Today's update includes:

  • New Policy Update | Private Retailers Approved to Supply Special Event Liquor
  • Free | Upcoming BCHA Webinars
  • BC Step 3 Restart | Best Practices for Accommodators Webinar
  • Rebates & Rising Energy Rates | Speed Financial Recovery Through Sustainability Webinar
  • #ICYMI | New Tourism Relief Fund Announced
  • List Travel Offers For Free with HelloBC.com
  • Check In Canada | Opportunity to Sign Up Free Now with DBC
  • Save the Date | BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference, March 8-11, 2022
  • Action Needed | Request for Extension of Federal Relief Measures
  • Free Consultation | Energy-Saving Support for Small Businesses
  • BC Chamber Pulse Check Survey | Participate Today!
  • Mark Your Calendars
  • Webinar on July 12: Canada Recovery Hiring Program Q&A Session
  • Fore the Love of Tourism 15th Annual TIP Invitational Golf Tournament 2021
  • Destination Vancouver Webinar: Safer Spaces Start Here Thursday, July 15th | 10:00am - 12:00pm | Webinar
  • WorkSafeBC | Learn about WorkSafeBC’s preliminary 2022 rates
  • Congratulations! Tipping Our Hat to Industry
  • Destination Greater Victoria Launches New ' Tourism is a Part of Our Community' Campaign!
  • Destination Greater Victoria Purchases Northwest Deuce Days
  • In the News
  • The comeback of corporate travel: How should companies be planning?, Hotel News Resource, July 7
  • Hotel Room Sales Strategies: To Increase Occupancy and Revenue, Hotel News Resource, July 12
  • Why Horgan should rethink his opposition to hosting World Cup games, Business in Vancouver, July 9
  • Comment Card | Industry Thoughts & Feedback
New Policy Update | Private Retailers Approved to Supply Special Event Liquor
Private liquor retailers are now allowed to sell their products to holders of special event permits to serve liquor at events such as community festivals, family gatherings and private functions.

The change follows a recommendation from the Business Technical Advisory Panel and Alliance of Beverage Licensees (ABLEBC).

Previously, only government liquor stores could sell liquor products to permit holders. The private retailers who may now do so include:
  • B.C. wineries, breweries and distilleries with on-site stores;
  • licensee retail stores (private liquor stores);
  • wine stores (excluding sacramental wine stores) and special wine stores; and
  • rural licensee retail stores.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, B.C.’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch issued approximately 28,000 special event permits annually. From 2016-19, the estimated value of liquor purchased by permit holders averaged $26.5 million. Liquor inspectors will continue to check liquor purchases of special event permittees to ensure they are purchasing only from authorized suppliers.

For more information, please read the government news release and Policy Directive 21-15.
Free | Upcoming BCHA Webinars
BC Step 3 Restart | Best Practices for Accommodators Webinar

DATE: Friday, July 16 at 10am

Since entering Step 3 of the BC Restart Plan on July 1st, COVID-19 restrictions have eased, stringent safety protocols have relaxed, and accommodators and their employees have faced challenges ensuring they are operating in-line with current guidelines while continuing to build consumer confidence.

Join the BC Hotel Association and go2HR for a virtual information session that will outline best practices for hotel operations as we enter a post COVID-19 era — from practices surrounding housekeeping, spa, and pool use, to hosting indoor/outdoor events, food service, and the transition to implementing a communicable disease prevention program.
Rebates & Rising Energy Rates | Speed Financial Recovery Through Sustainability Webinar

DATE: Thursday, July 22nd at 1pm

Did you know that forging a path to sustainability not only helps our planet but can result in significant savings?

Join BCHA partner, Angela Nagy of GreenStep Solutions, where she will walk through how accommodators can best take advantage of the BCHA GoGreen Program to cut high fixed costs now and in the future, as a way to adapt, survive, and thrive after the impacts of COVID-19.

Participants will learn what the first three steps are in getting started, as well as immediate low and no-cost measures they can take to realize quick wins and early savings.
#ICYMI | New Tourism Relief Fund Announced
Yesterday, the federal government announced details of the $500 million Tourism Relief Fund. The Tourism Relief Fund aims to support tourism businesses and organizations to adapt their operations to meet public health requirements while investing in products and services to facilitate their future growth.

