A Message from BCHA President & CEO Ingrid Jarrett
Dear Accommodation Community,

We are thrilled to be hosting our upcoming virtual Tourism & Hospitality conference in partnership with the Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC) March 8-11. We have an amazing lineup of speakers, at a time when our industry needs to reconnect and support each other towards recovery. Registration is now open! See below for more details. We sincerely hope you will join us. We also have sponsorship opportunities available, please see the registration and information below.
 
We have been working with the Federal Government and the Hotel Association of Canada on the returning Canadians isolation framework, thank you to the hotels who have stepped up once again to support the citizens of British Columbia.
 
Yesterday, I was honoured to accept the Skal Vancouver 2020 Bill Rowe Tourism Award on behalf of the BCHA and our amazing team. “Significantly contributed to the success and growth of the Tourism Industry in Vancouver and British Columbia” I share this honour and recognition happily with our amazing BC Hotel Association team.

Stay Well,

Ingrid Jarrett
BCHA President & CEO
Todays industry update includes:

  • 2021 Virtual BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference - Registration Open!
  • TIABCA "Know Before You Go" Video
  • Forbes Travel Guide 2021 Winners
  • Tribute to Arne Sorensen, CEO of Marriott
  • Changes to BC Provincial Nominee Program
  • Mark Your Calendars
  • Surrey Board of Trade - The Future of Air Transportation
  • In The News
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For any questions please reach out to our team. 
2021 BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference Registration Now Open!
#MISSIONPOSSIBLE2021
Join Us! At The 2021 BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference. March 8-11.
The conference theme is Mission Possible, a reference to the resilience and overall tenacity of our industry as we look to the future of tourism and hospitality.
 
WHEN: The conference will take place Monday, March 8- Thursday, March 11. Friday, March 12 is a free day of learning workshops.
 
WHERE: The conference will take place virtually over Zoom.
 
WHAT: Two 60-minute presentations each morning and afternoon (total of 4 per day), with the addition of keynote presentations on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday will offer a selection of free concurrent workshops for you to choose from.
 
Enjoy presentations and workshops on a wide-range of topics from industry experts and leaders like:
·   Doug Stephens, of Retail Prophet.
·   Randy Durband, CEO for the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
·   Susie Grynol, President & CEO of the Hotel Association of Canada
·   Marsha Walden, CEO of Destination Canada
·   And many many more.
 
Great value at only $99.00 per person (or $250.00 per company for up to four (4) people) for the week and $20.00 per person to join our Tuesday Craft Beer Tasting. (all prices exclusive of GST and applicable taxes) Over 24 hours of content and complimentary workshops on Friday!
Sponsorship opportunities still available, contact us at [email protected]
TIABC "Know Before You Go" Video
TIABC is pleased to launch one of the many projects we are currently working on that is aimed to assist our tourism businesses severely impacted from the COVID 19 pandemic.
 
Recognizing there is a demand for our industry businesses to share their steps taken to keep residents and visitors safe and healthy as well as a need to inform visitors with what to expect when they are able to travel and visit BC, TIABC has invested in a series of videos that will act as public service announcements educating about the province’s health and safety protocols, what businesses are doing to ensure their customers, guests and future guests are safe and protected and to reiterate the provincial tourism marketing messaging “Know Before You Go”.
 
The Hotel sector is the first of four videos, and features BCHA President & CEO, Ingrid Jarrett, with Restaurants & Food Services, Bars & Pubs and Attractions sectors to follow over the course of the next several weeks. 
If you are interested in a copy of the video, please reach out to Mike Macleod at [email protected]

2021 Forbes Travel Guide Star Award Winners
Forbes Travel Guide has released the award winners for 2021!

The 63rd annual list features 283 Five-Star, 576 Four-Star and 438 Recommended hotels; 73 Five-Star, 136 Four-Star and 77 Recommended restaurants; and 90 Five-Star and 200 Four-Star spas worldwide.

Even in the midst of a global pandemic, service remains paramount. It’s more important than ever before that properties demonstrate the utmost regard for their guests’ wellbeing: 75 percent of a hotel’s rating is based on its service and genuine care and concern shown by the staff, while 25 percent is determined by the quality of its facilities.

View the list of winners here featuring some of our very home BC members!
Tribute to Arne Sorensen, CEO of Marriott
It is with profound sadness that Marriott International announces that Arne M. Sorenson, President and CEO, unexpectedly passed away on February 15, 2021. In May 2019, the company announced that Mr. Sorenson had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. On February 2, 2021, Marriott shared the news that Mr. Sorenson would temporarily reduce his schedule to facilitate more demanding treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Mr. Sorenson became the third CEO in Marriott’s history in 2012, and the first without the Marriott surname. A visionary leader, Mr. Sorenson put the company on a strong growth trajectory that included the $13-billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. During his tenure as CEO, Mr. Sorenson was tireless in driving the company’s progress, creating opportunities for associates, growth for owners and franchisees and results for the company’s shareholders. Known for his leadership on difficult national and global issues, Mr. Sorenson steered Marriott to make significant progress on diversity, equity and inclusion, environmental sustainability and human trafficking awareness.

“Arne was an exceptional executive – but more than that – he was an exceptional human being,” said J.W. Marriott, Jr., Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board. “Arne loved every aspect of this business and relished time spent touring our hotels and meeting associates around the world. He had an uncanny ability to anticipate where the hospitality industry was headed and position Marriott for growth. But the roles he relished the most were as husband, father, brother and friend. On behalf of the Board and Marriott’s hundreds of thousands of associates around the world, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Arne’s wife and four children. We share your heartbreak, and we will miss Arne deeply.”

BCHA sends along our condolences to our colleagues around the province who are part of the Marriott family. Arne Sorenson was a visionary and true leader whose influence was felt here in BC and around the hospitality world.
Changes to BC Provincial Nominee Program
On Feb 16, the BC Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) resumed inviting the 31 tourism, hospitality, retail and personal services occupations occupations that were previously excluded from invitations to apply (ITA). They also have a disproportionately large volume of registrants in their system in two occupations, Retail and Wholesale Trade Managers (NOC 0621) and Restaurant and food Service Managers (NOC 0631), so they are inviting these 2 occupations separately at higher scores in order to ensure that they have a balance of occupations that supports all sectors of the province. You can find information about this policy change on the News page and the details about the draw in the ITA page of the BC PNP website.
 
This is good news for the industry and should help address and alleviate some of the labour challenges.
 
We will continue to keep you updated and let you know the specifics as they are finalized. 
Mark Your Calendars
As one of the first industries to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the air transportation sector will be one of the last to fully recover. Before the pandemic, the sector employed about 141,000 Canadians. Today, that number has plummeted almost overnight as airlines and airports grapple with new economic realities and further restrictions.

We will be joined by representatives from Air Canada, WestJet, Vancouver International Airport, the BC Aviation Council and the Tourism Industry Association. The conversation will address the impact the industry has felt, the support that is needed and the path forward to instill consumer confidence and mitigate the impact to their commercial cargo operations.

To register, visit businessinsurrey.com or email [email protected]. Please register each guest with their individual email addresses. If you are unable to attend at this date and time but are interested in the event, please register anyways and you will be sent the recording. Your connection links will be sent to you on February 26th. 
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