suffered a blow to its reputation as a stable employer and economic-development venture. “What’s scary about that is, if we don’t find the qualified, effective Indigenous staff, we can’t sell authentic Indigenous experiences,” he stresses. While the labour-force challenge is felt across the industry, Bird explains that increased barriers to recovery supports, combined with ongoing uncertainty has amplified the challenge for ITA members — and Indigenous tourism businesses overall. And, he notes, this challenge is one of financial constraints, as well as human capital. “The number-1 challenge we’re hearing from our businesses and membership, is that they just don’t have dollars to pay their staff,” says Bird. Operators are also having to weigh the risk of staffing up while it remains uncertain what travel and visitation will look like this year. “There are a lot of variables and unknowns out there and our businesses are having a really hard time adjusting their business to ensure that they’re able to provide a quality experience and have the staff capacity to manage expectations while not knowing if we’re going to have full visitation this summer,” Bird explains. And, as Bird passionately points out, ensuring the recovery of Canada’s Indigenous tourism sector is about far more than supporting local businesses. “We often talk about the economics, the demand and the opportunities, but there’s also a social responsibility that we have in terms of supporting Indigenous tourism, Indigenous businesses, economic and cultural sovereignty and [understanding] how we do that in an authentic and appropriate way,” he stresses. “[There are great] social benefits of Indigenous tourism: cultural revitalization, language revitalization, providing community and culture to communities that haven’t had that opportunity — you can’t even quantify the power of this. Indigenous tourism is the number-1 tool towards reconciliation.” ◆ MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER “As Canada is going through a significant period of reflection towards reconciliation…we’ve been really trying to help Canadians realize that Indigenous tourism is such a key support [in this process],” says Keith Henry, president & CEO, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC). As part of these efforts, he shares, “we are launching a significant new initiative called ‘Reconciliation and Action.’” The goal of this marketing campaign, hosted on the Destination Indigenous platform, is to encourage Canadians to explore Indigenous experiences. “Some of those will be about history and understanding, others will be just about enjoying Indigenous opportunities that are in our backyards.” 28 | JUNE <strong>2022</strong> hoteliermagazine.com
EDITORIAL TRENDS BLURRED LINES Hotels are capitalizing on digital nomadic living BY NICOLE DI TOMASSO The Canvas Moncton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton - Two Queen Guestroom Within 10 days of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, 4.7 million Canadians had made the shift to working from home, according to Statistics Canada. Today, we’re seeing a shift from work from home to work from anywhere. In response to a growing legion of digital nomads, hoteliers are tailoring their offerings to emphasize technology, well-designed guestrooms and communal spaces and community-led initiatives. Premium Wi-Fi is the most important amenity for digital nomads. Toronto’s Kimpton Saint George for example, owned by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), has taken its technological infrastructure to new heights by setting up routers in each guestroom instead of having designated router locations on each floor to provide secure Wi-Fi and Ethernet access. Additionally, Kimpton’s TVs are Chromecast-enabled, which is suitable for streaming, work-related presentations and meetings. “At Kimpton, our job has never been to change people’s travel behaviours but rather adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the travel industry and stay ahead of trends,” says Nabeel Toubayly, general manager, Kimpton Saint George. “That said, we have a strong focus on investing in the technological infrastructure of our properties.” Workspaces by Hilton are available at roughly 25 properties in Canada, including Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Burlington, Homewood Suites by Hilton Montreal Midtown, Hampton Inn by Hilton Port Hope DANIEL ST LOUIS [THE CANVAS MONCTON] hoteliermagazine.com JUNE <strong>2022</strong> | 29
Page 1 and 2: T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R H O T E
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS VOLUME 34, NO. 4 | JUNE 20
Page 5 and 6: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ROSANNA CAIRA
Page 7 and 8: CHECKING IN THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEW
Page 10 and 11: LIFE HOUSE TO MANAGE BELDI ROBUST R
Page 13 and 14: ADVOCACY WINNING WAYS HAC advocacy
Page 15 and 16: EMPLOYEE RETENTION Inspiring Loyalt
Page 17 and 18: our collective quality of life. “
Page 19 and 20: ® COOL. EDGY. CHIC. inspired trans
Page 21 and 22: Any eco-conscious traveller wants t
Page 23 and 24: Food Stuff Christine Couvelier, fou
Page 25 and 26: PODCAST THE INTERVIEW BY ROSANNA CA
Page 27 and 28: to just about $500 million overnigh
Page 29: EDITORIAL TRENDS Talking Rock Tours
Page 33 and 34: OPERATIONS Breaking Down Walls Hote
Page 35 and 36: TECHNOLOGY INTO THE Hotels are mini
Page 37 and 38: Gould highlights further some of th
Page 39 and 40: Human Resources Rodd Hotels & Resor
Page 41 and 42: The rooftop bar at the Conrad Washi
Page 43 and 44: (left) Hotel Escad Quarter DIX30 in
Page 45 and 46: HOSTED BY ROSANNA CAIRA Check out t

Hotelier June 2022

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