What funding is available?
  • Contributions to for-profit businesses will be either:
  • non-repayable project contributions up to $100,000 for up to 50% of eligible costs; or
  • fully repayable project contributions up to $500,000 for up to 75% of eligible costs.
  • For not-for-profit organizations and Indigenous entities:
  • project contribution amounts will normally be non-repayable and would not normally exceed $500,000.

Who can apply?
Applicants must fall under one of the following parameters to be eligible for funding:
  • A key supplier/operator in the visitor experience
  • Part of a defined tourism cluster or tourism-dependent community
  • An anchor product or service in a destination

Are hotels eligible?
Eligible projects will fall under one of two themes:
  1. Product development/development and enhancement of tourism experiences to help tourism businesses adapt to the “new normal”, to modernize tourism offerings and to help the sector adopt more environmentally sustainable practices.
  2. Destination development: projects that would position communities to take advantage of post-pandemic opportunities through strategic planning for medium- to long-term investments, as well as supporting destination development, in-line with objectives set out in the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy.

Hotels may qualify if they are recognized as an anchor attraction in a local destination or are a key supplier or operator in the visitor experience in a region, or are part of a defined tourism cluster.

Potential projects for hotels that meet the criteria outlined above may vary based on regional needs.

EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS:
  • Seasonal dispersion: investments in the development of tourism products to extend the hotel’s offerings into a new season (e.g. summer hotel creates winter programming to expand its open season).
  • New/expanded product offering: a hotel could bring in a new culinary program and/or adapt current programming to the local/regional market. This could increase the price point and/or length of stay.
  • Digital adoption: create and/or enhance online booking tools for a hotel.
  • Health and safety: funding for PPE could be requested.

TIMELINES
  • The project start date cannot be earlier than April 19, 2021. For projects already underway, insert the day from which your organization began incurring eligible costs for activities associated with this project.
  • The project end date cannot be later than March 31, 2023.
  • Costs may be eligible on a retroactive basis up to 12 months prior to the receipt of a project application, but no earlier than April 19, 2021.
List Travel Offers For Free with HelloBC.com
Destination BC’s summer marketing campaign Open to More encourages British Columbians to explore their own province and open their minds to new places and experiences.

As part of the campaign, DBC will promote Travel Offers as a “hook” to encourage potential travellers to explore a variety of BC experiences, attractions, and accommodations. Our research shows that offers play an important role in moving the consumer’s mindset from planning to purchasing and is also a great opportunity for businesses to feature new products or experiences, drive website traffic/bookings and ultimately acquire new customers.

To take advantage of this campaign and motivate travellers to book with you, we encourage you to post up to three offers on HelloBC today, so you are ready when we can all travel again!
This program does not require you to discount your experience or product. We want to provide an avenue to showcase the current offers and/or added value that you already have available.

Example offers:
There is no cost to participate and submitting your offers is easy!

What you’ll need:
  • The offer name
  • The offer details (maximum 120 characters)
  • Start and end dates which the offer is valid
  • A link to the offer details on your website
  • One picture to display with your offer*
Check In Canada | Opportunity to Sign Up Free Now with DBC
In partnership with Check In Canada (CIC), Destination BC has created a Summer Accommodation page on HelloBC.com that allows travellers to easily find rooms by their preferred location and date. Users will be redirected to the CIC website, where they can browse hundreds of listings and connect with providers to book their stay.

To take advantage of this opportunity, visit CheckinCanada.com to review your current listing, or sign up here. CIC will provide free access to the platform, with no participation or referral fees until March 1, 2022. Should you have any questions or concerns about listing your inventory, please contact info@checkincanada.com.
Save the Date! | BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference, March 8-11, 2022
Mark your calendars! The 2022 BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference officially has a date. Taking place in Prince George, March 8-11, 2022, the conference will be an informative multi-day conference aimed at supporting growth and celebrating industry.

Stay tuned for further updates coming soon!
Free Consultation | Energy-Saving Support for Small Businesses
To help support small and medium-sized businesses in BC to recover from the challenges of COVID-19, FortisBC is proud to partner with GreenStep Solutions to provide free customized energy advice to participating businesses. You can get tips, technical advice and information about programs that can help you save energy, greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs.

Advice to help business owners through COVID-19

GreenStep Solutions representatives will provide participating businesses with free customized energy advice via a telephone call, videoconference or a limited number of in-person visits with proper COVID-19 safety protocols in place. Businesses can apply for the Small Business Support Program, or be referred to the program. GreenStep Solutions will also be making outbound calls to businesses in the Okanagan, Kootenays and Vancouver Island regions—including Victoria, Saanich and Nanaimo—to encourage participation in these target communities.

The consultation will take 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the complexity of your business. Based on the needs of the each business, the advice could include:
  • technical help to turn down your building if you’re closed due to COVID-19 (e.g. how to program the thermostat)
  • low-cost/no-cost tips to reduce energy use and operating costs
  • conducting a virtual basic energy assessment of your business
  • information about FortisBC rebates on high-efficiency equipment for your business

After the consultation, participants will receive a follow-up email summarizing the opportunities identified. If you need further support, GreenStep can refer you to a FortisBC key account manager or energy solutions manager.

Request your free consultation
Request your consultation with a program representative by completing this form. After receiving your request, a representative will get back to you within three business days to arrange a convenient time to talk.
Action Needed | Request for Extension of Federal Relief Measures
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) have been critical lifelines for our sector and employees throughout this pandemic. However, these programs are aggressively winding down between July and September. It is critical that tailored financial support continues for our sector to ensure we can make it to the other side of recovery.
Our collective voices are needed now more than ever to amplify this message to parliamentarians. Over the summer, a strong local grassroots effort and engagement from HAC members will be critical to create the problem and build political pressure. We need to hear a clear commitment in the fall that the Government will support our hard hit sector through until the end of this pandemic.

We have three critical asks for you:
  1. Send a letter to your local Member of Parliament. It will take less than 1 minute to send. You can send a letter on our microsite: HardestHit.ca / DurementTouches.ca.
  2. Meet with your local Member of Parliament and tell them your business and employees will not survive without continued support. We need hundreds of meetings this summer and are relying on the mass of our coalition networks to make as much noise as possible.
  3. Spread the word on social media. Pre-written social media content can be found on our microsite: HardestHit.ca / DurementTouches.ca.

Everything you need to help guide you, including key talking points, meeting guide & tips, and other ways to get involved can be found in HAC’s Grassroots Advocacy Toolkit:
BC Chamber Pulse Check
Survey | Participate Today!
Ensure your voice is heard by participating BC Chamber of Commerce's Pulse Check Survey.
 
Share your thoughts before the survey closes July 16th, 2021, at 4:00 PM PDT.
Mark Your Calendars
Destination Vancouver Webinar: Safer Spaces Start Here
Thursday, July 15th | 10:00am - 12:00pm | Webinar

Join us for an informative and interactive session that explores how to create safer spaces in Tourism and Hospitality. This session will start with an overview of the go2HR programs by Judy Frankel, communications manager at go2HR, and will include go2HR's upcoming programs including the BSAFE safety certificate program. The rest of the workshop will then be facilitated by Stacey Forester from Good Night Out Vancouver and will outline the basis for their education program for the prevention of sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence in the hospitality industry.
  • Welcome & Introductions by moderator, Gwendal Castellan
  • Overview of go2HR safety programs by Judy Frankel
  • Good Night Out Vancouver workshop with Stacey Forrester
  • What's new? Linking this work to local and provincial policy
  • Statistics
  • Overview of Good Night Out
  • Elements / Objectives of our training
  • What the data/program evaluation on our training shows
  • Lessons from COVID
  • Mini-bystander training
  • Outline the “Safer Spaces 21 Jumpstart” program 
  • What is involved / how to sign up
  • Q&A with panelists
Fore the Love of Tourism 15th Annual TIP Invitational Golf Tournament 2021

Join Partners in Tourism (TIP) at the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club Friday, August 27, 2021 for the 15th Annual Fore the Love of Tourism TIP Invitational Golf Tournament.
 
 
BACKGROUND:
Partners in Tourism – TIP Society was established in 2006 with the goal of fostering future generations of tourism professionals. Never has that been more important.

We are now seeing signs of recovery and in our collective spirit of optimism, we are again gathering for the Tourism Industry Partners (TIP) Invitational Golf Tournament to raise funds to support scholarships and awards to get the next generation back in the hospitality game.
Since its inception, Partners in Tourism – TIP has provided funding in excess of $700,000 to support training, the purchase of equipment and financial assistance to hospitality students. The need has never been greater. 
Let’s TIP the scales in favour of up-and-coming tourism and hotel professionals.
WorkSafeBC | Learn about WorkSafeBC’s preliminary 2022 rates

Attend WorkSafeBC’s virtual rate consultation sessions. During these sessions, WorkSafeBC will provide an overview of the preliminary rates for 2022, inform employers about rate and classification changes, and outline what they can do to influence their rates.
 
The sessions include a 60-minute presentation, followed by a live Question and Answer period - links will be forwarded to everyone who has registered for the session.

Dates and times (PST)
  • Monday, July 19, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
  • Monday, July 19, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday, July 21, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
  • Wednesday, July 21, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

The presentation topics include:
  • The financial state of the workers’ compensation system  
  • Rate and classification changes
  • How you, as an employer, can influence your rates through improved health and safety
 
To register for the session of your choice, visit www.worksafebc.com/rates and fill in the registration form. You’re welcome to participate in any one of the virtual sessions. Participation is free For more information, please email rates@worksafebc.com
Congratulations! Tipping Our Hat to Industry
Have News You Want to Share? Contact Kelsey@bcha.com
Destination Greater Victoria Launches New ' Tourism is a Part of Our Community' Campaign!

To this end, Destination Greater Victoria has partnered with CHEK TV to commission and air seven television spots that speak to the contributions the visitor economy makes beyond just economic impact, jobs, and taxes. With themes including amenity and infrastructure building for residents, stewardship of the Salish Sea, sustainable practices and legacies of sports tourism, we are proud to showcase the stories of the good work and incredible contributions of our industry players. The seven spots can be viewed below. These spots will air on CHEK TV throughout the summer.

Congrats to Destination Greater Victoria For New Purchase - Northwest Deuce Days!
On Thursday, July 8 it was announced Destination Greater Victoria had purchased the Northwest Deuce Days classic car show. Under this new agreement, Destination Greater Victoria has purchased all assets, goodwill, and intellectual property associated with Northwest Deuce Days from Al Clark, who built an initially small community car show into the largest gathering of Deuce Coupes in the world. The next Northwest Deuce Days will once again be a free, fun, event for residents of Greater Victoria and is scheduled for July 14-17, 2022.
Media coverage of the event can be found below:

  • The news release from the announcement can be found here.
In The News

It seems that, finally, the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel is in sight—at least in some parts of the world. In 2020, total global business travel expenses contracted by 52 percent, while managed corporate-travel spending in the United States plummeted 71 percent, or $94 billion. Last year, when we reported on the impact of COVID-19 on corporate travel, we projected that the road to recovery would be a long and uneven one.

Much has changed since then, thanks largely to progress on the vaccination front. Even though there’s much debate surrounding the timing of herd immunity in the United States, it’s indisputable that vaccination rates are on the rise across the country. At the time of writing, more than 40 percent of the US population has been fully vaccinated, with more than 50 percent having received at least one dose. Companies are starting to bring employees back to offices. Corporate executives are planning in-person meetings and gatherings with customers and colleagues.

In light of new developments, to what extent will videoconferencing replace business trips? How should corporations prepare for the next phase of business travel? While our insights from last year still hold, we’ve sharpened our understanding of how business leaders could be thinking about the postpandemic role of corporate travel.

Hotel room sales are more than just getting another guest to walk through the doors of your property. If done right, room sales can significantly improve your hotel business in its entirety. With an efficient hotel sales strategy, you can have your rooms sold out and build a steady income source, irrespective of the season. The more hotel revenue you make from your reservations, the more you can invest in your branding, marketing, and enhancing the quality of the rooms you sell.

Before you analyze the data and see the outcomes for yourself, there is no right or wrong idea for sales. Of course, it is important to do your research, but don’t be afraid to explore and experiment. Trying out new ideas that you have never tried before can sometimes lead to unbelievable results. To get you inspired, here are 7 room sales strategies to increase your hotel’s room occupancy and revenue.

In recent days sports bars were saturated and living room couch cushions compressed as men’s teams sought the Euro 2020 and Copa América soccer titles.
This is not news: We know the Lower Mainland is soccer-mad, in a good way.

But we also know that in 2018 John Horgan made many soccer-mad, in a bad way.

Then a rookie B.C. premier, he rebuffed the opportunity for the provincially owned, event-craving BC Place to stage men’s World Cup games when Canada, Mexico and the United States play host to the planet’s biggest sport’s biggest spectacle in 2026.
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